Chapter 28
Uijeongbu Korea; June 5th, 1952
"How's that stomach, Cochran?" Hawkeye asked, leaning on the end of one of the patient's beds in Post Op.
"Not too good sir." The boy said weakly.
"Well considering all the iron I took out of you, that's not surprising." Hawkeye replied, "Every compass in Korea was pointing at your belly button."
Ellie Marie placed a hand on Hawkeye's arm, and turned him away from the patient.
"His fever's still up." She said quietly, handing him a chart.
"101.6…." He said, "Hey kid you're into the F.M. dial" He teased, as he sat back down beside him, "Let me take a look here. I always like to admire my work." He lifted the bandage and sighed, "Huh….my yellow period. Okay Ellie, take a culture and pack it open. Increase his I.V. to 150 c.c.s per hour and start him on penicillin and streptomycin."
"Yes Doctor." Ellie Marie said.
"You got a little infection but don't worry about it," Hawkeye said to the patient, "We're gonna get you fixed, in about two weeks we're gonna have you feeling better than ever. Unfortunately I don't have any meds to help with how you're gonna feel when you find out she's engaged." He teased.
The Private who had been staring at Ellie Marie as Hawkeye was speaking to him, jumped at being caught and blushed. Ellie Marie gave him a kind smile and shook her head at Hawkeye.
"Hey do you wanna…." Hawkeye said to Ellie Marie, nodding towards the desk where B.J and Charles were having a discussion over several charts, as they walked he motioned to Margaret as well from the other end of the ward.
"Folks…we've gotta have a little staff meeting about all these staph infections." Hawkeye said quietly, once they were all gathered around the desk.
"Who is it this time?" Margaret asked.
"Cochran." Ellie Marie said.
"And I've taken every precaution!." Hawkeye sighed, "I even put hospital corners on his bandage."
"It's appalling." Charles said, "It's our own version of germ warfare."
"It seems like we've checked everything too." Ellie Marie said, "the autoclave, anesthesia tubes, suction machines…"
"Partridge in a pear tree…" Hawkeye added.
"Yeah, and I always wash at least one hand when I operate." B.J. quipped.
"I know it's clean in here." Margaret said, "Everybody who comes close to these patients has been checked out."
"Well if we eliminate Post Op we are left with, 'op'." Charles said.
"Whatever's causing the infections has to be in the O.R." Ellie Marie agreed.
"I think we should just stop letting all these sick people in." Hawkeye said.
"Pierce…save the jokes for the operating room. You'll kill off every germ in the place." Charles said dryly.
One of the patients at the end of the row began to groan loudly, and thrash in his bed.
"I'd better go check on him." Margaret said.
"If he has a staph infection I'm quitting!" Hawkeye called after her.
"So shall we head to the potential scene of the crime?" B.J. asked.
"Might as well." Ellie Marie said.
They walked through the Post Op doors that led into the main office. Klinger was seated at his desk filling out paperwork. He looked up as they entered.
"Hey docs! And pretty nurse." He winked at her, "What can I do ya for?"
"Don't mind us Klinger, we're just passing through." Hawkeye said, as he made his way to the scrub room doors on the opposite side of the room. Ellie Marie followed but made a slight detour to give Klinger a quick kiss.
"Is there some rule that says you two cannot occupy the same space for even the briefest of moments without touching?" Charles asked dryly as they walked into the scrub room.
"Of course there is." She answered smugly.
"Oh leave them alone Charles….they're newly engaged, not being able to keep their hands off each other comes with the territory." B.J. said.
"Alright, so what are we missing?" Hawkeye asked, as they entered the O.R., "tables, instruments, trays, even the lights are cleaned and sterilized before and after every session. All surfaces and the floors are cleaned twice a week, and just like in Post Op, every person who comes in contact with a patient goes through the same cleaning and sterilization routine."
"It's possible that a stray corpsman here or there might be neglecting scrubbing as thoroughly as should." Charles suggested.
"Yeah, but that should only cause a handful of infections at most." B.J. said, "the rate at which they've been going up suggests a consistent issue."
"What about the floors?" Ellie Marie asked.
"I just said they get bi weekly cleanings." Hawkeye replied.
"Let me rephrase that." Ellie Marie said, "what about the cracks between the boards on the floors?"
B.J. and Hawkeye looked at her and then at each other.
"Now why didn't we think of that?" Hawkeye asked, and he grabbed a scalpel from the tray as they both dropped to their knees to examine the floor boards.
"Ugh….this is disgusting." B.J. said, scraping a chunk of gunk out of one of the cracks.
"Hey Charles, why don't you get down here so the germs can get a better shot at you?" Hawkeye called.
"Because I can see from here it's a veritable Shangri-la for bacteria to breed." Charles replied.
"Look at this stuff…." B.J. pulled out a particularly nasty clump of something Ellie Marie didn't want to know the origin of, "one good draft in here and before you know it the wounds get wind of it."
"You know Charles, this floor is a lot like you." Hawkeye said getting back to his feet, "full of culture and breeding no one can tolerate." Charles gave him a mocking smile in return.
"So now we know the source of the issue. How do we fix it?" Ellie Marie asked.
"You know…I hate to put the knock on wood, but if we replace it with the same kind of floor, we've got a new home for old germs." B.J. pointed out.
"Yeah…." Hawkeye agreed, "I'm thinking we need something more concrete."
"Well….you know what our next step should be then." Ellie Marie said.
"To the Colonel?" B.J. asked.
"To the Colonel." She confirmed.
————
"Folks, I hate to throw cold sarsaparilla on your scheme," the Colonel said a few minutes later, "but every time I've put in for one it's been denied."
"Good grief, all we're asking is for the corps of engineers to lay down a cement floor!" B.J. said exasperatedly.
"I've been down that road before and believe me, it ain't paved," the Colonel said heavily, "They never run out of ink for their 'no' stamp."
"Oh what nonsense…" Charles grumbled.
"Colonel, what would you say if we made the call ourselves?" Hawkeye asked.
"This time it'll be our nickel." B.J. added.
"Alright, you've got carte blanche." The Colonel said, "Believe me, nothing would make me happier than to see you succeed, but the way the engineers look at it, we're a M*A*S*H unit. They won't give us anything we can't fold up and carry or stuff in a duffel. They never let us forget that the M stands for mobile.
———-
"I know the M stands for mobile, but we haven't moved in months!!" Hawkeye yelled into the phone a few minutes later as they all crowded around Klinger's desk. Ellie Marie was sitting perched on Klinger's knees, as much to annoy Charles as to be close to Klinger.
"Because we like it here!" Hawkeye continued, "it's near shopping and transportation and wounded! Look…look..wait a minute! What is so difficult about a floor? All you have to do is come in and slip it under the door! No! no! no! Don't……..Hello?"
He put down the phone and sighed heavily.
"So when's it coming?" Klinger said with a smirk.
"We wanna be sure someone's home when they deliver it." B.J. added.
"Once again the army proves Darwin's theory of survival of the twittest." Hawkeye grumbled.
"You guys are going about this all wrong…" Klinger said, shaking his head, "you gotta learn to think like the army. If you want sugar, you gotta say 'pass the salt'"
"We want concrete. What do we ask for, feathers?" Hawkeye asked.
"Close." Klinger said, leaning around Ellie Marie to grab the phone, "Let me demonstrate Oh Outranking One's. Hello? Quartermaster? How are the kids and Mrs. Master?"
"And they say we do all the operating…" Hawkeye quipped, and Ellie Marie winked at him.
"This is M*A*S*H 4077th, your buddy Klinger here." Klinger continued, "A 3 star is coming to visit next week. Intelligence has it that the general loves barbecued pig. Right. So we got the bricks for the barbecue but what we don't have is the cement to mix the mortar for them." He shot them all a wink.
"The future father of my children, gentlemen." Ellie Marie said, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"He's the Genghis of Con." Hawkeye said in amazement.
"We're in the presence of Sitting Bull." B.J. agreed.
"Huh? Oh yeah….a huge barbecue with a little patio around it for the general's chaise lounge." Klinger said, "Alright. Thank you Sergeant. You're a credit to your uniform." He hung up the phone and put his hands up in triumph, "Your cement's in the bag." He said with a grin. They all cheered and Ellie Marie kissed him.
"If there's any left over I'm erecting a monument to you!" Hawkeye said excitedly, "in fact Ellie, it's pistols at dawn. I challenge you for the right to marry him!"
"Not a chance." She said with a grin.
"I don't mean to cast aspersions on you dishonesty." Charles said, "but when they get here and find out the barbecue is actually a slab in the O.R., what makes you think they'll still put it in?"
"Who said they would in the first place?" Klinger responded, "I was talking to quartermasters, not engineers. Engineers build, Q.C. just delivers and dumps.
"Dare one inquire what that means?" Charles asked.
"You gotta put the floor in yourselves." Klinger said.
"Us….put in cement?" B.J. said laughing.
"We're doctors, not dentists." Hawkeye agreed, "The closest I get to building anything is when I make my bed."
"Gentleman, once again our trusty Arab has led us to a mirage…" said Charles.
"Fear not! This Arabian knight is gonna save your day!" Klinger retorted.
"Ooo Arabian knight, I like it. I'm filing that one away for later use." Ellie Marie said quietly, and he smirked.
"I know everything you ever wanna know about concrete." Klinger explained to the doctors, "I spent two summers working with my Uncle Amos, he's in the bird bath business."
"What'd you do? Hang up the little curtains?" B.J. teased.
"No, I mixed the cement and poured the molds." Klinger retorted, "which makes me a fountain of knowledge."
"Well well…." Ellie Marie said, giving them a smug smile, "my blue collar fiancé's looking pretty good right now isn't he doctors?
"What do ya say Beej?" Hawkeye said, looking over at his partner in crime, "You wanna take a crack at it?"
"What do we have to lose?" B.J. said with a shrug.
"For one thing, me." Charles said, "These hands work on nothing lower than an appendectomy."
"Oh well….I guess our loss is our gain." Ellie Marie mocked, and Charles rolled his eyes.
"Ok Klinger, you're on. But you better know what you're doing." Hawkeye said.
"Trust me, I know cement." Klinger replied, "It's not that hard."
———-
"Let's get moving!" Klinger barked the next day, as they began unloading the bags of cement, "this is your foreman talking!"
"Wait a minute….who made you foreman?" B.J. asked.
"I thought the selection was automatic considering my background."
"Well you can take your background and go sit in the background." Hawkeye said.
"You got it boss." Klinger said, "but one quick question before I go. What's the formula for mixing concrete?"
He crossed his arms and smugly waited for Hawkeye's answer.
"Why don't you handle this one Beej?" Hawkeye said.
"Don't look at me. Ask the foreman." B.J. said, tossing another bag of concrete onto the ground.
Ellie Marie wolf whistled at Klinger from her spot sitting on the hood of a jeep with a glass of lemonade in her hand.
"Hey baby you're one hell of a dime! Why don't you give me your number so I can take you out sometime!" She called teasingly.
"How about you get over here and help out!" Hawkeye shot back, "this isn't a spectator sport!"
"Nah….I got an exemption." She said, sipping her lemonade.
"Oh yeah?" What's that?"
"I'm sleeping with the foreman."
"Alright listen up!" Klinger said, "Concrete is a mixture consisting of four elements. Cement, sand, gravel and water. All combined in precise proportions."
"Ah, Klinger. Punching in the old lunch pail crowd?" Colonel Potter asked, walking up beside him.
"Please Colonel, no sidewalk superintendents." Klinger responded.
"You'd better be quiet, Colonel. Can't you see Klinger has the floor?" Hawkeye quipped.
Margaret walked over and climbed up on the jeep next to Ellie Marie.
"How's the construction circus going?" She asked.
"So far so good." Ellie Marie answered, "I'd say there's a solid….50% chance we get a new floor." Margaret laughed.
"So I never got to ask you. Was that patient in Post Op alright? The one you went to check on yesterday?"
"Ugh Ignazio….yes he's fine." Margaret said with an eye roll.
"Ignazio?" Ellie Marie questioned, "you two are on a first name basis?"
"Only because he's decided he's completely obsessed with me!" Margaret said, "he was upset yesterday because he got a dear John letter, I tried to cheer him up by reminding him of all the wonderful things he still had to live for and now he thinks he's in love with me!"
"Yeah I did that once too, now I'm engaged." Ellie Marie joked, and Margaret laughed appreciatively.
"He's sweet and all, but my goodness….you wouldn't believe how single minded these swarthy, hot blooded men can be when they've got…certain things on the brain!" Margaret said, "he's relentless."
Ellie Marie leaned over and looked pointedly from Margaret to where Klinger was shouting and blowing his whistle at B.J. and back again, and then raised an eyebrow. Margaret laughed again and shook her head.
"Ok…..so maybe you would believe it," She admitted.
Ellie Marie made her way back across the compound with a pitcher of lemonade and several glasses as the midday sun beat down on the men hard at work. Father Mulcahy had joined the team and was happily singing to himself as he stirred the cement mixture for Hawkeye to shovel into a wheelbarrow.
"Five minute break for refreshments?" She asked.
"Ugh bless you, beautiful." Hawkeye said, putting down his shovel and taking the glass from her.
"You know….it's too bad you guys didn't come up with this plan a few months ago when it was cooler out." She said as she handed a glass to the Father, "doing this kind of work in the height of the summer heat isn't exactly ideal."
"Yeah if only we could have planned out when the dirt and grime from the floor was going to start being an issue…." Hawkeye said.
B.J walked down the hill from the open Pre Op doors, and reach his hand out for some lemonade.
"How's everything going inside?" Ellie Marie asked as she handed it to him.
"Slowly but pourly." He quipped, drinking it down in one gulp,
"You know I never realized how tiring total exhaustion could be." Hawkeye said, refilling his glass
"I'd be delighted to switch. You can push the tricycle." B.J kicked the wheelbarrow, "I'll stay out here with Der Bingle." He winked at the Father and he smiled back.
"No no….you'd never get it right." Hawkeye replied, "besides I'm the only one Klinger trusted with his secret recipe."
As if on cue, Klinger came stomping out of the Pre Op blowing his whistle.
"Let's go! Let's go! Move your butts sirs! We're in the concrete business, not the goldbrick business!"
"You know I'm not sure I like this new bossy side of him….I want our loveable doofus back." B.J. grumbled.
"You might not like it…but I sure do." Ellie Marie said with a smirk, watching Klinger with admiration.
"Down girl…" Hawkeye teased.
"Come on boss, we're dead on our feet!" He complained as Klinger reached them.
"We're taking a coffin break." B.J. agreed.
"No time!" Klinger replied, "The entire floor has to be poured wet! If that isn't done fast enough to set and dry in one piece, it'll be full of cracks!"
"Well why didn't you say that before!" Hawkeye said, as he jumped up and began shoveling cement again.
"Any idiot knows that…" Klinger said with a shrug.
"He's got us there…" B.J. muttered.
"If you want this job done right you gotta pick up the pace!" Klinger said, clapping his hands together.
"Everyone's working to their utmost Corporal." Father Mulcahy said.
"Well then everyone isn't enough." Klinger replied, "We'll either have to get more people, or less floor.
Ellie Marie sighed and set the pitcher of lemonade down on the hood of the jeep.
"Alright…let it never be said I don't pull my weight." She said, "Where do you want me foreman?"
"For the project Corporal. We're on a deadline." Hawkeye clarified with a wink.
"Take over mixing for the Father, then he can grab that second wheelbarrow and help Hawkeye so we get double the cement flowing." Klinger said.
"You got it boss." She said with a wink, and he grabbed her chin and kissed her quick before heading back inside.
"How come I never get that kind of thank you when I follow orders?" B.J. quipped.
Ellie Marie shot him a wry smile before taking up the Father's spot and beginning to mix the cement with the trowel.
"Alright Ellie, being that you're part of his inner circle, I think I can probably trust you with Klinger's secret cement recipe." Hawkeye said.
"Hawk…I'm relatively sure it's just the standard ratio for mixing cement." She said with a laugh.
"Hello all…."Charles said, sidling smugly up to the group, "Hope you're having a good time playing in your sandbox."
"Why Charles….how nice of you to drop by." Hawkeye said pleasantly.
"No at all…." He replied.
"Just when we were needing help." Hawkeye added, and Charles quickly did a double take and moved to back away.
"Help Ellie stir so the Father can go round up a few more recruits."
"Surely you jest." Charles said, shaking his head, "You don't actually expect me to…"
"Charles pick up that hoe or I'll have you spayed." B.J. threatened.
"Now please gentlemen….." Charles whined.
"Start mixing Charlie or you'll be part of the floor…." Hawkeye said.
"Come on little buddy….it's gonna be ok." Ellie Marie said, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to the mixing trough where she handed him the hoe.
———-
"It's beautiful Klinger!" Margaret said a few hours later as they all stood admiring their newly laid floor.
"Better than that. It's flat!" B.J. happily.
"Klinger, we owe you our thanks." Colonel Potter said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations indeed Corporal." Charles added, "I've always been envious of your swarthy types, and your natural gift for demeaning labor."
Ellie Marie opened her mouth for a scathing comeback, but to her surprise Margaret beat her to it.
"If I were Klinger, I'd resent that Mr. Clean Jeans!" She snapped, and Ellie Marie shot her an appreciative grin.
"Well I am him, and I do resent it." Klinger said over his shoulder.
"Yes sir folks, Klinger's magic elixir." Hawkeye said, "Cures any kind of infection. One part cement, four parts sand and six parts gravel."
"Oh no…." Klinger said, looking at Hawkeye with dread, "Please tell me you didn't just say six parts gravel."
"I said six parts gravel because you said six parts gravel!" Hawkeye snapped.
"I never said six parts gravel in my life!" Klinger shot back, "I said four parts sand three parts gravel!!"
"Congratulations…." Charles said, poking his finger into the soupy mess, "We've just laid 240 cubic feet of oatmeal."
"Klinger how could you make such a dumb mistake!" Margaret snapped, "Why don't you use your brains for once!"
"Hey! Back off Margaret!" Ellie Marie bristled, "He mixed up one number it could have happened to anyone."
"Yes, but it happened to the man who did a whole lot of talking about his cement expertise and just made us do a half days worth of back breaking labor for nothing!" B.J. replied.
"I didn't mix up anything!" Klinger said loudly, "my instructions were clear as day!"
"Well don't look at me!" Hawkeye said, "I've got those instructions right here! And they say…" He pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. "One part cement, four parts sand and….."
He trailed off and looked up at them. Klinger crossed his arms smugly and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Well how was I supposed to read your chicken scratch anyway!" Hawkeye said, and they all groaned loudly.
"Alright alright folks…." The Colonel said, raising his hands for quiet, "The bare fact is that we haven't got a floor to stand on. Let's face it Pierce, your little undertaking has only served to make a bad situation worse."
"If I were you I wouldn't use the word undertaking when shovels are around…" Ellie Marie muttered, as everyone glared at Hawkeye.
"You're all missing the point." The Colonel continued, "Ideally, cement is infinitely superior to wood, but I think you will agree that wood is equally superior to the Okefenokee Swamp! I think I speak for the vast majority when I say, we can have the wood floor back in an hour. Let's do that, and get a good night's sleep."
They all murmured their agreement and headed for the doors.
"Hold it a second." Hawkeye said, "I've got a better idea. Why don't we just all go out and get the old wood, and then instead of making a floor let's avoid the middleman and go right to coffins. Because as sure as we're standing here some kid is gonna die of infection and we're just gonna have to live with it. So let's just turn in, and see if we can all sleep with that ok? Pleasant dreams."
They all shifted uncomfortably, not meeting his eye.
"Ok….you're right." Ellie Marie admitted, "So what do we propose we do about it?"
"Well….we've still got plenty of cement." He answered.
They gave a long collective sigh, and wearily trudged back out the door.
"Alright men. We've got blisters to tend to! Band aids all around!" Klinger said, blowing his whistle again.
"We'll go get some hot coffee going." Maragret said, and she pulled Ellie Marie toward the mess tent.
"Sorry about before." She said as they walked, "for laying into Klinger like that. I'll apologize to him too."
"It's ok, Major. We were all on the verge of a melt down in that moment. No one was at their best, and you defended him from Major Pomposity as well. I did notice that, thank you." Margaret smiled and gave her arm a squeeze.
"Carissima!" A tall Italian man with a handlebar mustache jumped out from beside the shower tent and into their path making them both scream.
"I have returned to you!" He grabbed Margaret and attempted to pull her into his arms.
"Ignazio!" Margaret said, pushing hard against his chest to try to extricate herself, "What are you doing here?? You're supposed to be back with your unit!"
"You know why I am here!" The man said, attempting to kiss her, "You're lips, they said 'Go away,' but your eyes they said, 'Go AWOL, amore!"
Margaret wrestled against him and sighed exasperatedly.
"You need some help there, Major?" Ellie Marie said, chuckling, the man looked up.
"Who is this, amore?" He asked.
"This is Captain Lennox. She's my Assistant Head Nurse." Margaret said.
"My my….Ignazio had no idea so many beautiful strong women could be found in one place! Please to know you bellissima!" Elle Marie laughed.
"You are quite the shameless flirt aren't you?" She said, and Ignazio grinned in response, "Well paesano, I hate to break it to you but I am not in the market for a swarthy exotic lover." She held up her hand, wiggling her finger so her engagement ring sparkled in the moonlight.
"Brava to you bellissima!" Ignazio said jovially, "You please tell my Margarita of the joys of this kind of love! She spurns me at every turn! My heart is broken!" Margaret rolled her eyes.
"If you don't let me go and get back to your unit, your heart isn't going to be the only thing that gets broken!" She snapped, "go ahead and get the coffee Ellie, I'll meet you in there." She added to Ellie Marie.
———
"No doubt about it." Klinger said, wrapping his arms around Ellie Marie and resting his chin tiredly against her shoulder, "It's the right color and the right texture. In a few hours, we'll have a solid wall to wall floor."
"And now if our beloved foreman will initial his masterpiece in the lower right hand corner." Hawkeye said, holding a tongue depressor out to Klinger.
"It would be an honor, and only fitting!" Klinger said, squatting down to put his initials in the cement.
"Hey, why don't you give us a nose print?" Hawkeye quipped, "It'd be a great attraction here at Grauman's hopefully not Chinese Theater."
"Where's Charles?" Ellie Marie asked, "please don't tell me he went to bed early. I swear I will fill his shoes with whatever cement we have left and drop him in the Yalu River."
"She is spending way too much time around you." B.J. said to Klinger, who grinned in response.
"No, he actually went around to place a Caution sign on the office door, while the cement dries." Hawkeye explained, "it was a very helpful idea. And believe me, I was as shocked as the next guy."
At that exact moment Charles came strolling into the O.R., clearly distracted and walked several feet across the floor before realizing what he had done. He looked up at the horrified faces staring at him from the Pre Op door, and then back at the equally shocked faces of Margaret and Ignazio at the scrub room door.
"Charles….couldn't you just sign your initials like everyone else?" Hawkeye said.
————
"Come on. Why won't you guys tell me where we're going?" Private Cochran said, as Ellie Marie pushed him through the main office in his wheelchair.
"It's a surprise!" Hawkeye replied, "Got a little job for you."
"Oh yeah? What kind of job?" Cochran asked.
"We thought you might perform a little surgery for us." B.J. said with a smile, opening the O.R. doors to reveal a bright red ribbon across the doorway.
"These are for you." Ellie Marie said with a smile, handing him a pair of scissors.
"Before we have this official ribbon cutting. I'd like to thank you all for breaking your britches!" Colonel Potter said to the group, "And I'd like to single out a few folks for special commendation. First, Captains Pierce, Hunnicutt, and Lennox, for their corking initiative in going over my head right to Corporal Klinger!"
They all laughed, and Klinger gave a jaunty salute.
"Next Major Winchester."
"Major Winchester!" Both Hawkeye and B.J complained.
"He didn't do anything!" Ellie Marie protested.
"Pipe down….this is an operating room!" The colonel said, "As I was saying…to Major Winchester for showing that a man can be neat, clean, and bathed, and still end up smelling bad."
They all gave an appreciative laugh, and Charles rolled his eyes.
"Now you're talkin' sir!" Klinger said appreciatively.
"Finally, to Corporal Klinger!." Colonel Potter continued, "It's thanks to his horse trading skills that we got the material for one hell of a concrete floor!"
They gave him an enthusiastic round of applause and Ellie Marie leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"I owe it all to my men sir." Klinger replied with a smile.
"I've long suspected that one sure fire way to get this ornery bunch off their back pockets is to tell them something can't be done!" The Colonel said, "and without knowing I was doing it, I found out I was right. Padre?"
"Oh, yes sir." Father Mulcahy said, he bowed his head and everyone else followed suit, "Dear Lord, we ask you to bless this floor, and may it be used as little as possible."
"Amen…" They all murmured.
"Ok Cochran! This is your big moment!" B.J. said.
The Private grinned and cut through the red ribbon as they all cheered and applauded.