September 1, 2006

More from “Recollections From Army Days” by Robert C. Brooks


“We had close order drill, marching and hikes.
One hike at night was in blackout conditions.
We tried to stay close behind the man ahead, who was following someone else who led the way.
In the hills and thick woods most of us became detached and lost.
I was trying to find the way down hill, when just before me in a hollow appeared a large tree stump glowing faintly a greenish-yellow.
I stopped for a few seconds wondering, ‘What in the devil is that’, then detoured around it.
Finally about midnight I stopped and lay down to wait for morning.
When it was light enough, I discovered that most of the fellows had done the same.
A couple of them had picked up pieces of wood that glowed in the dark under a coat or blanket.
Something in the soil absorbed into the wood was phosphorescent.
Passes were finally available, so I was able to go to some places around the country.
On one of the trips in a but, near Bowling Green, Kentucky there were mostly soldiers, but a few civilians, and one of them was a very pretty girl, who spoke with a deep southern drawl.
When we came to a stop as she was getting off she said, “Goodbye you all”.
Some of the G.I.’s began calling, “Oh, goodbye you all, you all, oh you all!”
She stopped and turned around and said loudly and firmly, “Yes, You All”.
There were a couple of sighs, then quiet.
Probably thoughts of girl friends or wives.