Day 19 - Holmes

When I started Kemper, I was assigned to 2nd squad, 2nd platoon, Delta Company. My assistant squad leader was a guy named Holmes. He was from Nebraska and a year older than me. He was an Old Boy, this being his second year and a corporal. And for some strange reason we became friends.

You have to understand, the Old Boy - New Boy system didn't really allow for that. But we had some of the same ideas and the same initials, and he could see that I was having a hard time getting used to the ideas of Kemper.

I remember us talking about stories we wrote fro Doyle's English class. I will never forget them. I am not sure if it was hero worship or what, but I looked up to him. And my squad leader, who scared me, I eventually saw with different eyes. In fact the next year when he came back to visit, I went up to him and shook his hand saying, "Last year I hated your guts, but now I understand."

Anyway, back to Holmes. I can't really say much more about him. I knew him for that first year. My second year, I made the mistake of not wanting to go back. But after my first week at the public high school, I realized I had made a huge mistake and thankfully I got back into Kemper at mid-term. By then, he had left at mid-term and went home. I didn't find out to much later that he died real close to the day I signed the Standard of Honor - our honor code. Between my squad leader and Holmes I understood things a lot better. While Kemper had Army ROTC, we always called the drill & ceremony manual, FM 22-Kemper instead of 22-5 nomenclature the Army gave it. Also,we took pride in the school; a lot like the Marines. We were different in the way a National Guard unit is different than a regular Army unit. That's how we looked at ourselves verses regular ROTC units. In fact I would say we were like the guard or reserves at that time; as we did our military training on the weekends. I could assemble and disassemble an M-16 in under 2 minutes. The reason we had the future 2nd Lts of the Army training us. They needed to know how to conduct training and we needed to be trained. Imagine that.

But the one thing that has stayed with me; and the image is as vivid as anything, is that of Holmes. I can see him in my mind's eye in his uniform, with that smile of his. I can hear his voice. He usually comes to mind when I am having a rough time. And I know why he is there. He was there when I was going through the first rough times of my life. I can only pray that when at last my feet have stopped and I move on from this mortal coil, hes there to greet me. I hope I haven't made him laugh too much at my time here on earth. I wish that he could have shared those times. But he did. He was with me.

numquam non paratus

no w.o.w tonight....