Chapter 33

Waking up in the morning, my whole body was stiff and sore. It was a slog getting through PT, as the run was especially horrible with the soreness in my chest inhibiting me from being able to breathe deeply. Cpl. Rosario was berating me the whole time. This was the first run I’d done where I was at the back the whole time.

After taking a shower, I remembered that I was to meet Gunny Owens. Making my way around the barracks Sgt Le Pesant stopped me.

“Where are you headed Badzinski?”

“Gunny Owens’ office.”

“Is this going to be the way things are going forward?”

“I guess it will be until the tournament is over. The Regimental Commander is really pushing for as many winners as possible before the change of command.”

“Great. Just know when it’s over I’m going to make up for the time that you’re losing now.”

“Got it Sarge.” I wouldn’t have expected any less.

Walking into the Company Office, I was waved through, although I had to wait after knocking on the door. Gunny waved me into a chair, and I had to wait until he finished his telephone call.

After hanging up, he asked, “So, I saw you grimace as you sat down in the chair. How bad off are you?”

“I’m sore, with a little pain, though I’ll be better in a few days.”

“The big question is did you win?”

“I did, though it was close a couple of times.”

“So, what the hell happened?”

I told him how everything went down. As I went through the play by play of the fight, he leaned forward, and as I finished, he sat back and let out a “hmnh”.

“At least we know that you have no aversion to getting hit.”

I figured something like this was eventually going to come up, so I came prepared. Pulling out a few photos, I laid them on the desk in front of him. Flipping through them, his eyes got big.

“Are these what I think they are?”

“Yep, I won a small regional kickboxing championship though it was mostly due to my boxing ability.”

“What’s with these shorts?”

“My grandmother made them. It’s the Polish and Portuguese flag.”

“So, I have a great idea. Do you think that she can make you a pair themed with the Marine Corps flag?”

“All I can do is ask.”

“Well ask. I think that it will give you a physiological edge over everyone else.”

“I’ll relay that information to her.”

“Now get out of here. Remember only an hour with Gunny Ortega going forward”

“Aye Gunny.”

The rest of the day was quiet. After dinner I took got an ice bath and stretched a lot before hitting the rack.

Most of the week was uneventful and I was able to keep from digging my hole any deeper. My classes went well except for my Tuesday session with Gunny Ortega which was extremely tense.

I could see the whole time he wanted to say something. He would make comments and then stop from continuing on. I was already growing tired of his attitude and bullshit. I kept my mouth shut and did what was asked of me.

Wednesday evening, I went to pick up my Dress Blues. Sunshine Cleaners was a family affair, the whole Park family worked there. They had everything ready to go when I went in.

Mutellip stopped me when I walked back into the room. “Those blues look good. How much did you pay for them? I think that I might want to get me a set.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how much they cost. I was given my set for being the Company Honor Man in Bootcamp.”

There was a comment from behind me.

“I didn’t think you could become even more of the Marine Corps poster boy.”

“Sounds like somebody’s jealous.”

“I am not.”

“Sounds like somebody doth protest too much.”

I realized that I’d forgotten to take care of something and went down to the Day Room and called Kiese. In a ten-minute conversation we set the plans for Friday night. She said that she had everything arranged on her end. I would be picking her up at 1820 and we’d head to the Ball.

Thursday had a bit of drama as Gunny Owens sent me to Doctor Vaikar. I was a bit wary as I made my way over to the medical clinic. I got sent back to an examination room once I was there. Doctor Vaikar came in a few minutes later.

“So, let’s see your ribs.”

“OK.”

Well, Gunny Owens had evidently ratted me out. I got out of my BDU blouse and undershirt. I was still bruised as hell and her look showed surprise.

“So how did this all happen?”

“Bar fight.”

“I shouldn’t expect any less of a Marine.”

Again, I got poked and prodded. There was some pain, though at this point it was sore than anything.

“Seems you’re just bruised a lot. I don’t think that you’ll need x-rays. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s discuss the real reason you’re here.”

“Now you’ve got me curious as to why I’m here.”

“One of the sailors here at the medical clinic is studying to become a massage therapist. They’re willing to help you out for a reduced rate as it will give them more practical experience.” This was going to be very helpful.

“That’s very nice of them ma’am.”

“Well, you both are coming out ahead by the arrangement. Here’s the information. Give her a call.”

She handed me a slip of paper. I was dismissed at that point and left without looking at it. It wasn’t until I sat down for dinner that I took a look. So, I was to contact HM2 Jennifer Ray, Mon-Fri between 1700 and 1900. I had some time to get it done tonight.

Norbert and Mutellip were arguing about who was going to play video games tonight and were going at it pretty well. For the first time I actually thought they might come to blows over it.

“ENOUGH! I can’t believe that you two fucking chuckleheads, y’all are out of fucking control.” Both heads swiveled to look at me simultaneously.

“Here’s how this is going to solve this. Rock, paper, scissors. The best two out of three gets to use the system tonight.”

Mutellip pulled it out on the third go. Then there was some yelling and hollering, though this time it was from outside. We went out the door to see what the hell was going on.

As we made it out of the door, we could hear all the commotion coming from above us. We all ran up to the second deck. There was a group of Marines gathered around something going on. As we closed in on the group, I could just barely hear a guitar playing and someone singing. When we got close enough to see and hear, I almost lost my shit laughing.

A Marine from the Mortar section seemed to have a pizza delivery girl from Dominos cornered. He was playing the guitar and serenading her. She was kind of cute in a homely kind of way. Though it was the song and his actions that had me rolling. As he played, he kept flicking his hips at the girl. The song he sang, well the whole thing was ridiculous. Though the chorus was just completely outrageous.

_Boom, Boom, Boom Let’s go back to my room, so we can do it all night And you can make me feel right Boom, Boom, Boom Let’s go back to my room so we can do it all night And you can make me feel right_

I finally got over the juvenile humor of it and decided to stop it for a couple of reasons. I waded through the crowd and put a hand on his shoulder, steering him away from the girl. She was smart enough to see the opportunity and make a break for it. The minstrel and a buddy got pissed at me.

“Look guys, the concert being put on was going to be more trouble than it was worth. How many of the guys in the barracks would be pissed off if Dominos decided to stop delivering here? You’d have a bunch of Marines looking to beat your ass.”

They both agreed that would be a very bad thing for them. I told the guitar hero that he should’ve just asked her out. The response I got was a pure hormone driven male response.

“Well, I just wanted to bang her.”

I left him with the tidbit to actually put a little work in first before going with “I wanna bang you”. I made it to the Day Room with about ten minutes to spare to contact HM2 Ray.

After a brief introduction, she said that she had a slot open at 1300 on Sunday and it was going to cost me twenty-five bucks per hour. I figured it was a steal, so I set up weekly appointments for the foreseeable future.

I drifted asleep listening to Norbert bitching that it wasn’t fair that he wasn’t able to play video games tonight.

After morning PT, we were released to Field Day, finally finished at about 1300 after a Safety Brief. It centered on the Ball, not drinking and driving, not getting into any altercations and to not tarnish the image of the Corps.

As I was gathering everything for the weekend, I asked the guys what they were doing tonight.

Mutellip was going to stay in for the night. I was surprised that Norbert was going out for the evening. He didn’t give an answer as to where he was going out to.

I made my way over to the house so that I could get ready. After showering, I went over my uniform for the last time to make sure it was totally squared away. This meant making sure my qualification badge was in the right spot and taking a lint roller to it.

As I made my way into the kitchen, I heard a gasp. Looking over Mariana was standing there staring at me.

“Something I can help you with?”

“Uh, no.”

“You can take a picture if you want. That way you can stare at it when I’m gone.”

I could see that she was all flustered and made no comment. I had my garment bag with some extra clothes as I figured we’d do something after the Ball, and I didn’t need to ruin my Blues.

Pulling up, I went to her door and knocked. Keise answered, and I was wowed. She was wearing a dark blue and black gown that had some thin straps. The part that was black looked like it was branches of a tree. She had her hair up and just looked so good all around.

“You look beautiful.”

I could see a blush. That’s when I noticed she had some mid-sized heels on.

“You look very manly in your uniform.”

“Thanks.”

She handed me a small bag and headed to the car. I followed and put her bag in the backseat next to my garment bag. We then made our way down to Waikiki. Keise was looking at me like I’d gone crazy.

“Why are we headed downtown?”

“That’s where the Ball is.”

“It isn’t on your base?”

“No, it’s at the Royal Hawaiian hotel.”

“What?”

“Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just I’ve never been there before.”

“Ah, I guess they have some sort of deal with them. It’s where my unit has been having their event for like the last fifteen years.”

The rest of the drive was quiet until we pulled onto Kalākaua Avenue. Keise was jabbering away about all the buildings we passed. I just sort of tuned her out. I was surprised when we pulled in and the whole hotel was pink. There was a valet stand as we pulled up to the entrance.

As we entered, there was a beautiful grand lobby and signs directing us to the room in which the Charlie Company Marine Corps Ball was being held. We walked around the huge lobby and noticed an open area with all kinds of seating, open to an apparent private part of Waikiki Beach.

We then looked for the ballroom where the event was being held and began to encounter more Marines. Many of them had dates with them, and there were a couple of female Marines with their dates.

We ran into Cpl Rosario in the hallway outside of the big room. The woman he was with was a curvy as hell Latino. At about five feet ten, with heels, her tits were the standout feature. They honestly were huge and hard not to stare at.

We both introduced our dates for the evening. Julia Alcade was a sergeant in the Army stationed at Schofield Barracks with the 25th Infantry Division. They were both impressed that Keise was just starting her professional surfing career.

We went into the ballroom and saw how they had set the place up. It turned out there was an open bar, and the Company Officers had a receiving line set up just inside the room.

We went through the line. Gunny Ortega started staring daggers at me as I introduced Kiese. When we reached the end, it was surprising who the last person was. First Sergeant Blake was standing a few steps away. He looked at me and then turned to address Kiese.

“You look lovely miss. Do you mind if I speak with your date for a moment?”

“Thank you. He’s yours for as long as you need.”

“We’ll only be a moment.”

Kiese moved off to the side where Cpl Rosario and Julia were standing. First Sergeant Blake stared at me for a moment.

“Badzinski, I’m starting to hear your name more and more lately. Right now, I’m at about fifty/fifty as to whether your good Marine or a pain in my ass. Personally, I’m hoping it’ll be the first one.”

He looked around the room for a second.

“There’s an open bar and they’re not ID’ing anyone. Don’t get drunk and don’t do anything to embarrass yourself, the Company or the Marine Corps. And for God’s sake don’t knock that girl up tonight.”

“Aye, Aye First Sergeant.”

Walking over to where they were talking, the first thing I heard was a comment from Julia.

“Don’t you ever think that I’ll be doing anything like that.”

I had no idea what the hell I just walked into. Rosario grabbed me by the elbow and steered me towards the bar.

“What the hell was that about?”

“Well, Badzinski. Your date explained how your girlfriend set you up with a date for the Ball. Julia had something to say about it.”

“I could just imagine. It’s not a problem though as Kiese and I are just friends and that’s all we’ll be.”

“Sure. You don’t have to sell me on it.”

“Dude. I’m serious.”

“Sure, you are.”

“Whatever.”

We both got beers and two Mai Tais for the girls. When we got back to the table it seemed everyone was assigned seats at the tables. There were two guys from the Mortar section who’d come stag. There was also a Sergeant from a rifle platoon. Guess he was our babysitter for the night.

We were mingling for a while and then First Sergeant Blake approached a podium placed at the front of the room.

“Evening everyone. If everyone would please make your way to your table.”

It took a few minutes for everyone to get where they needed to be. After a couple of minutes Captain Armstrong came up to the podium.

“Attention to Orders.”

Every Marine in the room stood up and popped to attention. There was then the presentation of the colors, upon that finishing, Captain Armstrong began again.

“Order number forty-seven, series nineteen twenty-one. Headquarters United States Marine Corps.

_* On November tenth, seventeen seventy-five, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousands of men have borne the name “Marine”. In memory of them it is fitting that we, who are Marines, should commemorate the birthday of our Corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

The record of our Corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world’s history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the nation’s foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our Corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term “Marine” has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the Corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our Corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish, Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as “Soldiers of the Sea” since the founding of the Corps.

John A. Lejeune, Major General, Commandant United States Marine Corps. “*_

He took a drink of water.

“Marines, it is this order that brings us here to celebrate the birthday of our beloved Corps. In a couple of minutes, they are going to serve the wonderful dinner that has been prepared for us. I know I don’t have to tell you Marines to be courteous and respectful to the wait staff. I also expect you Marines to act responsibly when it comes to alcohol tonight. I hope everyone has a great evening.”

We then had dinner. They started with a true Hawaiian Poke. I could tell because it had seaweed and Inamona (roasted and salted kukui nuts). I was surprised they were serving wine with the meal as most of the Marines, other than the officers, weren’t drinking it. At our table we were all drinking beer although one brave soul was drinking something on the rocks.

The conversation at the table was segmented. You had Julia and Kiese sitting next to each other talking. Rosario and I were talking to the two guys from the Mortar section. Sgt Crane and his date were staying to themselves.

The rest of the dinner was good, they gave us the choice between fish or chicken. The conversation was the usual banter between twenty-year-olds. I tried to add some adult conversation but got drug into it.

As they were clearing the plates, Captain Armstrong came back up to the podium.