Chapter 2
Fortunate Son
And when you ask them
How much should we give
They only answer, more, more, more
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one
It ain’t me, it ain’t me,
I ain’t no fortunate son
Trixie Belden slid into her favorite booth at the rear of Wimpy’s Diner and glanced at her watch. Her friend, Dan Mangan, had agreed to meet her almost ten minutes earlier and, rather than risk returning late from her lunch break, she’d decided to sit down and order. This was the second week of her summer internship with the Sleepyside-on-the-Hudson Police Department. She was the first woman the small department had hired in any non-clerical position and she was anxious to prove to the new chief that the former schoolgirl shamus had matured into a capable police woman—or at least would be when she completed her college education. She turned to get the attention of Mike, the long-time counter man at the local landmark, when she saw Dan entering. She waved to her longtime friend.
“Whew. It’s going to be a scorcher,” Dan wiped his forehead as he slid in across from Trixie. “And it’s not officially summer yet.”
“I never understood why they say summer doesn’t start until late June, or winter until December.” Trixie offered him a menu.
Dan waved it away. He didn’t need a menu to know he wanted his usual cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake. “The Summer Solstice is next week; they call it the start of summer but it’s not the beginning of summer weather. You know that, Trixie.
“The usual for you, too?” Trixie’s usual was the same, but with a strawberry soda instead of the milkshake. She nodded and he held up two fingers before turning back to his companion. “So how’s the internship going?”
“What internship? Do you mean the forty hours a week of clerical work? So far all I’ve done is type incident reports and do some filing. Can you imagine? They have ME typing? And on a manual typewriter? The secretaries have Selectrics, but they dug up some dinosaur for me to use.”
Dan chuckled. He had been in the same Personal Typing Class with Trixie at Sleepyside Junior-Senior High. While his typing speed and accuracy had been excellent, Trixie had struggled.
“I know that some people don’t like the idea of women cops and I’ll have problems, but I thought Captain Molinson would make sure I got some real experience. He said the new chief is different and would let me be more than a glorified typist,” Trixie grumbled. “I bet White Plains PD won’t be expecting you to sit at a desk and type.”
The past year, both Trixie and Dan had been enrolled in the Police Science Program at Westchester County Community College with plans to transfer to John Jay College of Criminal Justice after two years. Trixie had just completed her first year. Dan had completed his second and received an Associate Degree two weeks earlier. Both had been hired as summer interns in local police departments. Although woman patrol officers were rare and she was one of only two young women in the local college program, Trixie aspired to become a police officer upon receiving a Bachelor’s Degree.
“No, Trix. I don’t think I’ll be doing any typing this summer.” Dan responded flatly and looked away. “Hey, Mike! Where’s my burger?” he called out.
“Dan?” Trixie quickly realized that something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“Never been better, Trix.”
“No, Danny. Something’s…You are taking the internship, aren’t you? You said you could make more money somewhere else, but it would pay off in the long run. What is it?”
“I’d like to enjoy our meal, Trix.” Dan looked over at Mike in desperation.
“Now I know something is wrong. Spill, Dan!” Trixie raised her voice.
Dan smiled, knowing he’d never keep any secrets from the young woman sitting across from him; at least nothing as important as the decision he’d made less than an hour earlier.
“No, I’m not taking the internship.” He paused dramatically. “Trix, you’re sitting with Sleepyside’s newest U.S. Marine recruit.”
“Recruit?” Trixie didn’t understand at first. “Marine recruit?” She jumped up from her seat, bumping the table and causing several patrons to look at the young couple. “You mean, you?”
“I enlisted.” Dan motioned for Trixie to sit back down and waited for her to do so before continuing. “Hear me out, Trixie. Please. I enlisted in the Marines this morning.”
“Why? You have your student deferment. I thought you were going to wait until you finished at John Jay. Then you could go to Officer Candidate School and serve as an officer, or enlist in the National Guard or something. Brian and Jim waited until they got their degrees. And what about your scholarship?”
“I heard from the Financial Aid Office. I only got half-tuition. You know I need more than that.”
“But loans? You were going to get a loan and work for the rest.”
Dan reached across the table and grabbed Trixie’s hand. “The bank turned me down for the loan. Even with Uncle Bill co-signing, I couldn’t qualify. I had to enlist.”
“But the Wheelers, Diana’s father, even JIM could loan you the money.”
“Trix, I didn’t want that. I don’t need their charit…I can’t take…Listen. We all have to serve. Well, most of us. I had two options: Rack up big debts and then serve when I graduate. Or I can serve now, get it over, and use the GI Bill to pay for school. Think of it. In two years, I can graduate with a huge school debt, my military obligation unfulfilled and…who’d hire me if I’m 1-A? I don’t want all that hanging over me. Not getting the financial aid or a loan isn’t so bad. This way I get my obligation over; get the rest of my education paid and more. I had to, Trix.”
“But why the Marines? Why not the National Guard? That’s what Jim did. He calls it being a Weekend Warrior while he still goes to grad school. And he gets paid! Or you could wait and try for OCS. Be an officer like Brian, or…”
“I had to. I just…really, Trix, I thought if anyone would, you’d understand. I don’t have money to pay up front. I don’t have political connections to get into the Guard. When the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale. You know the song, Trix. The taxman came to my door. I had no choice. Dammit, I need you to understand.”
Mike stepped up to the booth with their plates of food before Trixie could respond. She watched as Mike set the plates down and stepped away, knowing that Dan was waiting for her to say something in support of his decision. She knew that Dan had a deep-rooted sense of pride and honor, perhaps deeper than that of her boyfriend, Jim Frayne. She knew he’d consider a loan from a friend to be charity and he’d never accept charity. She knew that all young men were required to serve in the military and that Dan was correct when he said he could only postpone that obligation for so long. But Trixie also knew that too many young men were losing their lives in the jungles of Southeast Asia and that the Marines were seeing the worst of it. Without knowing anything about the reasons for the war itself, she knew that she did not want Dan, or Jim, or her brothers to be among those killed or maimed.
Dan took a bite from his sandwich and watched as Trixie played with a French fry. She twisted it around before placing it back onto the plate. He was holding his sandwich mid-air, waiting for her to say something, anything, when she stood up.
“You can’t do this,” she managed to choke out as she rushed out of the diner.
Dan threw some bills on the table and followed her out. He started to run up the street after her, but decided it would be futile to try to reason with her until she calmed down. Instead, he drove to his uncle’s apartment to let the older man know that he’d enlisted in the Marine Corps and would not be attending John Jay College in the fall.
Dan had been orphaned as a teen and his Uncle Bill Regan was his only family. After his mother died and Dan had spent time living in foster homes and then on the streets of New York City, the young bachelor had gained guardianship of his sister’s child. While their relationship hadn’t always been painless, there was no denying their love and mutual admiration. Dan was keenly aware that his uncle would be disappointed that he had made such an important decision without their discussing it first.
Dan now stood and waited in the apartment kitchen, his thumbs in his jean pockets, as Bill Regan stared silently at him. Dan watched his uncle’s hands turning white as they gripped the chair back tighter and tighter, waiting for the explosion that was certain to come.
“I can’t believe it,” Regan finally managed to speak. By the slow staccato of his words, it was obvious that Regan was trying to control his infamous red-headed temper. “You didn’t have to do this. We would have found the money for school. He paused, clearly trying to maintain self-control. “What about ROTC? You were looking at the program at NYU.”
“You know I only applied to NYU as a back up to John Jay. NYU disbanded the ROTC program last month and John Jay has never had one.” Dan continued to stare at his uncle’s hands grasping the chair back.
“John Jay isn’t the only school out there! You had all kinds of schools recruiting you! With your grades? As hard as you’ve worked, I thought… I hoped...YOU hoped!”
Dan looked up and the two men glared at each other in silence.
“The hell with it! You’re twenty-one. What’s done is done,” Regan finally blurted out as he turned and stormed out of the apartment, knocking over the chair and then slamming the door as he left.
Dan listened to the sound of his uncle’s footsteps as he descended the exterior stairs. “I had no choice, Uncle Bill,” he spoke aloud as he bent over to set the chair straight. “No choice.”
Trixie Belden took a stack of plates from the cupboard in her mother’s cheery red and white kitchen and carried them over to the long pine table that had sat in the center of the Belden kitchen for several generations.
“We need seven plates. Mart has decided to pry himself away from Diana long enough to eat at home, and Regan and Dan are joining us,” Helen Belden reminded her daughter.
Trixie dropped the plates onto the table. She stomped over to the cupboard and took two more out. “WHY?”
“No need to yell. I’m right here,” her mother scolded. “What do you mean by ‘why’?”
“Why are Dan and Regan coming to dinner?” Trixie dropped the remaining plates onto the table then walked over and jerked open the utensil drawer.
“They are coming because I invited them. No special reason.”
“Then I’m skipping dinner.” Trixie stormed up the back stairs just as Mart came in from the family room. “And Mart can set the table!”
BANG! The slam of Trixie’s bedroom door shook the entire house.
“What’s with her?” Mart grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter and started to wipe it on his shirt.
“I’m not sure, Mart.” Mrs. Belden snatched the apple from him and placed it back into the bowl. “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes.” She looked towards the stairway. “Trixie has been testy since she got home from work. I know the job hasn’t been going the way she wished, but when I mentioned Dan and Regan were coming for dinner, she blew up. Do you have any idea what’s upsetting her? Did you do anything?”
“I didn’t do anything, Moms! And she was fine this morning! I think she was having lunch with Dan. I’ll go see if something happened at their lunch.” Mart was concerned. Trixie was always storming off, slamming doors or ranting about something regarding her boyfriend, Jim Frayne, or one of her three brothers, but Dan almost never upset her that way.
Mart jogged up the stairs and knocked on his sister’s bedroom door. “Trixie? Are you okay?”
“Do I sound okay?”
Mart opened the door a crack. “Can I come in? Can we talk?”
“No! Go away!”
Mart ignored his sister and stepped into the room.
“Damn that Bobby Belden! If he hadn’t locked himself into his own room so many times, we’d have locks on our doors!” Trixie was spread face down on one of the two twin beds and mumbling curses into the pillow.
Mart sat down on the side of the bed. “Have you ever noticed that there’s still a lock on our parents’ bedroom door?”
Trixie turned her head towards him. “Really?”
“Guess they didn’t want any of us walking in at, um, climactic moments.”
“Eeeyooo, Mart. Please, that’s too much information.” Trixie rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed beside her brother.
“Yeah, but it got you up and smiling. Almost. And do you really think that our parents never do the dirty…OUCH!” He rubbed his upper arm where Trixie had whacked him.
“Of course, they do. But I prefer not to discuss it.”
“So tell me why you freaked out when Moms mentioned our dinner guests.”
“I’m so angry with Dan, I’m not sure I can talk about it.”
“What did HE do? I find it hard to believe that you’re so upset with the quiet, reserved Daniel Mangan.”
Trixie began to relate her lunch time conversation with Dan. As soon as she shared that he’d joined the Marine Corps, Mart jumped from the bed and started pacing the room.
“Dammit! What’s wrong with him? He should have talked to us…to ME before doing something like that. He had choices. Does Regan know about this? He’s an idiot. There were other ways to get the damn money!” He pounded his fist against the wall and began pacing again. “And the Marines? Does he know what their casualty rate is? He’ll end up rotting in a rice paddy, for sure! Or maybe he’ll be lucky and only lose a leg or two. Dammit!” Mart’s face got redder, his voice louder and his language saltier as he paced up and down.
Hearing Mart’s ranting, Helen rushed up the stairs to see what now had two of her children so upset.
“Martin Belden!”
Mart jerked to a stop and turned toward his mother standing in the doorway.
“Martin Belden! I will not have that language in this house.”
“Sorry, Moms.” Twenty-one year old Mart was almost a foot taller than his mother, but her scolding voice could shrink him instantly to half her size.
“Now, what has the two of you in such a state?”
Trixie jumped up from the bed, and she and Mart began talking loudly and excitedly at once.
“I’ve heard enough! Sit down.” Trixie quickly sat back on the bed. “Both of you!” She pointed at her son.
Mart sat down beside his sister.
Mrs. Belden wasn’t sure which of them was coherent enough to explain, but since it appeared that it was about something that happened to Trixie, she decided to start with her.
“Mart, I want you to sit silently while Trixie explains what has the two of you so upset.” She turned to her daughter.
“It’s Dan. I’m so angry at him; I can barely talk about it.” Trixie started to tear up. “He told me today that he enlisted.”
“In ROTC?” As the wife of a veteran and mother of three sons, Helen Belden was well-aware of the legal requirements for military service and the options available to young men. Many young men enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps while in college. It required taking specific classes and military training, but they received generous financial aid and served as officers, rather than enlisted men, after graduation. Brian was financing medical school through a similar program called the Berry Plan. His service was delayed until he completed his internship and could serve as a doctor in the Medical Corps upon graduation.
“NYU did away with its ROTC program and John Jay doesn’t have one!”
“He’s not going to John Jay?”
“No. I mean, he was. But now he’s not going anywhere. He enlisted in the Marines!”
“It’s not surprising. Dan certainly has the discipline, and they wouldn’t be concerned with his juvenile record.”
“That was expunged on his birthday! It’s not an issue!” Dan’s juvenile record was sealed permanently when he turned twenty-one several weeks earlier. While he hadn’t mentioned it to any of the BWG’s but Trixie, it had been clear to her that he was proud of that milestone.
“Moms! The Marines! He’ll be sent to Vietnam within months, if not weeks.”
“You don’t know that, Trixie.” Mrs. Belden offered feebly. She read the paper and she knew that a large number of Marines were in the war zone. A member of the garden club whose son recently graduated from Marine Officer Training at Quantico had said that 85% of its graduates were sent directly to Vietnam. While she didn’t know if that were true, she was certain that the numbers were high.
“Dan is a very intelligent young man. He’s strong and has good instincts.”
“I don’t want to hear that crap!” Trixie started to get up, but her mother’s gentle hand on her shoulder forced her back down. “This is just stupid. He didn’t have to do this! I can’t believe he did that! I...I wanted to hit something when he told me.”
“Maybe I should pound some sense into him! He didn’t have to…” Mart interjected.
“Let Trixie talk.” Mrs. Belden glared at her son before turning to Trixie. “And you, young lady, will not use words like ‘crap’!” She turned back to Mart. “And YOU will not talk about pounding someone!”
“Sorry, Moms,” Mart mumbled.
“Sorry, Moms,” Trixie echoed.
“Hear me out. Both of you.” Mrs. Belden looked from one child to the other. “You forget that I saw your father off to war. Your father never once questioned his obligation to serve our nation and I supported him. I had to. And I was expecting Brian at the time.
“I was terrified that he’d not return and I’d be raising that child alone. But I was proud of him, too. Proud that he willingly served our country. As his wife, I made certain that he never heard of my fears or doubts. All he ever heard from me was that I loved him and would be right here when he came home. I prayed constantly. God heard my prayers, knew my fears and He gave me strength. And your father had comfort, knowing that he had a loving wife and child waiting for him at home. To this day, we’re both proud that he did what was right. And I’m proud that I was there to support and encourage him through his ordeal.
“I don’t know anything about politics or this war. I do know that I have three sons and two dear young men, and several nephews I fear for. But they have an obligation to our nation. If they choose to honor that obligation, I have to support them. You must support them too, Trixie.”
“Mart.” She turned to her son. “You’ve been able to postpone your service, but you should understand the difficult decision Dan has made. If you are any type of friend, you will support him.”
“Dan has never had it easy. I’ve always thought he tries too hard to prove he’s moved past his days in the City and is deserving of our respect. It makes perfect sense to me that he didn’t chose the easiest path for his military obligation. Of course you are concerned for him and that’s understandable. But I will not have any of my children criticizing his choice to serve our country. You can talk to me anytime about your concerns, but he has made his decision and he needs your support.”
Trixie had never confessed to anyone that she’d found her mother’s diary and letters from the days her parents were dating and separated during the war. It had revealed far too many intimate details about when her parents had been young and in love. But reading what her mother wrote about her experiences during World War II hadn’t seemed as real to her as the Vietnam conflict. She understood that many young men had died and families had suffered, but the lives lost then were clearly in defense of the country. She thought of it as a romantic time, that her parents had made sacrifices for some “grand cause.” She’d never thought of it as having someone you loved as much as she did her brothers, Jim or Dan, leaving home and not knowing when or if they might return. Thinking of her parents’ experiences during World War II, Trixie realized her mother understood Dan’s situation far better than she did.
Trixie nodded her understanding, stood, walked over to her mother, and hugged her.
“I’m sorry Moms.”
“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me.”
“I know,” Trixie mumbled. “I’ll talk to Dan when he gets here.”
“Mart?” Mrs. Belden looked over to her son, who was staring at the floor.
“I don’t need to apologize to Dan.”
“Maybe not, but you are his best friend. He needs to know you support him, too.”
“But I don’t.”
“I don’t care about that. Did you not hear a word I said? He needs to know he has friends and family who care.”
“I can do that.”
Mrs. Belden glanced at her watch. “We should talk more about this, but I need to see to dinner. I just want to know that you two won’t spoil everyone’s meal tonight. Otherwise, you’re not welcome at my table.”
“Oh no, Moms!” Mart quickly responded. “I think Dan and I need to talk, but we won’t spoil your meal.”
“Thank you. Mart, I want you to finish setting the table for Trixie. Trixie, I need you to make a salad for me.” Mrs. Belden then turned and headed back to her kitchen.
Trixie and Mart followed in silence, fully aware of who was in charge of the Belden household.
Helen Belden looked at the people sitting around her kitchen table and wondered if there had ever been such a quiet mealtime at Crabapple Farm. She and Peter, who was completely oblivious to the reason for the tension, had attempted unsuccessfully several times to initiate conversation. All their attempts had generated were polite, monosyllabic responses. Normally Bobby and Dan would have engaged in playful banter, but at twelve, Bobby was no longer a precocious child oblivious to the trials and tribulations of his older siblings. He watched and waited silently to see what had everyone so upset.
Trixie and Mart had helped finish preparing the meal in total silence. Helen assumed they remained upset and were afraid to say anything in her presence. When Dan arrived Mart had immediately taken him outside, while Trixie paced back and forth in front of the windows overlooking the rear patio. She checked twice and saw the two young men in quiet conversation. From their body language it was obvious that they were not happy. Regan had arrived while they were outside and while he spoke politely to her, his courtesy was obviously forced. He appeared surprised when Dan and Mart came in, but had not said anything to Dan.
Peter had been slightly late, prolonging the time they were forced to make small talk. While her kitchen was large and bright, it felt dreadfully cramped and uncomfortable with so many dour young adults standing around silently. Helen practically leapt for joy when Peter arrived and she could call everyone to the dinner table.
Helen did take advantage of the silence, plotting her strategy for the rest of the evening. While she was confident that Dan and Regan would resolve their disagreement once their Irish tempers cooled, she was not above giving it a swift kick. She also knew that Trixie needed an opportunity to talk to Dan alone before he rushed out.
Almost as soon as he finished eating, Regan stood and began to apologize for having to leave.
“No,” Helen interrupted him. “You can stay a little longer. I’ve made pies and I insist you have dessert.”
Regan tried to stammer out an excuse, but, knowing he’d only lose an argument with a Belden woman, he instead picked up his plate and headed towards the sink. He suspected there was much more than pie on Helen’s menu for that evening.
“Dan, I want you to help Trixie clear the table. Peter, didn’t you say you needed Mart and Bobby to help you in the barn? Regan, would you help me take the pies out to the patio. It’s such a nice evening, we must sit out there.”
“The barn?” Peter hesitated, still unaware of what had created the uncomfortable mood at the dinner table, but he also knew not to argue with a Belden woman. “Mart, Bobby?” He motioned for them to follow him.
Bobby grabbed the last roll from the basket and stuffed it into his mouth “M’be now summun mill bell me whass wong,” he mumbled as he followed his dad and older brother out the door.
Dan watched as everyone cleared out, leaving him alone in the kitchen with Trixie. “Your brother grabbed me before dinner to tell me I’m an idiot.” He checked the temperature of the water running into the sink. “There’s nothing you can add.”
Trixie handed him two plates she had just scraped into the garbage pail. “I’m over the shock. I need to apologize.”
Dan set the plates in the sudsy water before turning around and leaning back against the counter. “Apologize?”
“Oh Dan! I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I just…I don’t want you…” Trixie choked on the words. “I‘m afraid…” She grabbed a dish towel and dabbed at her tears. “I care about you!” She began crying in earnest. “You…” She sobbed.
Dan stepped over and put his arms around her as Trixie sobbed. He’d seen her tear up on numerous occasions in the past, but never had he seen his friend cry like this. “Trix. Trix. I’ll be okay.”
Trixie turned her head and leaned against his chest. “You don’t know that.”
Dan held her awkwardly, afraid to pull her closer, yet wanting to provide comfort and reassurance. “Trix,” he finally offered. “Neither of us knows what will happen. I could be hit by a lightning bolt going home tonight. I could…you could…” Trixie pulled her head back and looked up at him.
“Dammit, Trixie,” Dan pulled away. He didn’t trust himself to be so close and looking into those big blue eyes, having feelings he knew were wrong for a close friend’s special girl. “I was really hoping you’d understand.”
He turned around and turned off the water that had been running. “Mart talks about running off to Canada all the time, so I knew he and Diana wouldn’t understand, although he’s trying. Your honorable boyfriend would insist he loan me the money for school. Honey’s too much under the spell of that damn hippie she’s dating. I figure she’ll say nice things, but who knows what she’ll really be thinking. I think Brian would understand, but he’s preoccupied, so I don’t expect much one way or the other from him. But you, you were the one who I thought would take my hand and say you believe in me. That I did what was right.”
Trixie wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed Dan’s hand. “Oh Dan, I believe you can do almost anything. If you wanted to go to Harvard, you could. If you wanted to fly to the moon, you would. If anyone can survive the Marine Corps and Vietnam...”
“Who says I’m going to ‘Nam?” Dan interjected.
“I’m just saying that you’ll be fine no matter where you go. If it’s what you want then you did the right thing. And you can count on me to support you. To do whatever you need or want me to do.” Trixie stepped up on her toes and kissed Dan’s cheek. “I believe.”
Dan pulled her close and whispered, “Thank you.”
“And did Mart really call you an idiot?” Trixie pulled away.
“Not exactly. He said my decision was, let me see, injudicious and ludicrous, and that I’m entirely too principled for my own well-being.”
They both laughed as Trixie grabbed a tissue to blow her nose and Dan turned back to the sink, encouraged that at least one of his friends might support his decision.
Honey Wheeler sat in the den of her parents’ penthouse, watching The Steve Allen Comedy Hour on the television. She was laughing heartily at Louis Nye’s “Man on the Street” routine when the phone rang. Hoping her boyfriend, Chip Lloyd, was calling her from his cross-country trip, she grabbed it before the second ring.
“Oh, Honey! Have you heard?”
“Calm down Trixie. Heard what?” Honey tried to disguise her disappointment.
“It’s Dan. Dan! He’s not going to John Jay in the fall.”
“Where’s he going? And who will share the apartment with Brian and the other guys? I know they were counting on his share of the rent.” Brian Belden would be starting Columbia Medical School in the fall and had leased an apartment with two other students. They were counting on Dan to move in and pay the fourth quarter of the rent.
“He’s not going to school at all!”
“What will that do to his deferment?”
“It’s the Marines!”
“The what? Trixie you’re not making sense. Wait. Did Dan join the Marines? You’re kidding!”
“Would I be calling you in a panic if I weren’t serious?”
“Did you try to…maybe we can talk to him. Do you think we could get him to change his mind?”
“I don’t think he can.”
“Maybe Jim or my Dad or…it can’t be that difficult to get him out. My dad can make calls. He did for…” Honey caught herself. Even Jim didn’t know that their father had contacted some influential people to ensure Jim would be accepted in the National Guard.
“It’s the Marines, Honey. Semper Fi! Do you know what that means?”
“Something like ‘for life’ or ‘be faithful’ or something. But why the Marines?
“It means, ‘always faithful’. He never would say why the Marines and not the Army or Navy. But could anything ring more true for Dan? Always faithful? No matter what, he’ll not change his mind. He’s got some idea that he’s being honorable or something. I think more of Brian and Jim have worn off on him than we realize!”
“I really don’t want to talk about being honorable. Jim makes me nauseous sometimes with all his talk about honor.”
“Honey Wheeler! Are you still angry at him because of New Year’s?”
“We’ve called a truce, but he’s never apologized. Until he does, I…I don’t want to talk about it. We’re barely even talking.”
“But he’s your BROTHER.”
“And he’s a chauvinist pig!”
“But you love him?”
“I don’t want to talk about it Trixie, please. I need to get off the phone. I’m expecting a call.”
“From Chip?”
“Who else?”
“Where is he?”
“I’m not sure. He called from Phoenix a few days ago. They were headed to several schools in California. Then they’re going to a bunch of Midwestern schools.”
“Do you really think they’ll be able to get thousands to march on Washington this fall?” The purpose of Chip’s cross-country trip was to recruit college students for the anti-war movement and a protest demonstration planned for that October.
“I KNOW they can. I have to go, Trixie, but I am going to call Dan this evening. If he’s determined to go into the Marines, well I don’t know what I’ll do, but at least you and I can support each other.”
The moment Honey hung up the phone, it rang again. This time it was Chip. Honey immediately shared the news about Dan.
“You know, my friend Dan? You met him in December. Trixie just called to tell me that he’s enlisted in the Marines.”
Honey was still trying to accept Trixie’s news. “Dan was the last person to join our club—you know—the Bob-Whites of the Glen. He moved out to Sleepyside after he got in trouble here in the city. He was homeless and living on the street. The Bob-Whites included my brother, Jim, Trixie, Trixie’s two brothers, Brian and Mart, and Diana. Oh, and me of course. Dan’s uncle is Regan our Stable Manager. I mean my parents’ stable, not mine or the Bob-Whites. Although we did use the horses more than my parents. We were just kids so we couldn’t own a stable. He was an orphan like Jim. Of course, Jim was already adopted by my parents when we met Dan, and Dan’s still an orphan. Are you still an orphan when you’re an adult?”
“What did you say?” Chip laughed. He had been dating Honey for several months, was used to her long winded and confusing explanations, and enjoyed teasing her about them.
“Dan’s worked so hard for everything. I mean all the Bob-Whites work hard, but he had even less than Trixie and her brothers. And, unlike Jim, my parents didn’t adopt him. Well, of course they didn’t. He has a family, but it’s only his uncle. Dan’s talented and bright. I told you he had a 4.0 at the Community College and was transferring into John Jay in the fall. Trixie says he didn’t get the financial aid he needed so he enlisted. He had no choice. Or at least, he thinks he had no choice.”
“He can’t be too bright if he thought he had to join the Marines,” Charles Edwin “Chip” Lloyd, III offered. Honey could hear him take a drag on a cigarette. He had been trying to quit, but it sounded as if he had picked the habit back up. “There’s a reason they call them Jarheads.”
“You don’t know him!” Honey protested. “Dan works so hard for everything, and he and his uncle don’t have much money.”
“There are always choices to marching off to slaughter innocent peasants and die in the jungles. You won’t find me volunteering.”
“You don’t have to. Your family can afford to send you to college, so you have your deferment.”
“None of our friends have volunteered. The only person I know who has gone into the military at all is John Freeman, and he was drafted. Heck, even your self-righteous brother has opted to join the National Guard. He has to play soldier one weekend a month, but it’ll keep him out of ‘Nam. ”
“Do you really think Dan’ll be sent to Vietnam?” The tears flowed freely now from the sensitive young woman as the reality of Trixie’s news began to set it. “Oh Chip, I’d just die if he…if he…”
“I’m sorry, Honey. I know how you feel about your friends,” Chip quickly offered. “I know I can act like an insensitive jerk at times. I need to be more respectful of how sweet and caring you can be. It’s what makes you so special.
“If Dan is as smart as you say he is, he’ll be okay. I would imagine he developed strong survival skills when he was homeless.” Chip used his most calming tone. “I just get so upset when I hear of anyone having to go off to ‘Nam, especially someone who feels pressured into volunteering. It makes no sense. It’s why I’m working so hard to end this effing war.” His voice was losing its soothing tone.
“Do you think I should try to call him? Try to change his mind?”
“I don’t think it’ll do any good. You say he’s already enlisted? But you should call him if it’ll make YOU feel better.
“Do you know why I called?” Chip quickly changed the subject.
“No?”
“Because I miss you like heck. And I wanted to know if you got the necklace.”
“It’s beautiful. I’m wearing it now.” Honey twisted the heart-shaped pendant in her fingers. “I love the monograms.”
“It’s not much. I’d much prefer to tell you Happy Birthday in person. That’s why I called early.” Chip was clearly excited. “San Francisco is incredible. Join me here. You can catch the next plane and be here before tomorrow morning and we can head down to Monterey. John Sebastian has put together an incredible weekend–long music festival. It includes all the big name west coast bands and there are rumors the Beatles will be there. Please, I miss you so much and I want you to meet some people. They’re enlightened, visionary. They’re planning so much more than just ending the war and I want to be a part of it all. I want you to be a part of it, too.”
“Ted is leading an entirely new faction for the SDS, advocating base-building and education rather than confrontation. It’s real pacifism and we’re meeting with people out here who’ve lived it. Even the cops are changing. There’s a fellow in Berkeley, he’s training cops in non-violent crowd control and…Honey, please say you’ll come out here.”
Honey listened patiently as Chip described his experiences over the past few weeks. As soon as they’d completed finals, he and the newly elected President of the Students for a Democratic Society, Ted Kaptchuk, left on a recruiting and speaking tour of campuses across the country. They were now in San Francisco and were so enamored with the societal changes in the Bay area that they had cancelled the rest of the trip.
“What about the rest of the tour?”
“Idaho, Drake, Kansas, Oklahoma State? Do you know they call their team the Cowboys? They’re all a bunch of redneck schools and they sure don’t want to hear what we have to say. I’ve seen enough corn and soy beans to last ten lifetimes. Ted has cancelled everything to focus on recruiting here. We’ve found a place to stay for the next couple months. As soon as I stopped vibrating from all the travel, I started missing you. Aching for you, Honey. And it’s not just me. There’s lots of work for you to do out here.”
“I’m not sure if I should leave right now. I told you about Dan. Trixie has gone ballistic over it all and…it’s just not a good time to leave. Maybe in a week or two.”
“The concert’s this weekend. The work’s piling up already. I’m going insane without you. I’m not going to beg, but you know how I feel. Here, write down the address and phone number. Then call the airlines…”
“I don’t know.” Honey’s resolve was weakening.
“Listen, there’s this doctor, David Smith. Just last week he opened a clinic. It’s a free clinic where no one has to pay, and he’s already seen hundreds of patients. I told him I knew this girl in New York who was smart and sensitive and looking for something to do that was relevant. He said to send you and send you NOW. HE needs you. “
Honey ended the call without committing, but promised she’d try to come out once she made things right with Dan and Trixie.
Honey never did call Dan that evening, but she did call her brother, Jim, which spoke volumes about her concerns for Dan. Honey and Jim had argued frequently about the war in Vietnam. While he had moral concerns about the reasons for the American military being in Southeast Asia, Jim could not bring himself to publicly challenge the wisdom and authority of the nation’s leaders. Honey had no such qualms. She was becoming increasingly influenced by Chip Lloyd and his friends, who were active in the anti-war movement. Jim thought she was being manipulated by people who were taking advantage of her sweet and trusting nature. The prior December they had a confrontation about her relationship with Chip, and as a result, they had barely spoken since.
Jim was surprised by the call, but not by Honey’s news. Fearing that, despite her sympathetic nature, Honey might upset Dan unintentionally, he convinced his sister that nothing positive would be accomplished by her calling Dan. Sensing that Dan needed unconditional support of his difficult decision, he offered to call for her.
While somewhat uncomfortable, Jim and Honey were able to avoid any mention of Chip and had their longest conversation in over six months. The call ended without Honey making any mention that she was considering flying out to San Francisco.
Jim hung up the phone, wondering what had prompted Dan’s decision to join the Marines. When Jim lost his draft deferment after graduating from Columbia a year earlier, he had planned to apply to Navy Officer Candidate School, but his father had convinced him that he would serve the nation better if he focused on his lifelong dream of building a school for troubled boys. So Jim had opted to serve in the National Guard while he attended graduate school. He was obligated to serve one weekend a month and two weeks each summer. There was a chance he could be called to active duty, but President Johnson had made it very clear that he had no plans to mobilize the Reserves or National Guard to fight in Vietnam. For the time being they were relying on the draft instead. Serving in the Guard, Jim could fulfill his military obligation while pursuing his education and gaining the experience he needed to realize his dreams. The choice had been difficult for Jim and he appreciated that Dan might not have come to the same conclusion.
Jim picked the phone back up and dialed a familiar number, knowing that Dan would welcome a few words of encouragement.
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