GB – VFMA Part XVIII
Posted by Lex, on August 23, 2006
“This is BBS, Better Broadcasting Service. EWSL. FM stereo. Ninety-Six point Seven Megahertz. Broadcasting from the city of Olongapo. This station is a member of KBP.”
The radio started another song. A small group of mid crew sat at Piso Jimmy’s, telling the stories of the day. Jimmy’s wife worked in the kitchen, preparing a tray of barbeque sticks. Three girls sat with the Marines. One was clearly a girlfriend, the others hanging around, chatting and waiting for their bars to open.
“They caught him coming back across the river. He swam it, and the Filipino base security was waiting for him.”
Tom looked up, “Who swam the river? Are you kidding? Oh, man, that makes me gag to think about it. Who, why would anybody get in that river?”
“One of the cooks we brought with us, that little Lance Corporal that got so drunk our last night in Korea. This is what I heard. He’s been late, and they gave him a blue card. But he’s in love, and he’d been coming out in town anyway. He was going down through the jungle and calling across. Somebody was picking him up in a banka boat. He got to see his honey, and then early in the morning, he’d catch a ride back. Yesterday morning, no boats, no people. The riverbank was deserted. He was going to be late to the chow hall, time was running out, and panic set in, so he swam it.”
The group gathered was fascinated, like a group of spectators at a car wreck. The Olongapo River was known throughout West-Pac. On a hot day, some guys would hold their breath and jog across the bridge. The smell could be overwhelming.
“So, anyway, he climbs out and there’s this guard, with a shotgun pointed at him. The MP’s came, and made him ride in the back of a pickup up to sick bay. They made him shower outside, than scrubbed and showered him again. He’s headed back to Japan.”
“For being UA?”
The storyteller laughed, “No, ‘cause he can’t be a cook anymore. They held him, giving him shots and antibiotics for a couple of days. Once he didn’t get sick, they released him, with a note in his medical records that he’s at risk for hepatitis. Now he can’t be a cook anymore, so what is he? A grunt! I heard he’s on his way to Pendelton.”
“Well, what about his girl? Anyone tell her what happened?”
“Nope, so far nobody knows who she is. Looks like as far as she’s concerned he just disappeared.”
The group sat and considered, and finally someone laughed, and everyone joined in, “You know, he’s got one of the craziest stories of the deployment. Who’s ever going to believe him when he says that he swam across the ‘Po river?”
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