A Tale from the Hills (37 page)

The next morning William Robert Hill walked into a recruiting office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and signed up for military duty. As luck would have it the recruitment quota for that particular month was down by a small margin. If the recruiter rushed through his paperwork, William could be on a bus bound for Fort Dix, New Jersey, before sundown. Shortcuts were taken. Hell, he looked healthier than most ofthe recruits, and he could read and write and sign his name to all of the necessary documents. He probably was not smart enough to make General, but he said that he could fire a gun. He did not walk with a limp and he did not exactly talk like a sissy man.

“So hey man, You’re in the Army now Private Hill. Raise your hand and repeat after me…., and that is that.”

He slept almost all the way to New Jersey like a baby.

*********

William had never seen any place in his life that compared to Fort Dix. There was activity of every description going on all around him. He was reminded of a giant bees nest that he used to watch when he was just a little boy. He was completely overwhelmed by the massive scale of everything. It was like a city that was surrounded by fences and patrolled by guards. No one got out and no one got in, unless there was a valid reason to do so. He was officially a member of the United States Military, and he was terrified. And he was surrounded by hundreds, maybe thousands of men who were in the same boat with him. That was not even the worst part of the whole ordeal. He did not have his gun anymore. He did not have anything. He was as naked as a baby bird before it grew its feathers. Everybody was naked but there sure was nothing exciting about it.

Finally a man with a bad attitude came into the building and lined everyone up into two rows, single file. The new recruits slowly walked along a row of tables, stopping at each to either give something or get something. By the time that they had reached the other end of the long line, the recruits had been poked and probed, and pricked and prodded, and examined by a multitude of shouting men. From that building they were marched, still naked, into another building. They were examined and poked and screamed at some more, and finally each man was put into a chair and his head was shaved before he could even count to ten. With shavings of his own and everybody else’s hair all over him, William and the other recruits were lined up again, and showered and deloused, and allowed to barely dry off, before they picked up their brand new green uniforms and steel toed boots. With barely enough time to get dressed, they were marched outside into two long rows again, and a roll call was taken.

William answered when Hill, William was called, but the officer who called his name did not even bother to look up to see what he looked like. He had a name and a voice and that was sufficient. After roll call was taken the men were divided up into groups according to the alphabet. William was assigned to group G through L, and his barracks assignment was the same. The group that he was assigned to would be the same all through boot camp. William looked at the faces of his comrades and he wondered if he looked as scared and confused to them, as they did to him. He was beginning to think very seriously that he had made a big mistake.

The rest of that long day was spent in orientation and work assignments, and other details that the terrified recruits were supposed to memorize just as soon as they heard them. William was so overwhelmed by information that he wanted to cry, just like that first day of school what seemed like another life time ago. He suddenly longed to see thecomforting smile of Miss Coalson.

***********

The first few weeks were pure Hell, but by the end of six weeks, William had almost gotten used to the routine. That was much more than a few of the other recruits could say. Two men in his barracks were sent home after just two weeks, and a third man was placed in detention. Eventually he was sent home as well.

William’s best day by far was the day that weapons were finally issued. He could hardly wait to get his hands around the stock of his rifle, and feel his fingers on the trigger. He very carelessly aimed it at another recruit and was chewed out royally for doing it. But after all, it was a natural thing for him to do, judging from his past experiences, and he had to watch himself so that he did not do it again at least in public.

After six weeks of training he actually felt like a soldier. He was well disciplined and physically stronger than ever, and he was socially acceptable to the men around him. Men in authority called him a fit recruit who had turned into a good soldier. He was proud of himself again for the first time in months. He was beginning to think that he had found his niche in life. Deep inside the recesses of his mind there was a slight gnawing feeling that would not go away. If he allowed his attention to drift even for a few moments from the things that he was supposed to be doing, the gnawing feelings would resurface. So far he had been able to control the feelings, but he did not know how long that he could keep it up.

Weekend passes were allowed just as soon as boot camp was finished. William along with many of his barracks mates, took the thirty minute bus trip to Camden, New Jersey. It was very exciting to see heads that were not shaved and clothes that were different colors besides green. It was very nice to see females again in all shapes and sizes, going about their busy lives or even doing absolutely nothing.

William left the group as soon as he got the chance. He knew exactly where he had to be on Sunday in order to catch the bus back to the base. He planned on not seeing any of the faces that he ate with and slept with, and showered with, and marched with, and even crapped with, for the last two months or so. He had almost made a few friends for the first time in his life, but he needed to get away from them at least for a couple of days.

It did not take him very long to find an inexpensive room for the weekend in a section of the busy city that he had been warned to steer clear of. As a pre condition for the weekend pass, each man had to sit through a lecture about the evils in the world around them. The evils included illicit drugs, alcohol, loose women, and deviant men, who would corrupt their bodies as well as their minds. A detailed map was used to point out the sections of the city thatshould be avoided. William had listened and watched intently to make sure that he did not get lost.

The all too familiar looks and winks and glances and stares that he received, told him that he was in the right part of the city. He had a very good feeling that the gnawing feeling in the back of his head was soon to be satisfied, and he was happy.

On Friday night William’s big adventure took place in the city park. For the first time in his adult life he picked up someone who actually fought back. As a matter of fact, the man fought as if his life depended upon it and William had the bruises to prove it. The man fought a good battle but in the end he lost the war. William actually respected the man so much, that he hardly violated his body until he was sure that the man was dead.

On Saturday night William ventured out again to a bar that was just across the street from his hotel. The pressure was off because of the events of the previous night, so he sat back and enjoyed the music and the casual atmosphere of his surroundings. He was much too sore to attempt another adventure anyway.

As he sat there he reminisced about his time in Wilmington and Charleston that seemed like ages and ages ago. He drank a few more beers than he should have, and on Sunday he slept most of the day. He woke up just in time to clean up and have a good meal before he had to go back to the base. As he climbed aboard the bus on that Sunday night, he felt refreshed and alive again.

The Camden newspapers ran a brief story about the murder in the city park, but William was completely unaware of it. He had long ago stopped saving souvenirs of his accomplishments because each event was etched into his memory. He did however have a list of each of the men’s names that he had helped to find eternal peace, hidden with his personal effects.

***********

William’s time at Fort Dix was coming to an end just as the leaves were taking on their Fall colors. His ordersarrived the day before his final weekend pass was about to be processed. He found out that he was going to be stationed amazingly close to his old stomping grounds at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. He had mixed emotions about the place that had been his home for the better part of that year, and he would sorely miss Camden. The city had given him a total of five new memories to carry along with him to his next destination.

On the spur of the moment he decided to stay on the base instead of taking his weekend pass, so that he could say goodbye to some of the people who had made a good impression on him. The rapport that had been established between William and his Sergeant was one of mutual respect, or at least William thought so. That was the reason why William was so hurt and bewildered and humiliated at the ridicule that his Sergeant put him through in front of his peers at their last meeting. As William walked into the barracks, the Sergeant who was speaking much too loudly, which hinted to William that the man had been drinking, began to speak.

“Look men, here comes Hillbilly Bob.”

“Who?” one of the men asked.

“Hillbilly Bob, I didn’t stutter.” he replied.

“What are you saying?” William asked.

“Hey man, I call the roll everyday at least twice. When I get to Hill, then comma, and then William Robert. Day after day it begins to play games with my head. Hill, William Robert. Billy is short for William and Bob is short for Robert. Now everybody say, Hillbilly Bob. Come on kid, you have to see it too. And you’re from Virginia, so that makes you a Hillbilly Bob. It’s very funny, don’t you think?”

All of the men started to laugh, except poor William. He was as angry as he had ever been in his life. He was as angry as he was at the old man on that pier in Charleston, on that dark Sunday night. If he only had his trusty pistol that he tossed out of that preacher’s car, that was at the bottom of that river outside of Chattanooga, he would show that son of a bitch just how mad that he really was. Instead he used the only weapon that he had at his disposal. He jumped on that loud mouthed man with both feet and began beating him with both fists. Before the other men could pull William off of him, he had broken the Sergeant’s nose and knocked out both of his front teeth. The Sergeant would be out of commission for several months.

William was out of commission for a much longer period of time. He was charged with assault upon a superior officer, and with several witnesses testifying against him, he was convicted of that very serious offense. His sentence was two years in a military prison with a recommendation that he serve every single day. If the United States had not declared war upon Germany and Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he would have served the full sentence and thenbeen dishonorably discharged.

************

While William was languishing away his days and nights and weeks and months in a military prison, the rest of the world was moving at a deadly pace. The United States was channeling billions of dollars in weapons to England and France as a result of President Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease Act. In May of 1941 the President warned the nation that the United States participation in the War was almost imminent. It was becoming harder and harder to justify keeping the States out of military action. Finally on December 7 of that same year the Japanese mounted a surprise attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, sinking several American ships and killing many hundreds of American sailors. On December 8 the United States declared war on Japan, and three days later, Italy and Germany as well. From that day forward the world would never be the same.

William wanted out of prison in the worst possible way. He could feel his life slipping away in the loneliness and solitude, and deprived environment that surrounded him. He was willing to do or say anything, or promise anything to get out, and he finally did. He wrote a very apologetic letter to the man that he had beaten so badly, and in the letter he begged for the man’s forgiveness. He explained to his ex

Sergeant about the catastrophic events of his childhood that had shaped his personality, and had ultimately caused him to be so hurt and angry by the Sergeant’s sarcastic statements. He wanted the Sergeant to take at least a small part of the responsibility for the beating, and sharing the guilt was the best way to stress that point. William’s idea worked like a charm because the Sergeant developed a sudden change of heart. His efforts led to William’s early release from prison under the strict condition that William be immediately sent to Europe. The Sergeant more than likely figured that William would be one of the first casualities of the war. William would have gladly agreed to be dropped over Hitler’s bunker to get out of that awful prison.

He was assigned to an outfit that would see much more than its share of action in the European arena almost from the first day of their arrival. While he was in prison he relied upon his memories to get him through the long days and nights, but in Europe he saw death every single day. Some days he was overwhelmed by it and overcome by it. He was glad that he stopped having bad dreams all those years ago because sleep was his only escape from the absolute horrors of war.

*********

William had never had to deal with the deaths of women and children except with his own mother whom he never really knew, and little Alice whose body was never found. Alice’s death affected him more than any other single event in his life, and every time that he saw a dead child, boy or girl, he relived that devastating Monday morning when Alice disappeared into the murky water. The more that he tried to concentrate on other things, the more real and vivid the memories became. As a form of retribution, each time that his unit reclaimed a village or town from enemy control, woe be unto the German soldiers who lay wounded or were willing to surrender to him. If no other American soldiers were around to witness his actions, the Germans died very gruesome deaths at his own hand. Torture had become an integral part of his craft.