"Gustav Hasvord. The Short-Timers " - читать интересную книгу автора

"No, sir." I'm in real pain. The man who invented standing at attention
obviously never humped any gear.
"Then what does it mean?"
"It's just a symbol for peace, sir."
"Oh, yeah?" He breathes faster, up close now, as though he can smell
lies.
"Yes, Colonel, it's just-"


"MARINE!"
"AYE-AYE, SIR!"
"WIPE THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!"
"AYE-AYE, SIR!"

The poge colonel moves around me, stalks me. "Do you call yourself a
Marine?"
"Well..."


"WHAT?"

"Crossed fingers, king's-X. "Yes, sir."
"Now seriously, son..." The colonel begins an excellent Fatherly
Approach. "Just tell me who gave you that button. You can level with me. You
can trust me. I only want to help you." The poge colonel smiles.
The colonel's smile is funny so I smile, too.
"Where did you get that button, Marine?" The colonel looks hurt. "Don't
you love your country, son?"
"Well..."
"Do you believe that the United States should allow the Vietnamese to
invade Viet Nam just because they live here?" The poge colonel is struggling
to regain his composure. "Do you?"
My shoulders are about to fall off. My legs are falling asleep. "No,
sir. We should bomb them back to the Stone Age...sir."
"Confess, Corporal, confess that you want peace."
I give him a Short Pause. "Doesn't the colonel want peace...sir?"
The colonel hesitates. "Son, we've all got to keep our heads until this
peace craze blows over. All I have ever asked of my boys is that they obey
my orders as they would obey the word of God."
"Is that a negative...sir?"
The poge colonel tries to think of some more inspiring things to say to
me, but he has used them all up. So he says, "You can't wear that button,
Marine. It's against regulations. Remove it immediately or you will be
standing tall before the man."
Somewhere up in Heaven, where the streets are guarded by Marines, Jim
Nabors, in his Gomer Pyle uniform, sings: "From the halls of Montezuma...to
the shores of Tripoli..."


"MARINE!"