“The conditioning of soldiers, so that they will respond to command without question, was an abomination to me.” I have long liked the books of William Wharton. I think that the film Birdy was probably the introduction. Dad was read by nearly all in the family well before the film – only a while back did I reclaim the book from my parents’ house. My memory is being jealous of the lifestyle in Scumbler. A Midnight Clear left the greatest mark – playing a game of bridge among four where a fifth has written the four hands of cards on separate pieces of cardboard and that keeping them occupied for such a time – when five to ten minutes is the norm. But the scene in the forest when they meet the German troop has stayed forever. Recently in the Waterstones’ discount bin, I picked up Shrapnel and enjoyed his memoirs of World War 2. Towards the end he mentions a Rolin Clairmont who reminded me of Sir Adrian who I learnt of just a while back. I think a few rereads are calling. | “The last I heard of Rolin Clairmont is that when he goes home on furlough, between wars, the German and Japanese, during which they drop the atomic bomb, he goes on a real toot. After having gone through the whole war without a scratch, taking all kinds of risks, he takes his father’s airplane, flies it under telephone wires, misses, crashes, and gets twenty-three stitches in his head and a concussion. Well, it should have been enough. I’m sure a psychiatrist could write some kind of paper explaining how Rolin needed to play war to prove something to himself. Maybe they’d say he didn’t have enough self-esteem or something, but for Rolin think the war was fun. I think he was one of the few people who lived through the damned thing and enjoyed it. I also think he was frustrated when we dropped that atom bomb. When we were told at Fort Benning about the beaches we would have charged up just south of Toyko, it was obvious he was disappointed. What does a civilised society do with a guy like that? I guess sometimes we just put them in jail or an insane asylum” |
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