Chapter 3
A few observant prisoners returning from the latrines noticed the signal from Oskar that he needed to meet with someone. One of the men quickly ran over to Barracks 2. He tapped on the window and waited for the door to open.
"What's up?" Garlotti asked.
"Vet sent a signal."
Garlotti nodded. "Got it." He rushed to LeBeau with the message. "By the way, looks like Carter and the doc are heading over here."
"La vache! Slow them down." LeBeau turned to the others. "Close the bunk entrance." He ran to knock on Hogan's door. "Colonel, Schnitzer needs to make contact. Hope it's the parts. Oh, and we have company!" LeBeau did not wait for an answer, as he ran outside, heading for the kennels.
Garlotti dragged Saunders outside to intercept Carter.
They purposely bumped into him.
"Oh, gee whiz. I'm so sorry." Garlotti stepped back. "Didn't see you coming. Hi. I'm Garlotti. This is Saunders." Saunders waved.
"This is the new Doc," Carter said to Garlotti and Saunders. "Gee whiz, it's cold." Saunders was blocking the entrance and the two did a little dance before he was almost hit by the door opening.
"What are you three doing out here? It's freezing! Is that any way to treat our new guest?" The man at the door, a colored sergeant, shook his head.
"Sorry, Kinch. We all got tangled up." Saunders smiled and moved aside so they could go in.
"So, this is home. Not much, but it's better than the alternative," Garlotti said to Hawkeye a moment later. He went over to a bunk and plopped down, while Saunders walked over to the sink.
Carter made the initial introduction. "Hey, everybody. This is Lieutenant Pierce, our new doctor."
"Please call me Hawkeye," Pierce said. He quickly thought about handing out calling cards or getting a name tag. He then noticed a second colored man lounging on one of the other bunks.
Hogan stepped over to where he stood. "How are you settling in, Pierce?"
"As best as anyone can after being shuttled around Germany and being processed into two POW camps in two weeks…Sir."
"Good." The C.O. gave him a friendly squeeze on a shoulder. "Let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable." He smiled. The Colonel's demeanor helped ease Hawkeye's tension, and he felt a bit more relaxed.
"Wilson's been showing me the ropes over at the infirmary. Met his assistant. The sick men are doing as best as can be expected, and Carter gave me a tour." Hawkeye rattled this off quickly and then smiled back. Of course, he kept his questions regarding the colored sergeant to himself. Kinch. That was his name. And Carter told him Kinch was Hogan's second? And that he lived in this hut? This was an interesting and unexpected positive state of affairs.
The door opened and a short man, who appeared to be a French corporal, entered the hut. Pierce noticed a bulge in the man's sweater, but thought nothing of it.
"Bonjour. Louis LeBeau."
"Call me Hawkeye."
The corporal nodded, then walked over to another bunk.
Hawkeye quickly noted the 14 bunks and a door that probably led to Hogan's quarters. He saw the rags stuffed into the walls, put there to keep out the cold wind. There were several men gathered around the stove. A small table sat in the middle of the common area, while bits of laundry hung on a rope strung across the room.
"Glad you're here." Another sergeant walked over and shook Hawkeye's hand. "Roy Goldman, Doc."
"Ah. Goldman." An RAF corporal walked over to the short man and gave him a friendly pat. "He's an identical twin. I'll have you know it's still a mystery how the world can handle two of them."
He walked over to Hawkeye and introduced himself. "Peter Newkirk, from the RAF."
"We're not in the same branch," Goldman added as he glared at Newkirk. "My twin, I mean."
Hogan interrupted the two hut mates. "Doctor. Have a seat. Coffee?" Hogan asked.
Hawkeye shook his head.
"Colonel. The doc needs some personal supplies. He came in with nothing," Carter explained.
"Newkirk. Can you arrange something?" Hogan asked.
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Hawkeye soon received warmer clothes and toiletries. The men in the barracks shared some of their meager Red Cross supplies, for which he was very grateful. Hogan impressed Hawkeye in the short time he was in the hut. It was clearly obvious that the men residing there respected the colonel, and he assumed the rank and file felt the same. The friendly banter between the men spoke volumes; so did the fact that Kinch and the other man were not assigned to other quarters. This was surprising, and revealed a lot about Hogan. Pierce wondered if it was possible to find bonding and understanding in a POW camp.
After spending a bit of time in Barracks two, Pierce realized he could have a disaster on his hands. The close quarters, dampness, cold and wind, combined with lack of food, could cause a catastrophe. Just thinking about this caused his stomach to flip. He assumed both the Kommandant and Colonel Hogan were aware of these problems. Despite this, Wilson's reassurances, and the fact that the men weren't as sick as expected, he decided he would eventually have to personally address these concerns with the command staff.
One question in the back of his mind could get an answer, when a short while later, Kinch volunteered to escort him back to the infirmary.
Hawkeye was not about to bring up the elephant in the room, or in this case, the POW camp. But, he was curious. "So, how long have you been here, Sergeant?" he asked, as they walked across the compound.
"Call me Kinch. It's short for Kinchloe, by the way. Let's see. I've been here since late '42. Came in the same time as the Colonel."
Hawkeye hoped to discover how Kinchloe managed to get captured, but it appeared he wasn't volunteering the information. At least not yet. He looked at Kinchloe. "Long time."
It appeared that Kinchloe could read his mind.
"Colonel Hogan doesn't agree with certain army regulations, and the camp is really too small to segregate nationalities and other people. The Kommandant doesn't care as long as we behave. Although we do have some barracks with all French prisoners. LeBeau is part of the staff. Oh, and he is also a great chef." Kinch smiled.
"That's nice to know," Hawkeye replied, wondering why having a chef in a POW camp was of any importance. And then he had an epiphany. "This chef. LeBeau. Let me guess. He manages to make some of the food in the packages, um…actually edible?"
"You can say that," Kinch replied with a smile. "A lot of the men here eat in the mess hall. But, they'll bring some of the rations over as well. And it encourages socialization." He paused. "Although, when it's awful out, they'll try and throw something together in their huts.
Pierce's opinion of the colonel increased again, although he wondered if the C.O. would wind up in trouble with the American brass if his policies were discovered. Hawkeye, who was no stranger to flaunting authority when warranted, definitely approved of Hogan's actions. And it was the despicable racial and religious policies of the Nazi government that led Pierce to volunteer in the first place.
Hawkeye's fatigue and fright lifted after a few days, and it didn't take long for the doctor to realize something was off. Men would strike up small conversations, but they were trivial. He heard complaints about the weather, and talk about sports and movie stars. And then he became paranoid, as it appeared he was being followed, although for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. He thought back to his time at Stalag 5.
After a few minutes with the Kommandant's adjutant—he never actually spoke to the Kommandant—he was taken to the camp hospital, introduced to the staff and shown a cot. The German hospital administrator never set foot in the hospital; according to a young medic, the administrator was sick and recovering at home.
He shuddered at the memory of the spartan conditions. Medical supplies were extremely depleted and food rations were meager.
"We just lost two men last week," a harried American doctor told him. "Between the cold and starvation, I'm expecting more."
Hawkeye swallowed and nodded. The medical staff didn't look much better than some of the men in the beds. Their sunken eyes and dark complexions betrayed their failing health.
Why did it now appear like no one trusted him? What was different about this camp?
Obviously, size was a factor. The men he examined in the small infirmary were thin, but did not show signs of starvation. As he told Wilson, despite their respiratory illnesses, they still looked fairly healthy. Wilson reminded him that the entire camp would be in serious trouble if Red Cross packages didn't come through. He thought back to Kinch's earlier comment about LeBeau. Could the Frenchman's cooking skills factor into what he observed? A healthier population than he expected?
"So, Joe. How did you wind up here?" Pierce asked Wilson as they walked back from the mess hall. The rations served there weren't that palatable, but it was more than they received at the other stalag.
I came in with the Chaplain. We were captured in Italy," Wilson explained.
"Ah. I met him earlier today. Nice guy."
"Yes, he is," Wilson said. "And yes, I was in the last war. Stayed in the military after that, or what was left of it. Never settled down. I worked on training medics stateside, and then got sent over. I don't know what came over me, but I went back into the field."
Hawkeye noticed several other colored soldiers heading over to the showers. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that they were in a Luftwaffe camp. He wondered how they got captured. Despite the short conversation he had with Kinch, he was still curious. Maybe the sergeant was not being totally honest. "Does Kinch's position cause any issues?" he asked Wilson.
Wilson paused and stared at the doctor. "Anyone causing issues with colored or Jewish soldiers would face consequences," he said. And that was all the medic would divulge.
This odd cat and mouse game continued the rest of the week. Pierce eventually realized that the other men who came in with him vouched for one another, but there was no one to vouch for him. He kept to his meager duties and tried to befriend anyone he could. But he could sense the tension. Finally, the reason came to him. They thought he was a spy. He had no idea how to handle this weird situation. After Wilson laughed off his concerns, he decided to check with Carter. The tech sergeant was very talkative and empathetic.
He met up with him outside the mess hall that afternoon. "Hey, Carter. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, Hawkeye, what's up?"
"Nothing much; still feeling like the center of the universe."
Carter chuckled. "Why's that?"
"Let's walk. First, I thought it was me, attracting stares with my magnetic personality. But now, I'm convinced that I'm being followed."
"What makes you say that?" Carter put on an innocent expression. He led them to an out of the way bench over by the motor pool. They could hear the hammering over by the new huts, which were going up pretty quickly.
Hawkeye cleared his throat. "I guess since I'm new, I'm not trusted. And sometimes you have a gut feeling about these things. I admit that it seems weird. Colonel Hogan tried to slip me up the other day when he came to the infirmary. He started asking weird questions. Did I know this guy, or that one? I guess I passed, but it's just instinct." He grinned. "Look at this face." He pointed to his chin. "Does this look like the face of a spy to you?"
Carter gulped, but quickly put on his acting cap. "Um. No. I can't say it does. You look totally innocent to me. Hey, I heard you singing to yourself the other day. We're thinking of putting on a talent show. You interested? We sing. We'll also have a few skits."
"Sure. I'll sing in a group," Hawkeye told him. "But, I'm not that great." The doctor had no real interest in participating in a talent show, but he figured it was good for morale, and as a medical officer, he had to sacrifice himself for the good of the country and the prisoners.
"That's great! Hopefully, Klink won't insist on playing his violin."
Hawkeye stared blankly at Carter.
"Oh, sorry," Carter said. "You haven't had the pleasure of listening to the Iron Colonel's playing. Well, the lack of talent, actually. You can hear the cats howling all the way in Düsseldorf ."
"That should be an article in the Geneva Convention," Hawkeye quipped. They both laughed.
Meanwhile, Carter now had to tell Hogan that he had to get permission for a talent show. Oh well. It had been a while since the last one. They were always good for diversions. And it was the quickest way to change the subject.
A/N: The initial part of Hawk and Carter's conversation (magnetic personality) was Sierra's contribution.
Hawkeye seems to be cured of disinterest in performing by the time he gets to Korea.
If you are interested in finding out how Kinch and the other African-Americans wound up getting captured, please check out my story, What's in a Name. (starting with chapter 29)
As to Roy Goldman: from IMDB.
"Roy Goldman is best known for playing a corpsman (sometimes an MP) on the TV series M*A*S*H. Throughout the run of the series, he was mostly referred to by his character's last name, "Goldman". However, on at least one episode, he was referred to by his character's first name, "Roy". In other words, Roy Goldman played a character named Roy Goldman."
"Roy Goldman appeared in the opening title montage of Hogan's Heroes, essentially making him part of the cast of every episode." He was frequently seen lounging on a top bunk in Barracks 2, and spoke in several episodes.
I know I mentioned the chaplain, and I have my own chaplain OC. (John Waverly) But, unfortunately, too much going on here to include him.