I was surprised by the obvious difference in the way I was received at the gas station from previous visits. I knew it was the uniform, as well as the Saran treatment that kept me from looking like a weakened Hunchback of Notre Dame creature. Mickey’s friends, those who worked on the cars with him, who never spoke to me, or seemed to notice me in any way, smiled and nodded when I looked over at them.
Danny Ongais slouched against the side of the GTO, as I walked out toward him. Mickey had quietly gone back to work under the Mustang. I didn’t know what to make of the thin Hawaiian I moved slowly toward. He seemed like a typical Oahu local, or Kanaka, which I was not. He smoked a cigarette, glancing up at me as I approached. He didn’t smile, so I didn’t either.
Anything coming out soon LT? It’s been a while….Hope things are good with you.
What were they thinking ,Damage wasn’t enough.
Jimminy Crickets, James! Back in the doo-doo you go. I am wondering how your wife handled it.
I am always so glad that I get to read it both before and after Dan C does his magic. Your writing of your experiences seems to manage to climb higher through each chapter, though I enjoy each of them.
Yep, back in the late ’60’s, early ’70’s, wearing the uniform out in public could be hazardous. My CO told the whole squadron to wear civvies off base.
Waiting eagerly for your next chapter.
FUBAR
I also had a 1966 Galaxy convertible red/white top. It had the 428 but it was a two barrel. Good car.
Wow! Like many readers I didn’t see that coming at all. Great work, your writing gets better and better with each chapter. Thanks!
Life itself slowly but surely improved, if you want to consider that that word is interpretable…
I had asked God for the favor of not letting me live a normal life once I knew I was going to make it in Japan.
I believe he complied, with enthusiasm for the job.
Semper fi,
Jim
Some people could never understand just why I volunteered to extend my tour there for six months, but as you just pointed out is what I had based my decision on back then. I knew “they” were taking anyone returning conus with more than six months left of enlistment and sending them back, often to different units in I Corp. as replacements, and using the old Convenience of the Govt. (COG) rules to keep them there past their end of enlistment date. Having realized I would have been caught in that trap, I beat their game, stayed safe and got out a month early. I truly hated the thought of what they just did to you happening to me too.
Hope your goat laid down some quick times… 🙂
Great chapter Lt., keep ’em coming.
SEMPER Fi
By God, Bob, but you were the ultimate player. How did you know? Of course I never got to the rear long enough to learn anything.
Nice work and glad you are here with us.
Semper fi,
Jim
A buddy of mine went Stateside with 10 months left on his enlistment, then he suddenly returned after 3 months. Otherwise I believe it would have also happened to me as well. Changed squadrons and made out 😁👍
Time for chapte xx?
Chapter XX and XXI are posted
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
After reading the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ten days, I didn’t think that anything else you had to say would hold much attention. I was wrong. I wait impatiently for the next chapter of the Cowardly Lion. It is hard to believe you had such bad luck with people of higher rank. Lucky that you had an understanding wife and a daughter to distract you from everything ugly that was going on. I am envious that you met and had work done on your GTO by THE Mickey Thompson who was the first person to break the 400 mile per hour speed record in 1960.
I am honored by your support, Danile.
I hope you are sharing these chapters with friends.
Semper fi,
Jim
OMG, the interaction with Mickey after the car load of boys left. I remember having conversations with other vets about this very same realization. That a confrontation of any sort would result in someone’s death. It hit me right between the eyes, recognizing myself as being in that frame of mind at one point in my life. Experiencing anger that I didn’t recognize and actually scared me.
As I predicted after Chapter Eighteen a gut and sucker punch was coming but I could never imagine something like this . However like in the previous situations with the collection of some very well connected friends you have made I am sure they will figure out a way to get you out of this mess and turn it around on whoever initiated it .Keep the chapters coming and I am looking forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh in September
The ego of a minority turns them into an arrogant and vengful bastard. They can do a lot of damage to satisfy their ego with power they do not deserve. Time for a chat with the Sgt Major? He may know a way to circumvent even a full bird. Never underestimate the wiley ways of a pissed off senior NCO.
You will find Chapter 20 to be most interesting!
Thanks for the advice and speculation.
Semper fi,
Jim
If I ever needed anything when I was in the Army, I always went to the top enlisted guy. I knew many of them from my job and they were always willing to help me out….for a favor or 2. I never minded doing that!
Smart move, Joe
This came entirely unexpected , and heart stopping , to say the least ! My grandfather always said , life is a surprise , and some of them suck !! This proves him correct !!
Thanks Don, for that down home advice and observation.
Yes, it was a surprising time in so many ways…almost all unexpected.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow, didn’t see that coming.
Neither did I, at the time. A Colonel with twenty some odd years of working in the rear had some considerably powerful allies and
resources. I was lucky to survive his reaction.
Semper fi,
Jim
Here’s hoping “Lighting Bolt” gets nailed by a real lightning bolt.
You remain the class act you started out to be, and your cheering from the far bleachers is most appreciated.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow that was a surprise
Yes, Jim, to me too!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
what happened to the inquire about the col who pretty much did little for you and your men in the valley?
The resolution, with respect to that man, I never followed up on. I had no tools or access to anything and all I wanted
was for all those memories to go away. The answer is, to this day, I have no idea.
Semper fi,
Jim
LT as I have read this I have become more and more appalled at your medical care! Belay that appalled isn’t a strong enough word! I’m outraged at your medical care. You are at best ready for limited desk duty. No way in hell you are ready line company duty even here in the states and you are sure as hell not ready for any duty in a war zone!! I don’t know who you pissed off but they must have had a great deal of pull!! The fact that you could write this story says you survived. SMH in wonder!
Yes, I have survived and no I did not really expect to. Life’s twisting and turning back in those days
seems a whole lot more wild and wooly than it did when I was going through it.
Semper fi, and thanks so much for your concern.
Jim
Caught a lump in my throat. Still shaking
I was, back in the day, too. I had some Blessed by God help aboard, however,
and I would not have survived without that. Like I have Blessed by God men and women writing on here.
I always feel this group in my corner.
Semper fi, and thanks for caring so much.
Jim
Surprise, Surprise, as a fictional Marine we all know would say. Were these orders cut long before you collided with the Colonel ?. In your email you mentioned you posted the latest chapter, but I misread it for the last chapter , kind of took my breath . Looking forward to the remaining chapters , Good luck to you .
I met that movie star later in Hawaii. He was on a run around Diamond Head after getting out of the hospital for a liver transplant. He stopped to rest for a moment. “Yes, it’s me,” he said, with his big smile. I thanked him for
talking to me at all and then went my way. I remember well his voice and accent. Thanks for the care and for wanting to read more, which there’s plenty more coming.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow. Plot change! I thought of the delusional helicopter pilot in the hospital in Japan. I was preparing for WW3 between you and lightening bolt. Keep the good work.
I too was preparing for a confrontation of staggering proportions with the Colonel. I was so new
to stateside ‘combat’ however that I had no idea of the moves and games that might be played by
hateful masters of the game.
Semper fi,
Jim
This is surely a BIG mistake!
No mistake. It was real. I wish I still had the copy of orders, but when you are living history at an early age
you cannot see it as history at all.
Thanks for the comment and the support.
Semper fi,
Jim
Sir, You mentioned your departure date but you don’t tell us what it was, are you trying to keep us even more in suspense? If that is your objective it’s working, can’t wait to see the next chapter and I already feel so bad for your wife. Semper Fi, Sir
I was given two days to report to Travis for transport in the orders. I thought I mentioned that in the story segment. I must reread. I might have replayed that part in my
mind and not written it!
Semper fi, and thanks,
Jim
Is he the driver they called the Flyin’
Hawaiian ?
Yes, he was. Retired now. I only knew him for that rather small slice of time
and he wasn’t socialable enough to get hold of anything inside him.
Thanks for the usual interest and introspection.
Semper fi,
Jim
I find the Cowardly Lion more interesting than 30 Days- because I kind of knew the ending at 30 days and while well written and unique it is a story of war – but the Cowardly Lion gives a real look at what one experienced after being seriously wounded, the time in the states and some real human behavior- good and bad towards a decorated veteran and man. It is a story of recovery and despair – how badly the Corps can treat “people” and how kind some people were towards Jim it is truly compelling and I cant wait for the next chapter. While war is unique to the author there are universal elements to war but the Vietnam vet in 1968, 69, etc is a very different post war experience making the Cowardly Lion is brilliant
Thanks so much for the great compliment Rich, and also for your comments on my Facebook page.
This little comment isn’t so little and goes right to the heart of the novel, me, the time and
a recitation of experiences I never thought of as special in any way. Only you guys and gals on here
give me much in the way of understanding it.
Semper fi,
Jim
That last part…. my heart dropped.
Didn’t see that coming!
I still remember getting my orders for my second tour in Vietnam, the first time was an adventure to be had, I was single the second time married with one child and another on the way. A bad enough experience but I was healthy and been away from that war for a couple of years. I could not even begin to understand how you and yours felt at that moment. FUBAR
I didn’t really feel at all. I was dead to feeling, the shock was so great. Without my wife
I would have been, once again, lost in space, time and soon to be over life.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another great chapter. I look forward so much to reading each chapter of your book.
You always keep us hungry for more.
Much appreciate that attention and the compliment it pays me.
Thanks for that and writing about it on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Great read Definitely have are attention Keep it coming On a different note Did you ever fight the war in your dreams at night I don’t recall you mentioning that Your recent return might have block that out at this juncture of you recovery that subject might’ve a good one
We all fight war in our dreams, one way or another. I have had few in the last year or so, but then this writing of the whole thing
has been much more curative and cathartic than I would ever have imagined before I started.
Early on, I just could not sleep normally, at all, Down and up, into a dream and then bailing out to the real night
instead of back in the valley. The guys mostly appeared in many of those early dreams but disappeared as time went by.
I have a hard time picturing any of them in my mind now but back then, it was startling how detailed they all were.
Semper fi,
Jim
I am enjoying the story very much. As a non-combat draftee, i had got into Athens on the bus after a seven hour delay from Ft. Benning. I was walking down the street headed to my trailer and wife,about two miles in my class A’s, at about 2:30 in the morning when a car full of frat kids go by with the catcalls.
Could a car load of frat boys or any single one of the whip my ass? No doubt they could have, but like your story, I would not have been fighting to hurt them.
I got chills reading you experience.
You got the nature of that sequence H.Kemp. Probably not many do or will.
There is something special and terrible having Junior live on at the bottom of
our human abyss…
Semper fi,
Jim
James, I felt my heart rate increasing as I read this chapter. The incident with the wiseguys seems to have birthed the Cowardly Lion. We’ll have to wait to see how everything works out. At least your readers know you survived the events you recount from so many years ago.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
Ongais behind the wheel.Mickey backed up,
Maybe add space before “Mickey” and period instead of comma after “up”
Ongais behind the wheel. Mickey backed up.
Dannie braked the car down hard
“Danny” instead of “Dannie”
Danny braked the car down hard
He tightly turned the car around in the single lance circles
Maybe “lane” instead of “lance”
He tightly turned the car around in the single lane circles
He blew it out into the sun-warmed afternoon wind. “Let them know who you are, I meant,” he continued softly, before finishing, “what you are.
Maybe add “Instead of” before “Let”
He blew it out into the sun-warmed afternoon wind. “Instead of ‘Let them know who you are’, I meant,” he continued softly, before finishing, “what you are.”
Move quote mark from before “The man was amazing” to end of “what you are.”
convertible became a brut.
Maybe “brute” instead of “brut”
convertible became a brute.
“You looking for me?” I asked, not bothering to identify myself
Add period at end of sentence.
“You looking for me?” I asked, not bothering to identify myself.
May everything work out in the best interests of you and your family.
Blessings & Be Well
Well, what can I say?
Thank you again, Dan for the fabulous edits.
They are corrected.
Another favor?
You might want to share our Combat Wind tour info with friends who might be interested.
Combat Wind Itinerary
Semper fi,
Jim
Holy sh*t! That’s crazy, but par for the course.
Ah good on ya Junior
Ya was just ‘spinnin’ ya whéels stateside anyways
Yes, I was, and man oh man did I want to continue doing that!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
And the hits just keep on coming. The green machine strikes again. Curious to how you beat this one😎
It wasn’t the Corps. It was some bad actors in the Corps. The overall Marine Corps, from philosophy to implimentation is pretty damned great, back then
too.
Semper fi,
Jim
WOW, absolutely unbelievable.
Holy Shamolie! That was a sucker punch. I mightve gone UA for awhile. I felt my stomach tighten when I read it. Very good chapter.
PS: I used Blue Coral on my Goat too. Never let it dry completely or it’s a biotch to get off.
Blue Coral is good stuff. Thanks the input, Laddie
GEEEEZ LT his part is way more depressing than the valley stuff. So difficult to fight the fog of bureaucracy. Semper fi
Thanks so much Bob, but the depressing part is overwhelmed with the greatness of living and being back.
Maybe I do not do such a good job at illustrating that.
Thanks for the heads up.
Semper fi,
Jim
Shit , never saw that coming, how much shit can a man take
Man can handle a lot, and the more you’ve been through the more you want to live on…
At least I did.
Semper fi, and thanks for the great comment.
Jim
Unimaginable they wouldn’t even allow you to heal. Beyond belief.
You have to be kidding me. Told ya I was waiting for the other shoe to drop
The Military im action, some make sense most do not!!
I wonder what I would have done, if I received orders back to DaNang rather than MAG 14 Building & Grds Officer, MCAS Cherry Point NC? I suppose a certain amount of relief going back to a place I understood. But then responsibility of June and kids, plus anger at being screwed with would take over….options…write your congressman, request mast or return for more advice from the SgtMaj or kill the bastard and dispose of the body!
S/F
You would have done the ‘right thing,’ which you have an amazing talent for doing. Me, not so often…although we both have arrived here
at this age and time. Amazing.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Damn, didn’t see that coming.
Neither did I, obviously, Robert…and thanks for being and staying along for the ride.
Semper fi,
Jim
WTF kind of a deal is this?
The kind of deal that so many were handed back in those days, when vets were at an all time low in the public’s opinion.
Semper fi,
Jim
Ahhh no…
Ahhh no…what?
Semper fi,
Jim
Holy shit batman!! Can’t believe they did that to you. Were you a little bitter with the Marine Corps at this time?
No Peter, I love the Corps, like I did back then, I wasn’t screwed over the the Corps. It was some men. So many others were quite wonderful.
I loved the uniform the music and the innate patriotism of the whole thing, then and now. By and large, the Corps is always trying to help people
and almost always caring about the residents, citizens and more in this country.
Semper fi,
Thanks for caring so much,
Jim