Bright and early the next morning Walter headed to the recruiting center in town to see what they could help him with. He must have been standing outside too long, just staring at the building, because a 2nd Lt. came out in the kind of shined and polished dress uniform no one at the 4077th would wear for fear of destruction. Instinctively, he began to salute the officer, forgetting he was no longer in the Army.
"At ease, son. Civilians don't salute and it's mighty disrespectful like to pretend. Some of them boys that come back don't take to kindly to folks that do." Now smiling, the Lt. gestured to the door. "But if you are here to sign up, we'll get you squared away in no time at all."
Walter flushed in embarrassment. "Oh no, sir!" he exclaimed as they entered. "I was a corporal in the 4077 M.A.S.H. over in Korea and a 2nd Lt. officer type like you gets saluted. It's hard to remember I'm not still there sometimes."
The Lt. cocked his head and gave Walter another look over as they sat at his desk. "A corporal, huh? Army or Marines?"
Walter blinked a bit, thrown by the change of attitude. "Uhmm...Army, sir. I tried the Marines first, but they said they couldn't take me on account of my glasses and all."
The man shook his head mightily. "That is a load of horse hockey!" he spat. "Only combat assets get bucked for having glasses. Plenty of other places a fine young man like you coulda been. What did you do for the Army, son?"
"Well when I went to Korea I was a General Clerk." Walter started.
"MOS 4055, right?" The Lt. interrupted.
"Oh yes, sir. I was assigned to a M.A.S.H. unit; the 4077. Best in all Korea, sir." Radar bragged.
"I actually heard of them." The man remarked, impressed. "Heard their first company clerk was something else. Something else indeed. Heard that young man ran that camp like a Swiss clock. They were short supply officers, medical acquisition specialists, and every other damn thing as well. Heard that by the time he left on a hardship discharge he had so many secondary MOS specialities that he should have been promoted a couple a times, and that woulda made him a non-com thrice over. Maybe even more. I think I even heard he redid the entire SOP for a clerk by the time he was done. Left a book for the next guy and it became gold."
Walter was astounded by what he had heard. Nobody from back at camp ever told him that! They told him they missed him. They told him it wasn't the same without him. The even said Klinger wasn't nearly as good as him. He just put it all down to sour grapes. "Wowie!" was all that he could manage to force out.
The Lt. was still thinking on that manual. It really was great. It adapted phenomenally well to other types of commands as well, like his own. "You know, he retired out here in the Midwest somewhere. Ohio or even Iowa. Somewhere here abouts. But you didn't come to rehash the past! What brings you by the recruiting center today?"
This was it. Walter had butterflies in his stomach and his throat was bone dry. "Well sir, I took a hardship discharge when my Uncle Ed died and my Momma got sick and we were gonna lose our farm."
"Was that a KCO, sole surviving son serving in Korea, or a KDH, Korean service discharge for dependency or hardship?" The Lt. interrupted again. The man either saw where this was going or was the most curious person on the planet.
"Just a NDB, general hardship discharge, sir. Didn't know they had special discharge codes for Korean service until I was the one leaving, sir. I wanted to know if I could reenlist in the Army or join up someplace else. I still kinda wanna be a Marine, ya know." Walter confided.
The Lt. nodded. "Some dreams are worth it, son." He had a good feeling about this youngster. He would go places and make his mark on the world. He pushed a piece of paper across the desk. "You write down your particulars; full name, service number, date of birth, date of enlistment, anything else you can remember about your jacket or off your DD214 form. I'll track down your file and put together some options for you."
As he watched, the young man seemed to be mentally filling out forms because the way he placed the information seemed both very precise and very random. "You come on back by at the end of the month and we'll see what's what.
When the former corporal had left the office, he pulled out a D4 enlistment form and laid it over the piece of paper with the requested info. He held it to the light, but was disappointed when only a few points matched. He had been so sure that he was right! All the information was imprinted so precisely! It was almost as if the lad had used a ruler. He told him to put down everything he remembered from his DD214 discharge form and... oh. He got out the appropriate form and matched the corners. Once again he held the paper to the light. It matched exactly! "Shoo whee! Would you look at that!" His cries brought over the other men in the command. The Lt. proudly showed off the matching form. All that talk earlier about the clerk from the 4077th was beginning to slot into place.
When Walter got home he decided to write to Col. Potter. He knew that Col. Potter was stationed out of Fort Benning, Georgia because that was "Home of the Cavalry" and the Col. had been very excited about that. He and his mare would fit in just fine. Walter explained about wanting to rejoin the service and asked if there was anything Col. Potter could do to help him along or if he had any advice for him.
Walter also wrote to Hawkeye, Trapper, BJ, and Klinger. He wanted the advice and opinions of his friends. They were a bit older, more worldly, and lived in places a lot less sheltered than Ottumwa, Iowa. There was nothing wrong with Ottumwa, it just wasn't San Francisco, Chicago or even Boston.
Col. Potter's letter a few weeks later was full of encouragement, tip, and jokes. The best thing he got from him though was a leather writing portfolio with a folder for documents and his name embossed in gold on the cover. Inside was his very first letter. The Col. had told him to begin collecting such letters of recommendation and character. Having these letters would show he was a man of organization, consistency, and decency. They would show that he could pull order from any chaos, bedlam, or confusion.
Col. Potter also informed Walter he had been assigned a teaching and training post at Fort Sam Houston come the new year. He was told Mrs. Potter had fussed, but carried on, and issued a blanket invitation to drop by any time he was in either area.
Tapper John McIntyre sent him a nice letter for his folder and a personal one filled with advice about women, of all things! He said that with Walter leaving the farm and his parents gone, it was up to his friends to outfit him for his new life. Trapper sent him a diver's watch with a note saying that real men had to trade in their Mickey Mouse watches to get a girl. It was really nice of him to send something. Walter didn't realize what getting off the farm meant to city folk or maybe he just didn't realize what he meant to them.
Klinger had sent him a real nice swiss army knife with bunches of gadgets to pull out and two Lebanese salami. His recommendation letter was important because it showed how men under his command felt about him. His personal letter was filled with escapades and adventures and even some patterns to trade with Jeong-hui with notes in Korean.
BJ, Peg, and the girls sent him a camera and few rolls of film. They also sent a tin of cookies. Peg had picked up a few things while BJ was in Korea about shipping packages, so on top of the cookies was a slice of bread to keep the moisture consistent and instead of newspaper to keep things from slipping, there were dozens of pairs of socks. Walter laughed upon seeing the socks because everyone who served in Korea now knew that clean or undarned socks were gold and you could never have enough. In fact, every soldier he knew dreamed of new socks from home, but with limited space, something else was always more important. He thought Peg's solution of packing material was brilliant.
Hawkeye was the most difficult letter for him to write because he knew that the man was staunchly opposed to war and the military itself. When Walter hesitated about coming home because he didn't feel Klinger could handle all his duties, Hawkeye had gone so far as to repack his belongings and put it on a jeep for him. The surgeon had not been able to understand why he wanted to stay. In the end, Walter had written the letter because he didn't want a man he looked up to and considered a good friend to hear it from someone else.
Walter was surprised to find a letter of recommendation with the package from Hawkeye. It said that while he did not agree with the military as a whole, Radar was one of the best men he knew and that the former clerk had the heart of an officer. Hawkeye told Walter that he he didn't support the military, his decision, or his future going forward, but that he would always support three things; Radar as a person, taking your mind off things, and alcohol. With that deeply conflicted message the man had sent him a beautiful set of poker chip in a velvet lined wooden case and a bottle of premium whiskey. He said poker games in the swamp were the highlight of his war and he hoped that Radar could do that for others as well.
When Walter returned to the recruiting center he had a pile of recommendations and a spring in his step because his friends believed in him. Opening the door caused a jaunty little bell to announce his presence to the office.
"Right on time, son." the Lt. greeted him. "Have a seat, we have a lot to go over. Your file was real quick to come. Seems that there were a few things that should have been corrected before you went home. I gotta say, son, this is one of the most impressive files I have ever had the privilege of reading. Talking about the rumors of what you did over there was nothing compared to what you actually did. It was sort of mind blowing. First was a DD215 correction form in your file that changes the rank you left at. Based on the promotion that was approved but not posted when you were discharged and the jump step extraordinary performance of duty promotion Col. Potter applied for that was also posted after you were sent home, you were actually an e-7, a Sergeant First Class in the Army." He paused to have Walter sign the form correcting that oversight. "Now, on to new business!" He cried.
Four piles of papers were laid on the table in front of Walter. The Lt. tapped the first two piles of paper and began to lay it all out. "The first option is simple and to be honest I don't really see it for you. Re-entering the Army or Marines as an enlisted non-commissioned officer, you will enter at the rank you left at e-7, Sergeant First Class," he said patting the first pile, "or a Gunnery Sergeant," patting the second. Walter made a bit of a face. "I didn't think you would like this one because it doesn't leave much room to grow. Only about 10 years and you would only be a e-9 when you retire. I have a feeling you are going the distance."
Now the recruiting officer patted the third pile of papers. "I don't think you will like this one either, but it will give you about 15 years and take you up to a 20 year pension. Both services offer a Warrant Officer program where you can specialize in something like supply or logistics or any of your many MOS specialities. You would be pigeonholed though, doing the same one thing for the rest of your career. Based on all those secondary MOS, I didn't think that was the one for you either."
The final pile of papers was pulled towards the 2nd Lt. "Officer training school can come from enlistment if you have a bachelor's degree, but since you enlisted right out of high school you don't have one. That leaves a military academy or ROTC at a civilian school. To be frank, I don't think civilian is the way to go for you. I focused on the military academies because that is what I know best and where I think you would shine, boy. Now, West Point is for the Army, and the Air Force has an academy in the works but it currently pulls from both West Point and the Naval Academy. Navy and the Marine Corp officers attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis and you said you always kinda wanted to be a Marine, so I made some calls. To get into a military academy you need a letter of recommendation from a congressman or a senator submitted before January 1 of the year you want to start classes. Traditionally that means before the summer you take your pre-class summer training or plebe summer, which starts on July 1. I talked to the Superintendent and the Commandant of Midshipmen, which are kinda like the College President and Dean of admissions, and they said if you could get a congressional or senatorial recommendation by June 30 you can start with the incoming class on the first. They think you are an exceptional young man and the future of the military, wherever you decide to go."
Walter took a big breath. That was a lot to process. Today was already the 27th! Thank goodness it was a Monday. If he got done here before 11 am he could head up to Des Moines and possibly see if he could find someone to talk him up based on his previous service. It was a miracle that the government stopped during the summer months for the farm states! It would be next to impossible, but if anyone could do it, Radar O'Reilly could!
"Now don't panic about how close it is to the deadline! I made some calls." The Lt. reassured Walter. He was right. Walter had been panicking a bit, but he also thrived on harnessing chaos and bringing it to its knees. The recruiter continued. "I didn't know who would respond, so I flooded the market, so to speak. I sent requests for recommendation to all the congressmen and senators that Iowa has and wouldn't you know it, every single one of them wrote you a letter of recommendation! To get your Permit to Report, which is like orders cut for a civilian, you have a meeting with the Superintendent and the Commandant at 9 am on the 30th. Induction day is the 1st and you will officially be in the US Naval Academy and my work is done!"
That was some impressive work to be sure! Now Walter needed to worry about getting there in time. Maybe not. It seemed the officer had just paused for breath. "Transportation!" he exclaimed. "I got you a military cargo flight leaving the Naval Air Station in Ottumwa at 10:00 hours tomorrow. You will land at Fort Sam Houston, Texas for about 2 hours. I advise food and a bathroom break. Another cargo flight will leave for Fort Benning, Georgia at that time. I couldn't find another flight going where you need until the next morning at 11:00 and I have no space in visiting officer's quarters or a barracks for you to stay. You will need to leave the base and get a motel."
Now it was Walter's turn to interrupt. "I actually may have a place to stay in Fort Benning if I can use your phone for a long distance phone call, please, sir."
"Alrighty then. So the flight to Annapolis will be met by a Naval Academy driver making a plebe pick up run. You stay overnight in Bancroft Hall and the rest is up to you." The 2nd Lt. said. "I have plans mapped out and transportation arranged for each of the options we discussed, but you and I both know what you really want to do. The question is, are you ready to commit?" He pushed the last stack of paperwork across the desk.
Walter knew what he wanted to do and even had the way to do it mapped for him. He had the adventure of a lifetime in front of him. All he had to do was say yes.
