Chapter 19
FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE
BEHIND
(From
Sunday 24 August 1969 thru reporting in to The Basic School at U.S. Marine
Corps Base Quantico, Virginia in late September [likely the 23rd]
1969)
The
morning following university graduation, I wore my dress white uniform to my
home church in Vernon with those shiny new gold 2nd
lieutenant bars on each shoulder and Army jump wings pinned on the left side of
my chest. Comments were made, to briefly state the
case. I ate Sunday lunch with family at Daddy’s house and soon drove out to an
isolated area on a dirt road to be alone with God; thanking Him for the abundant
blessedness I felt over the
accomplishments and gains He had so graciously given unto me since I went out
from my father’s house. Looking ahead, I also pleaded with God for
His Protection amidst the dangers of military life ahead and the Viet Nam war I
was likely to enter.
Returning
to Daddy’s house, I packed work clothes for roofing work and soon left. I drove
to a small Free Will Baptist Church in a rural area near Carbon Hill, Alabama
for their Sunday evening service. Evangelist Bobby Jackson was preaching
revival services there. Likely this was the last night
of their revival. I listened to Brother Bobby’s good preaching and talked to him
after church. His words from God helped reassure me of my salvation in Christ,
which I wanted to be certain of at this crucially pivotal time in my life when
this farm boy was stepping out into the big world.
It
wasn’t until this night (24 August 1969) that I became fully assured of
my salvation in the Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, and have never
since doubted it. As I write this at age 70, looking back on my childhood and youth
with my present God-given wisdom, I believe that I became a child of God when I
was about 7 or 8 years old. How regrettable that many times
during the following 15 years or more, I was much in doubt of that most
important matter.
Departing from that church, it was about a 2-hour drive to Mr. and Mrs. Mars’ house in Birmingham. Likely I arrived there between 9 and 9:30 PM, chatted with those 2 friends briefly before we all 3 retired for the night.
The
next morning, I joined them for their weekday early breakfast. Mrs. Mars soon
left for her office job. Soon after, Mr. Mars and I went to a roofing job for
the day. That night at supper in their house, they spoke kindly to me
concerning me getting my university degree. I greatly appreciated their
kindness to me, just like they were my parents.
Previously, I wrote that their daughter entered Auburn University. But she later dropped out to get married and did not
graduate.
I
think it was exactly 4 weeks from this day, when I left their house on a Monday
morning for Quantico, Virginia. During those 4 weeks, I did roofing work 5 or 6
days each week, desirous to take advantage of all available opportunities to
earn wages to better my financial condition. After all, I now have an expensive
car to pay for.
We
worked on roofs in the Birmingham area for a few days. But
I spent between 2 and 3 weeks of those 4 weeks putting a new roof on a school
gym in the scenic mountains of eastern Tennessee in the town of Crossville.
When Mr. Mars and I traveled from Birmingham to Crossville, Tennessee, he asked
me to take my car. So I followed him as he drove his
car. Three other men who lived in the Crossville area (and worked for Mr. Mars)
presently had his “roofing” truck in Crossville. Upon arriving in Crossville
with me “in tow”, Mr. Mars spent 1 or 2 nights there to get us 4 men started on
this new job doing the gym roof, explaining exactly how the job was to be done.
Then he returned to Birmingham, leaving me as straw boss of that job.
I
ate my meals in cafes and spent the nights in a motel room. I enjoyed the
mountain scenery and passed a pleasant time there working hard 6 days a week.
Daily the joy of having graduated from a university flooded my soul. Daily, the
joy of my salvation flooded my soul atop that large gym, taking in the lovely
surrounding mountain scenery as I worked (many thoughts of my life’s future plans floating strongly around in my skull). ‘I’m
going to exert both mind and body to the fullest extent to become the best
Marine officer I can be.’ But at this time, more than
ever before I start looking forward to serving my Lord in whatever way He
leads, after serving only one term in the Marines.
Likely I spent 1 weekend in Crossville,
Tennessee. Mr. Mars came back to Crossville for the last few days of that job.
When we finished that gym roof, he and I returned to his house in Birmingham to again do roofing in that area.
I
think I went back to Daddy’s house only 1 more time (on a weekend), spent Sunday
with family, packed the few clothes and such that I would need to take to
Quantico, bade Farewell to family and friends, and drove back to Mr. Mars’
house on Sunday night. I spent the last weekend in Alabama at Mr. Mars’ house,
attending Huffman First Baptist Church with Mr. and Mrs. Mars. There I saw
their pastor’s daughter who was a student at Auburn and ate in my dining hall
on campus.
I
enjoyed leisurely spending that last Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Mars. Early weekday breakfast the next morning was followed by Mrs. Mars
giving me a somewhat emotional Farewell before she left for work. Mr.
Mars was on his own time. So he and I spent over an
hour together as I waited for Birmingham morning rush hour traffic to end. Then
I bade him Farewell and drove away in mid-morning. Likely
that was 22 September (1969). From his house in northeast Birmingham, I took
the most direct route to Interstate 20 East and cruised in style toward
Atlanta, Georgia on that broad expressway. This point in time brings me to
my 2nd major change in life, each change
bringing several “improvements” that I heartily welcomed and am most
thankful to My Gracious Lord for them.
2a A new, safe, nice looking car reliable for long trips.
Due
to Daddy’s poverty, he owned old, somewhat unreliable (somewhat dangerous) cars
while I was growing up. At times, our car’s engine would not start. At times it would start only if the whole family pushed it with
all our might to get it rolling. We children would push against the back of the
car with all our might. Daddy would be pushing against the frame of the
driver’s open door till we got up sufficient speed.
Then he would hop into the driver’s seat, put the car into low gear and pop the
clutch. If the engine didn’t start the 1st
time, we had to wearily push it again with all our might.
It
was embarrassing when we had to push-start our old jalopy in town or at
church in the presence of several people. People at church would join in and
push with us. Kids enjoyed doing that. Sometimes the car’s engine would quit as
we were chugging along the road. While driving, a “blowout” or a tire slowly
going flat was not rare. Daddy would jack up that wheel and change the tire. I won’t continue with the long list of problems Daddy had with
his old cars, including him spending much time trying to repair worn out parts
and things on the car and dickering much with the engine to get the car to run
or to keep it running. The bottom line is that it was embarrassing, frustrating,
unsafe, and consumed much time that could have been
used for productive farm labor.
Previously,
I told you of my own 1st and 3rd
cars “breaking down” on the highway as I was driving, leaving me “stranded”.
The 2 Falcons I owned before buying this T-Bird back
in late May were the better of the 5 cars I had owned before getting the
T-Bird. Neither of them gave me any specific trouble. But
I never
once took one of the little Falcons out onto an Interstate highway
because their engines were too small to hold up to high speed driving for much
of a distance.
From
the time I bought this T-Bird (back in May 1969) until I leave from the Memphis
airport for Japan in late November 1973, I will do much long distance driving
in this T-Bird. I thank God that it is well up to the task. Its large 429 cubic
inch engine has more than the necessary power, durability and speed. It is
reliable, safe and comfortable.
“And
the girls like it.”
‘You
don’t have to keep mentioning that.’
All
the time I drove the previous 5 cars I owned, the thought of them likely
breaking down while I was on the road was always in the back of my mind. That
produced a nagging unsettled feeling. Now it is reasonable to assume that this
T-Bird will hold up well for many long trips. That is most “mind settling”. Also the 5 speaker 8-track tape player makes for pleasant
listening. After living with Daddy’s old cars and my previous 5 cars, I am most thankful to God for this good car.
I
thank God for saving me from my tentative plan to buy a Corvette. That little
sports car is a most impractical vehicle, a cramped cockpit-like interior with
only one passenger seat, scant luggage space, low on the ground and far too
much power. Likely it’s somewhat noisy and “rough”
riding inside a Corvette. My large T-Bird hummed along quietly, smoothly, and
most comfortably. It made traveling most pleasant.
2b Finished with the roofing job.
A
rooftop is not a natural
workplace. It was extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter. We
often used aluminum paint. It got onto my skin, into my nose and thus into my
respiratory system. I breathed dust we stirred up on flat “industrial” roofs
that contained unnatural particles that were poisonous. Those 2 things and a few other “chemical” roofing products we used
were harmful to my health. To save time and money, we did not take adequate
safety measures. Thank Thee, Lord, for preventing me from getting
injured, especially with those 2 close calls.
In general I do not care for service sector jobs like
that roofing job. (But the pleasant task of serving
girls in the dining hall is an exception to that.) Often
being Mr. Mars’ straw boss, I had somewhat
direct dealings with customers who were difficult if not impossible to please.
I was relieved to be finished with this job for that reason also.
I
took the roofing job and kept it throughout college because
it was essentially the only one I found. All the while I worked it (for
just over 5 years), I stayed on the lookout for a job that did not have the
negative factors of the roofing work listed 2 paragraphs back, and a job
that was not hindered by “bad” weather. I lost many hours of pay
when the weather often prevented us from working.
I
wished I could have found a job as soon as I finished high school that I could
have worked 6 days a week 12 hours a day for an hourly wage with time and a
half for overtime. And I wished I could have worked
that job every day (except Sundays) that I could get away from my studies at
Auburn. I was young, healthy, strong, and up to that many hours of work per
week. Such many hours of pay would have doubled or tripled my
income during my college days.
“For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8) That is about the only explanation I have regarding
my “dissatisfaction” with the roofing job. I now feel greatly relieved
that my life as a roofer is in the past.
Now,
considering the positive aspects of that roofing job, Mr. and Mrs. Mars became
like parents to me. The time soon came when I would go stay at their house any
time I chose. I felt totally at home there and they
both welcomed me. That hospitality continued until each of them passed away
(and I will continue to tell you of that). I am most thankful for those fond
memories with the Mars family.
At
that stage of my life, it helped me greatly
that Mr. Mars conversed with me much, as opposed to Daddy’s rare words to me. Also, I believe I became a most important friend to this
couple, especially to Mr. Mars. He was a man most upright
in his thinking and most kind to and fair in his treatment of any other person
on earth, no matter high or low the status of that person. I profited by
observing his kindness and fairness to people and applied it to my life.
Along
with that, he was most outspoken about what he believed was fair and just in
people’s actions. My opinion is that he clearly and dogmatically voiced his
strong beliefs often when the occasion did not necessitate him doing so. His
strong words resulted in people shunning him much, likely even his own 3 grown sons. He had few close friends. By God’s grace I befriended him and to some degree became like his
son. No doubt that enriched his life and I am most
thankful that it did. Their love for me, and their much hospitality to me,
certainly enriched my life. I’m most thankful to God
for making me one of the Mars family.
It
is a giant leap from the sheltered life of an old fashioned
farm out into the hustle and bustle of the “world”. It greatly broadened my
narrow horizon (while working for Mr. Mars) to travel much, to have to deal
with various people out in public, and to supervise a work crew of men. It gave
me maturity that I needed.
2c No Job Search upon graduating from university.
Lazy, slouchy, slightly chubby, drinking, party boy Chuck worked in the
dining hall with me. Likely he graduated at the end of
May 1968. Chuck majored in education and thus upon graduating, he began to
search for a job as a schoolteacher. Slouchy in appearance, he partied much at
Auburn and studied little, resulting in failed courses and low grades along the
way to graduation. In the dining hall, I had to endure his much talk of
partying, and of the painful misery and despair of failing
courses.
If Chuck was dumb enough to think most any school would be glad to hire
such a graduate as a teacher, come Job Search time Chuck collided with stark
reality. No school hired him. In frustration, he finally went to work at a gas
station. I think he was from Montgomery and got that job there. That was just
about an hour’s drive from Auburn. One day during my last
year at Auburn, Chuck drove over and dropped into the dining hall to see us (his
old friends). He was trying to make humor about him being the only gas
station attendant in Montgomery with a university degree.
Pumping gas is a noble occupation. But Chuck
didn’t have to first waste much of his parents’ money and 4 years of his young
life drinking and partying on a university campus in order to obtain such a
job. He could have started pumping gas right out high school and thus gotten a 4 year head start on that career. As I write this 48 years later, I wonder how life has been for Chuck?
Does he own several gas stations by now?
Back in Chapter 12, I wrote that (to date, year 2016)
basically I haven’t had to hunt for a job since February 1965. Reader
friend, that one factor alone is most blessed. I reiterate
that topic here to throw in Chuck’s example and to call on you young folks not
to be like him.
(It was a most simple “transfer” for me from college student to Marine
officer on active duty, coordinating everything in advance with the Navy
ROTC office on campus, receiving my written orders from there, and now ever
so comfortably cruising along this Interstate Hwy in my T-Bird when it is
time to report for duty at Quantico.)
Young reader friend, glean wisdom from chubby Chuck’s bad
example. Now let me throw in Bill’s example also. When I started working at the
girls’ dining hall at Auburn, Bill (1 or 2 years older than I) had already been
working there for some time. He had a bland but abrasive personality and
stubbornly refused to do his job as properly as he should have. As an employee
and worker, Bill was a problem to “management”.
When Bill saw me (a freshman) get promoted to
line supervisor so quickly at the start of my 2nd full quarter
working in the dining hall, he made himself into my adversary. He almost never
greeted me normally. “Little Goodie Two Shoes” were the words he directed at me
most often, with sarcasm and venom in his voice, tho he was working under
me, Ha, Ha!
Bill coveted the easy, good paying job of cashier (as most workers
did). After I became a cashier and a time came when the
dietician boss was to appoint a worker as an additional cashier, I was in her
office getting my cashbox out of the safe when she said to me with amusement:
“Bill called me on the phone this afternoon and made it most clear to me that
he was available and willing to take that cashier’s job.”
The dietician boss and I had a good chuckle together over Bill’s generous
offer to her (and on the phone, at that). Because of poor job performance,
stubbornness, arrogance, and such, the boss would not consider Bill
for this better job. I don’t think he ever got any
promotion in the dining hall. But because My Lord had
made me into a diligent worker, I was head cashier for a year or
more and that was the job I was most desirous to have.
I know nothing about Chuck and Bill’s separate upbringings. Likely they were 2 of the many kids who didn’t have to work
while growing up. Except for their schoolwork, possibly they did little besides
the things that amused them (like playing, lying on the sofa or carpeted floor
in front of the TV, and such).
My upbringing was much different. I was made
to work hard while growing up. I worked in the fields growing the food we ate.
I fed our livestock and got chicken meat, eggs, pork, and beef to eat and cows’
milk to drink from that labour. I liked to eat regularly. That gave me
incentive to work hard at such daily toil. Also we
sold much of the crops we grew and much of the livestock. The harder I worked
at those jobs the more money our family would receive in our dire poverty.
So it
just came natural that I had much incentive to work hard and
properly while I was growing up. And it is most amazing that upon Daddy
suddenly, unceremoniously and totally releasing me from his strict taskmaster’s
rule over me when I finished high school, I didn’t begin to play and to be idle
all day every day, tho I then had gained the freedom to do so if I chose to do
so. Hard work during childhood and youth made me into a hard, diligent,
profitable and trustworthy worker. I thank God for that, and for the many
benefits in life that have come from it.
Boy! Girl! Young
man! Young woman! Do right! Be diligent and honest! Work hard! And
many good things will come your way in life that will not come to
the sorry soul that will not do right and will not work diligently.
Please recall when I started working for Mr. Mars. In 3 or 4 days when
his work crew went home for the weekend, he told straw boss Ed to leave 2 of
those guys at home when they came back to the jobsite
because they were no account, sorry, lazy bums. In 2 years or so, I became Mr.
Mars’ straw boss at age 20 (the age of those guys he
fired).
After working only 1 full quarter at the
dining hall, I was promoted to a line supervisor while still a freshman (1st
year student). A 3rd or 4th year student usually filled such a job. Diligence will do much for you.
Be diligent! Parents, train up your children to be diligent!
Listen to employers around you talking of having to
constantly watch their employees in order to make them work instead of
dickering with their cell phones. Listen to all such talk of problems with
employees. And if you will just work right, you
should always be able to find good work and to advance well
on your job.
“Little Goodie Two Shoes!”
Sure, sour Billy Boy, go ahead and spit it out with envy and spite, you
sorry excuse for a labourer. As long as you are in the dining hall you will just have to keep working under me
while watching junior me working the fine job you covet. Your sarcastic words
take no skin off of me!
(New subject) Fifty-two kids were in my high school graduation class at
the end of May 1964. Only a few of us obtained a four-year college or
university degree. Of the others who did so, most of them got their college
degree at the end of May 1968. I did not receive my college diploma till late August 1969. (And I thoroughly
enjoyed each day on Auburn’s campus.)
That
tardiness kept me out of the Viet
Nam war.
That
tardiness was necessary for my
slow developing mentality to catch up. As I cruise up this highway to start
performing the duties of a Marine commissioned officer, I am approaching my 24th
birthday. Likely my mental maturity is about the same
as most 21 year-old males.
Also, that tardiness gives me more time in my home nation
before I soon go to Japan to live the vast majority of my life on earth in that
land of idols. Looking back from this year of 2016 as I write this, I am most
thankful to my Lord for all the extra time He allowed me to
live in my home country (from the time I left my boyhood home near Vernon in January
1965 till I flew to Japan in December 1973).
Nearing Atlanta, Georgia, I take the NW beltway around the city up to
Interstate 85 North, go thru South Carolina and cruise on into North Carolina.
I feel most blessed in life as I cruise along ever so comfortable in this T-Bird.
But the rich blessings of life that I have thus far
related to you in this chapter were not as prominent in my young mind at that
time as they are now to this old man in his 70s. With age, we gain more ability
to be thankful.
Thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for Thy Abundant Richness given so
freely unto me thru out all my life. I will serve Thee, because I
love Thee because Thou hast first loved me so abundantly.
I cruise thru North Carolina into Virginia and am reminded of riding
with Mike ④ and two other buddies going down this
Interstate in the opposite direction as we left OCS at Quantico about a year
and 3 weeks ago. Well after nightfall, I check in to a motel, eat at a café and
retire for the night. The next day (Tuesday), it is not a very long drive going
on to The Basic School at Quantico. I guess this was September 23rd, one month after I graduated from Auburn. I
had never before made a trip nearly this long in my own car.
Thank Thee, Lord, for this reliable and comfortable car.
We were ordered to report for duty on this day by a certain time,
likely 2 PM or so. I think I arrived just before noon, showed my orders at a
gate or a reporting “post,” was told at what time to be in which classroom and
then I went to the officers’ closed mess for a scrumptious Marine lunch (free).
2d
Now a Marine officer and a gentleman.
I was commissioned “an officer
and a gentleman” into the United States Marine Corps by an act of the
legislature (congress) of the United States. The “gentleman” part of it was written into the commission I received on paper to frame
and hang on the wall (I never did) or such. I did keep it of course. At that
stage of our career, we 2nd lieutenants ribbed each other liberally
about being made a gentleman by an act
of congress. “That’s the only way a skunk like you would ever be called a
gentleman!”
Anyway, because we are now officers and gentlemen,
there is no more of the harassment that was heaped upon us at OCS last summer.
The sergeants and all enlisted military men around us now salute us and address
us as “Sir”. Higher-ranking officers who train us here are strict, but they
treat us as officers (lower ranking ones, of course). There were many other
benefits to now being a Marine Corps officer.
2e I
gain a regular paycheck with 30 days paid vacation per year.
Upon
checking in to Quantico Marine Base this day, my full-time pay starts on
this date. I then receive a regular monthly salary until I am released from active duty in mid-February 1975. Rain, bad
weather, or such never robbed me of a day’s pay as had happened when I worked
on roofs. Also, I was allowed to take 30 days off from
work each year with pay.
2f All necessary medical and dental treatment is totally free.
While
on active duty in the U.S. military, I’ll receive all
necessary medical and dental treatment completely free of charge. This is a tremendous
help to a poor farm boy who suffered a good amount of physical
pain growing up by not being able to afford a doctor and especially a dentist
when their help was needed. And
even now with a regular paycheck, I would tend to skimp on needed medical and
dental treatment if I had to to pay for
it out of my own pocket. Thus receiving it totally
free of monetary charge was a tremendous benefit.
2g I
start my desired “career”.
From high school graduation up to now, every
job I worked and all the studying I did had all been a
means to an end: achieving what I desired to do first and foremost in
life, having nurtured that desire since I was 15 years old or so. That was,
to become a United States Marine Corps officer and jet pilot. (At this stage, I’ve yet to become a pilot, of course.) Also
there is comradeship amongst us Marine officers now training together. We each
chose to do this because it was our desire to do so. To some degree, this makes
for “bonding” and eliminates certain problems and friction during the daily
grind. It felt good to finally arrive at this point,
to start daily training with fellow officers of kindred spirits, encouraging
and helping each other toward the same goal.
I
did all the prescribed “checking in” (paperwork) that got me onto active
military duty and onto the payroll from this date. Then at the set time in
early or mid-afternoon on 23 Sept. 1969, my training company of about 150 young
Marine officers assembled in a large classroom. Most were 2nd
lieutenants, with a few 1st lieutenants and 2 or more captains in
our class.
For
2 hours or so, we were briefed on the few things we
must be made aware of this 1st day. For training purposes, we were 1 company of 5 platoons. We all were
placed into the 5 platoons in alphabetical order of our last names,
starting with A in the 1st platoon. So Yerby placed at the end of
the 5th platoon followed by Yingling and Zumwalt who were the very last
2, I think. We were given a company roster to show us
all of that. We were introduced to our 5 platoon
leaders who were first lieutenants and captains, and to the company commander
and executive officer, each of who were majors.
Because
the war in Viet Nam brought on the need for more Marine officers, The Basic
School training had been intensified and cut back in time from 6 months of
training 5 days a week to 5 months of more intense training 5 and half days
each week, till noon each Saturday. Thus
one additional company was training here at The Basic School. But there was not room to house it at the Bachelor Officers’
Quarters at Camp Barrington, the main camp for TBS. So
each new company 1st lodged out at remote Camp Upshur for about a
month at the start.
Our
company commander told us to each drive our own vehicles the 4 or 5 miles or
so, out to Camp Upshur, following our platoon leaders in their cars. “Each of
you will obey the 45 miles per hour speed limit on this Marine Base.” And we did obey it. Most all married Marines in my class
lived off base with their wives. But they also drive
out now to certify the location where they will have to report about 6:30 AM
tomorrow. Then the married officers drove home to their wives.
We
single officers were shown the Quonset huts in which we would lodge, the
toilets and showers in an adjacent hut and the chow hall nearby. The platoon
leaders then left us and drove to their houses off base. I took my few
belongings out of my car to my bunk, wall locker and footlocker. Then I
showered, ate supper at the chow hall (getting
acquainted with fellow single officers in my platoon), chatted more with them
in our “hut”, and soon sacked out in my bunk to go to Dreamland in Marine Land.
“Good
night, poet Lieutenant Yerby. Sweet dreams in Marine Corps Land.”