by James Jones, 1951
1951 “This book is a work of fiction. The characters are imaginary, and any resemblance to actual persons is accidental. However, certain of the Stockade scenes did happen. They did not happen at the Schofield Barracks Post Stockade but at a post within the United States at which the author served, and they are true scenes of which the author had first-hand knowledge and personal experience.”
1941 Hawaii US Army right before and after Pearl Harbor. 850 pages. Main characters are Robert E. Lee Prewitt and Milton Warden. Both are unforgettable. Prew is the young soldier who was the best bugler in the Army but transfers out of the Bugle Corps because of asinine higher-up. He transfers to G Company where Milt Warden is the first sergeant. The Company Commander, Dana Holmes, wants Prew to be on the boxing team but Prew almost killed a man boxing and promised his dying mother he wouldn’t hurt anyone, so refuses to join the boxing team. Holmes makes it really rough on him – SO UNFAIR – and finally gets him wrongly convicted of assaulting a higher up and sent to the Stockade.
The Stockade is the most brutal part of the book. Sadistic guard named Fatso actually tortures a prisoner to death. The Black Hole is where they send prisoners who disobey. No light, sleep on bars strung over chains, can’t stand erect. Bread and water 3 times a day.
Prew’s friend, Maggio, was sent to the Black Hole 5 times. The last time for assaulting a guard – all part of his plan – to get out on a Section 8. It worked, may have maimed him for life, but it worked.
When Prew gets out of the Stockade, he waits 9 days, and then attacks Fatso after he left his bar hangout. He kills Fatso with a knife but not before Fatso injures him with his own knife. He can’t go back to base with his injury so goes to his lover, Lorene’s, and she and Georgette nurse him back to health. He is AWOL though and cannot go back because it would mean the stockade again.
While convalescing, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. He is sleep and didn’t hear a thing. When he wakes up and finds out, he could have gone back that day but he doesn’t know the prisoners have been set free and there is no stockade. He waits 2 weeks after Pearl Harbor and then decides to report for duty. On his way, MP’s stop him, he makes a run for it, and they shoot him! Dead! So incredibly tragic.
Milt Warden, his first sergeant, has the other story line – he falls in love with Karen Holmes, the company commander’s wife.
Their love affair is rocky and rough.
He’s a good man, a good leader, one of the very few.
I can see now why men hate the Army – led by imbeciles at best; cruel malicious monsters at worst, it ruins good men – young boys.
The book is full of day-to-day Army life – hard, boring work, for $30/month – drink, gamble, whore around on free time. Sometimes go crazy and end up in the Stockade. A few experiences, like playing guitars, talking, singing with buddies that are the true good men. So few and far between.