MEMORIAL DAY: STANDING RETREAT WITH SERGEANT ARPIIN

OH BEAUTIFUL, FOR PATRIOTS DREAMS...

 9:00 AM.  50 degrees F, wind N, calm.  The sky is overcast with dark gray clouds after raining again last night.  The humidity is still high but the barometer has begun to rise, and the sun is making a still- feeble attempt to break through the gloom. 



The following is reprinted from my blog of Memorial Day, 2009.  I don't think I can do any better today.


    I performed my military obligation between the Korean War and the Vietnam War, a period of time that was mostly a standoff between the US and the Soviet Union, and except for a few incidents there was no shooting going on, so my experiences were not very remarkable and I can’t say I took any of it very seriously, and was more often a sophomoric wise guy than not. I was, however, soundly put in my place by Platoon Sergeant Arpin, and I remember it exactly, more than a half century later on this     Memorial Day.
    The post commander at Fort Leonard Wood had determined that proper military tradition was being lost (probably true) and decreed that all personnel would stand retreat each evening with their units. This meant that everyone had to change into their dress uniforms after mess and go through the ceremony of playing taps and lowering the flag. No one was thrilled with all this, and after a week or so I asked, “Sergeant Arpin, why in the hell are we doing this?”
    Now the Sarge was a good guy, who must have screwed up somewhere along the line and been bucked down to being a platoon sergeant for raw recruits. He was something of a father figure, very patient, and a rarity among his breed. He was a rather whimsical figure in action, as rotund as a beach ball, and he huffed and puffed his way through the platoon sergeant business, but he had a certain military bearing and dignity about him nonetheless.
    Anyway, he looked me straight in the eye and said, “Ode, we’re doing this to honor the memories of all my buddies who got their asses shot off at Iwo Jima.”
    No more wise guy, I stood retreat respectully thereafter until some time later when the order was rescinded and things went back to normal.
    So, Sergeant Arpin, I imagine you are resting in some military cemetery somewhere, as I doubt you had anywhere else to go, and I hope that you are happy there among your comrades in arms. But I want you to know that I will stand retreat in my heart today for you and all your old buddies. It’s the least a young wise guy can do.