Our 105mm howitzer long-range cannons stood in place ready to fire whenever the instructions came. The men knew that Command was thinking about how we’d proceed, and our unit wasn’t exactly itching to be firing the big guns. Sergeant McQuiston kept pacing back and forth, waiting, just waiting, waiting, waiting.
“Slow it down, Sergeant,” I said. “A little rest won’t hurt you any.”
McQuiston grinned. “We get so used to constant fighting that it’s hard to do nothing. The unexpected always gets to me.”
“Really?” Swinging Bill Arnold said. “Really? Who are you kidding? I can sit here doin’ nothing all day long.” He lay down and stretched out on the grass.
“I bet you’re good at doing nothing,” McQuiston quipped.
PFC Lee Lewis sat down on top of an empty ammunition box. “You think them Japanese might be planning to come flying across Tombstone Ridge and pour down Nishabaru Hill thinkin’ they’d drive us out of here? Plunk us back in the ocean?”
McQuiston snorted. “Let ’em try. We’ll cut ’em up like low-grade sausage and have ’em for supper.”
“Whooeee!” Swinging Bill said. “Are you ever the optimist!”
George Morris sauntered over. “Sounds like you boys got the war all figured out. My hunch is that none of you know shit.”
McQuiston started laughing. “I think old George is right on the mark. No telling what’s ahead. As the saying goes, ‘Ours is to do or die.’ However, I wasn’t planning on the dying part happening anytime soon.”
Swinging Bill kept staring at the sky. “None of us has any control over destiny. Like them clouds rollin’ in and then rollin’ out, the winds will blow in our fate whatever that may be.”
“O-o-u,” PFC Lee said. “Swinging Bill has turned philosopher on us. “Come on, Major Shaw. Tell us what you see written on the horizon.”
“I’d say you’re damn lucky you’re not out there in one of those units making a run at the Japanese. Sure, we might get hit by one of General Tojo’s flying boxcars and blown to smithereens, but it’s not likely. If you stay put and keep your nose clean, you ought to be able to survive what’s coming.”
“Interesting,” McQuiston said. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
PFC Lewis rubbed his chin. “Yeah, I’m sure every one of those men who fell yesterday really didn’t think it was comin’ for them. Course, they didn’t suffer none.”
“Suffer none!” PFC Morris exploded. “What in the hell has that got to do with anything?”
“A lot,” Lewis insisted. “If it’s you getting a hole poked in your chest, I’m sure you’ll be hollerin’ about it then.”
McQuiston laughed. “You boys worry and jawbone about the most ridiculous junk I ever heard. Let’s face it. We’re sitting out here in limbo, waiting for fate to come walking through our camp. All any of us is gonna get is what hits us most unexpectedly. That’s just the way life is. You never know because what usually happens comes sailing in out of the blue anyway.” He pointed up at me. “Major, were you expecting your wife to get pregnant?”
I snickered. “Why, you didn’t think that was an accident, did you?”
The men started laughing. Abruptly, the walkie-talkie phone rang. Sergeant McQuiston answered.
“What?” The sergeant’s voice rose an octave. “You got to be kidding!”
For a moment each man fell silent.
“Sounds like we’re gettin’ ready to fire up,” Morris said.
“When?” McQuiston asked in a softer voice. “I see, I see,” he said slowly.
I walked over to take the phone if necessary. Sounded like an attack was imminent.
“Tell everyone?” the sergeant asked. “Okay.” He hung up the phone slowly. “Can’t believe it.”
“What?” I said. “Don’t just stand there. Tell us what’s happened.”
McQuiston took a deep breath. “The president of the United States died. President Roosevelt’s gone.”
The men stared.
“Can’t believe it,” PFC Lewis muttered.
“I’ll be damned,” Swinging Bill said. “Talk about the unexpected.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Command is sending out the word to all units. The president is dead.”
“President of America?” Lewis asked.
“The United States!” McQuiston nearly shouted. “President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a stroke in Warm Springs, Georgia.”
“God help us!” Morris exclaimed.
“Don’t get your underwear in a knot,” Swinging Bill said. “What’s all that got to do with us out here in the Pacific?” He shrugged. “The country will go on. Always does. Whoever is vice president will take over.”
“You guys don’t seem particularly bent out of shape,” I said.
“The truth is we are fighting a war thousands of miles away from the good ol’ USA,” Arnold said. “All that’s on our minds is not getting killed. I’m afraid the president of the United States is light-years away from any of my concerns.”
Men began walking over from the other howitzers. “What’s this about the president?” Lieutenant Marvin Hoffman asked. “Didn’t quite get the story straight.”
“Yeah,” Sergeant Tom Brown said. “Give us the scoop.”
Captain Robert Olson and Lieutenant John Hayes joined in.
“You’re sure you got the message right?” Brown asked.
“Came from Command,” McQuiston said. “Apparently, the president had a stroke. Must have occurred last night.”
Hoffman rubbed his chin. “Guess Harry Truman is the president now.”
“Who in the hell is Harry Truman?” Hayes asked. “Never heard of the old fart.”
“Come on.” Morris sounded irritable. “Show some respect.”
“I sure as hell ain’t gonna kiss his butt,” Hayes said.
“I’ve never voted in my life,” Swinging Bill said. “I don’t know Truman from a toad. We’re out here fighting for the country and trying to stay alive. That’s a bigger deal to me than what’s going on with the politicians.”
“Roosevelt was the leader of our country,” I said. “We might quibble over politics, but he did bring America through a terrible depression. Roosevelt put men back to work and oversaw this war. We need to honor his memory and offer due respect.”
“You’re right, Major,” Lieutenant Hoffman agreed. “I don’t know anything about Truman except he was a senator. Must be a good guy of some sort to lead the country. I’ll salute him.”
The men mumbled their agreement and dispersed.
I walked to the perimeter of our camp. I knew nothing about Truman and not a great deal about Roosevelt. Still, he had been our supreme leader. Now this new guy named Harry Truman had moved into the White House. We were all so fixed on the war and surviving that we paid little attention to the comings and goings of political debate back home. We’d keep on living out that mentality till the war was over.
Still, the news was a shock . . . indeed, the most unexpected!