Chapter 2

After CWO Crowell's inspection, and comment, I reflected, before rushing off to get my Liberty Card, and join Gus. Obviously, I was acting counter to people who thought I was being foolish, and had gone to great pains to illuminate this fact. It was not just chance that Newbie was the first inspecting officer, nor that CWO Crowell was the last. Lee, Anweiler, and Palmanteer had my best interests in mind. That was a given. What was not a given was the fact they did not know how deep my feeling went for this woman. Girl, woman, I didn't know at this point. I just knew she had become the focus of my life.

In spite of all my assaults on her libido, Gus and I had spent hours, more like years under normal courtship, talking and talking, and touching. She was extremely intelligent, and just as opiniated as I. I remember one discussion, while we were talking about the integration of schools in South Georgia. She pointed out my later to be changed opinion of Blacks in the South. Defending myself, I told her about how Japanese were predjudiced about Koreans. She was startled, and exclaimed, "That's different! They are Chosin-jins (Korean)!" She could see my inborn prejudice, I could see hers, but neither could look into our own soul until later.

I grew up in a segregated South. My community did not have even one Black family, as it was a noted Racist location. Before I was born, my racist Father donated two hard-earned acres to the Black community as a cemetery. He had learned that Blacks had to be transported more than 60 miles simply to be buried. I'm sure his generosity was not appreciated by others in the community, but he saw unfairness, and in his way, tried to correct it. You really need to understand just how much of a racist he was, to appreciate his gift. All of us, me included, worked the farm to pay for that donation. I did not learn of it until my adult years, in just a casual comment from my Mama, long after Daddy had died.

One thing I did learn, growing up, was Truth, Fairness, Integrity, and Honesty. I have my own version of honesty: "Truth is the absence of Deception". I formed this back in my childhood, during the Cold War. There was a little blurb in the Reader's Digest that talked of deception. In this blurb, it stated that in a race between a Russian and American car. the Russian car finished in second place. The American car finished next to last. I was quite crestfallen, Rural White Boy that I was, until I read the punch line: Only two cars participated in the race. If you have trouble figuring out the winner, you will never get the truth.

I was faced with the truth of the situation that Gus, and I were going to spend our lives together. Lee, Anweiler, and Palmanteer had to be told.

Dale Palmanteer, AKCS, USN was really an exceptional person. He taught me more about life than my Father did. He was and E-8, almost as high as any enlisted man can go in the Navy. E-7 (Chief Petty Officer) has to be approved by BuPers. E-8 (Senior Chief Petty Officer) has to be approved by a special board. It was Chief Palmanteer's ambition to become E-9 (Master Chief Petty Officer), and The Chief Petty Officer Of The Navy. Notice the caps, he planned to be the most senior non-commissioned man in the whole Navy. I do not know if he achieved this or not, I hope he did. If you google Navy CPO, I'll just bet they have his picture.

My advice from my superiors was not exactly off the wall bullshit, particularly from Palmanteer. Anweiler (Smiling Cal to the troops) was suspect. Commander Lee was one of the finest, most caring people I had ever met. Then I met his wife, and she blew him away. He always volunteered for duty on the big Holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July. All the family holidays. His wonderful, childless wife always made it a point to invite pure old common sailors, far from home, for one of the finest home-cooked meals most of us had ever tasted. So Commander Lee's advice was not off the wall, either.

This was all floating around a very distinctive day, May 16th, 1962. I had studied so hard for advancement to SK-3 (E-4). This would make me a Petty Officer, give me lots more pay, and most of all, more benefits, including overnight liberty. We had learned the results earlier, but I got to make my "Crow" official on the 16th. Some services nail the promotion insignia on with a lick on the stripes, in the Navy they throw your ass in the water. I was lucky that the only water available was a sump about 15' deep at the Supply Office, placed there for fire protection. Of course everyone in the whole office who was not actively dunking my ass was pointing and giggling. Except for Gus. She just had a smile and a promise on her face, and the night we had would have been a wedding night, if other well-meaning people had left us alone.

After that night, all pretenses were gone. Chief Palmanteer offered me the very good advice, that whatever I did, do not get the lady pregnant. Too late for that! Did I mention I was naive? For our first time, I used no protection. Of course, the birth-control pill was far in the future. Gus told me she was really regular, and a missed time proved to be pregnancy. That is when the oscillating device began to send out really bad vibrations.

To Ne-chan, it was simple. An abortion would cure all ills. I almost went crazy, and nearly terminated a friendship with someone I grew to love. I promised Gus I would never leave her, we would have this baby together.

Meanwhile, our marriage papers got kicked back because I was ONLY 20 YEARS OLD!! Give me a fucking break, I could get married in GA at 14, with Parents permission. I had kept Mama and Daddy advised of the nature of my courtship. They only advised be careful, make sure.

When I learned the requirement of their approval, they stonewalled about the papers. Take Lee's, Anweiler's, and Palmanteer's comment, add a Hell No from my Daddy... you get the message. No one but Gus, Ne-chan, and I knew of the pregnancy at this point. My letters to my parents ate up another 4-5 weeks. We were well in to August, and our papers were going nowhere.

When I grew up in Irwinville, there were only two telephones in the whole community. One was a gift from a brother (surely deducted from business expenses at his Buick Dealership), and another was for a manager of a company, probably a legitimate expense.

During my time to date in the Navy, lo and behold, Mama and Daddy had a phone! I calculated the time difference, included the International Date Line, and called them one night when I had duty. It cost me a nickel a minute, but I made it very clear that the only thing they could accomplish would be to make my child a bastard. I promised them, if this happened, they, nor anyone else in the family would ever see me or my children again. I would even change my name. Truth, Fairness, Integrity and Honesty won out. Approval was in the next Air Mail.