Deserved Terror

(Believe me, you do not want a picture with this post. It gets gross.) The story starts out as just two supply sergeants without much to do in the aftermath of the war (II) in the Philippine Islands. Both had problems with over-grown rats nibbling on our supplies. A contest evolved to see who could catch the biggest rat. I begun with a diabolically creative electrocution device crafted from chicken wire and a battery charged metal plate. It attracted a lot of attention from every one, except rodents. Next I requisitioned from quartermaster the biggest rat trap they had and BOY!, did they deliver?! This thing was about 4” by 12”. In the first night it caught the biggest rat I had ever seen, bigger than the biggest Maine Coon Cat you’ve ever seen. It was also the bloodiest, most disgusting sight to behold you can imagine. I took trap, rat and all and hung the mess on the bulletin board outside the supply room with a sign beside it that said, ”He ‘fooled’ around with the Supply Sergeant. Don’t let it happen to you!” (Obviously, infantry soldiers didn’t use the word, fooled, very often.)

Now I digress to add that in the PI, the officer with the reputation as the toughest, most GI member of the brass was Monk Meyer, former star Army football player and hero of the fighting in the PI’s. He was said to have no humor and to never be at ease.

OK, myself and the others in the supply room (tent) were chuckling over the sign when someone yelled, “MY GOD, HERE COMES MONK MEYER!” We all started trembling and stared as he came closer. We had visions of spending the next thirty years in the stockade. When he got to the sign, he did a sharp left turn, looked at it forever and then about faced and marched into the supply room. Someone loudly cried, ATTENTION, and we all stood as stiffly as our trembling allowed. He sternly said, “Who is responsible for that?” I couldn’t duck, I replied, “I am, sir.” As he wheeled to leave, he snapped, “Good. Good for morale.”