Chapter 3
It wasn't long before Johnny found himself in the operating room, elbow deep in blood and guts as a wave of wounded rolled in. He was placed near Hawkeye so the head surgeon could monitor the new doctor's work.
Hawkeye just adored Johnny. He was the little brother never had. He liked baseball, comic books, music and Americana. He was also a crack surgeon and held more degrees than all the doctors in the room combined. Hawkeye took young Johnny under his wing much to the dismay of Charles Winchester the Third who saw Hawkeye as the worst mentor figure for the boy.
Charles thought he should be the boy's mentor. He would mold in sophistication and culture. Immerse him in a world of classical music, classical plays, classical…everything. He spoke as he worked. "Tell me, Johnny. Do you play chess?"
Johnny nodded, "I play chess." Johnny was a natural champion at strategy games. "My grandpa taught me to play when I was two."
"I have a chess set. Perhaps, we can have ourselves a game." he suggested.
"Sounds good, Major." he agreed.
Radar walked into the room next. He was assisting in moving patients. He called, "Hey Johnny! I found that edition of the Flash that I was telling you about. Maybe we can borrow comics from each other?"
"That sounds great, Radar." he agreed as he operated.
Charles rolled his eyes for the young man seemed to get along better with enlisted than the doctors.
BJ noticed the new doctor got along better with young men closer to his own age. He rightly figured it was due to generation. Enlisted men were of the same generation as Johnny. Many were just a year or two older than the new doctor. He figured between Radar's comic books and Klinger's baseball team, Johnny would have a few good friends. He smiled under his mask as his fears for the young man faded.
Hawkeye added, "My protégé and I will be making our own comic book, Radar."
"Neat!" he cheered. "What will you call it, sirs?"
Hawkeye paused as he had yet to put any thought into the proposed comic book.
Johnny stated, "Hawkeye! The Mask Crusader."
BJ let out a laugh amused.
Margaret kidded. "He's a crusader alright."
Charles huffed, "Such rubbish!"
Hawkeye figured it was a joke. He went along with it. "I can be a great archer."
Radar grinned with a gleam in his eye. "Like Robin Hood."
"But set in a city." Johnny stated.
"That would be neat." the clerk cheered.
Colonel Potter requested "If you need any help with the comic book, I can help son. I'm good at drawing."
"Thank you sir." he replied. "I'm not too bad at drawing myself."
Potter suggested. "Make a comic book character based on me. Like the Lone Ranger."
Johnny pondered, "How about a old west comic book with a Doctor and cowboys."
"That sounds good too, son." he approved.
Charles sighed, "Such dribble."
Later
Johnny had completed rounds the next morning after a night of surgery. He did well both in the operating room and in the recovery ward. He got along well with the enlisted who were all his age.
The commanding officer of some of the wounded men rolled into the base in a jeep. He came to see his men. He was about forty years old and held the rank of Major. He wore his green fatigues and officer field cap with boots. He had dark hair with some gray and was a large framed man.
Major Mark Miller had come to see the wounded after the failed offense. He walked into the recovery ward and was greeted by a disturbing sight. He noticed a young man, wearing a white doctor's coat and sitting in a chair near the bed of one of the badly wounded men. He had a comic book in his hands and was reading the latest edition to the recovering solider. He approached to find out why that young man wore a lab coat. "How's it going?" he asked approaching.
The young wounded man looked up to his commander. "Major Miller. Captain Clements is reading the latest from Spiderman to me."
Johnny stood up to greet the Major. "Major."
He looked the young doctor over. "You are a doctor?"
"Yes sir." he nodded.
"No way." he shook his head. "Where is Colonel Potter?" He demanded to know.
BJ was in the recovery ward with Johnny. He approached. "There a problem, Major?"
He asked, "Is this kid a doctor?"
"He is and he operated on your man last night." he told him. "Saved his life."
"That kid is a surgeon?" he asked unbelieving.
"Yes." BJ told him. "He is a surgeon. He's an actual doctor."
"No way." he shook is head.
"Remarkable, there is no age requirement to be a doctor. Captain Clements had four doctorates and is a degree in medicine." He told him. "He's more than qualified."
"But he's a kid." he rebutted.
"So." BJ shrugged.
"He's a kid." he repeated.
Annoyed he asked, "He's the same age as your men. Your men can go fight in a war. Kill or be killed. Get all shot to pieces. But what? My doctor cannot be a doctor because he's too young. Seems backwards to me to be honest."
"Fine!" he backed off. "If you say he's a doctor then he's a doctor."
Johnny handed the comic book to the patient. "Here, I will leave this with you. When you are finished pass it around. A few others want to read it too."
He smiled brightly. "Thanks Doc."
"No problem." he assured. "Excuse me. I got things to attend to." he excused himself. He was done with rounds and was reading to the men on his own time. Upset, he left the tent and figured he could use a break in the mess tent.
BJ glared at the Major. "I don't care if you are a major or what rank you hold. You ever question my doctor again and I will write you up." he warned.
The Major repeated. "He's a kid. You don't expect to see some kid as a doctor."
"He's a child prodigy genius." he informed. "You don't find many of them either."
Meanwhile
Johnny made his way to the mess tent for a break. He gathered a cup of coffee and some bread with butter. He sat down at a table for a little peace a quiet.
Charles then came through the door. "Ah, there you are." He came to see Johnny who paused as he was about to eat. "I have the chess game all set up for us in our tent." he announced.
"Can we play later?" he asked. "I just need a break right now."
"Of course." Charles sat down at the table. "How's the boy with the bad belly wound you operated on last night?"
"He's recovering.' he nodded. It was the same boy he was reading the comic to when the Major stepped into the ward. He strained.
Charles stated, "You did a very job on that boy. I couldn't have done it better myself." he assumed he was worried.
"That's not it." he shook his head. "I was reading a comic book to him. He likes comics too. And his commanding officer marched in and started asking me if I was a real doctor. Captain Hunnicutt had to defend me. I felt so useless."
"I see." he let out a sigh. "In time you will grow into yourself. Few more years and no one will be asking you that question anymore. Think of it as temporary." he advised.
"I know it's just it's really annoying and kind of like a kick in the gut. I worked hard to get where I am and then complete strangers who don't know me doubt that I am actually a doctor."
"I can't imagine what you are going through." he confessed. "But, you will grow into yourself and your career. You are a very good doctor, Johnny. I would be proud to work with you in Boston after the war." he informed.
Remarkably, Charles made him feel better about the situation. He changed his outlook. "You're right. This is temporary. I will get older and eventually, no one will even question it."
He smiled. "That's my boy. Now, how about that chess game?"
He grabbed his coffee and bread. "Sure, Major."
"You may call me 'Charles'." he stated rising to the challenge of the game.