The Lost Weekend
It is the Summer of 1978-----it's brutally hot, and my Team just got back from another Mission, this time just outside of Kunsan, South Korea. This one was different in that we used ground vehicles for convoy purposes and not choppers, so we had spent a lot of time on the road, and were plenty tired by the time we arrived the Unit Motor Pool at Camp Humphreys on that Friday afternoon. A week's worth of dirt and funk permeated the very air we stood in, and because we had such a successful mission, our Team Leader, CPT Walters, made an announcement that we would not have to TI and clean the vehicles until Monday morning. It was that very announcement that led to the lost weekend of Dave.
"E" Marzan-----"Effrain", what a name, was one of my Non Military Police Friends from my Team. A Puerto Rican Dude right out of the Bronx who was one of the coolest guys I ever met in the service. We left for the Ville together about 45-minutes after we were released for the weekend. Showered, shaved, and primed for a night with the local female populace was a part of the plan, and it may very well be that we accomplished a little giling giling over the next few days, I just do not remember.
Now, I want to explain that this was a different time, and my Unit was literally, a Ghost Unit, we did not exist. Every month we were gone from Camp Humphreys for a minimum of 7-10 days-----the rest of the time was spent Training, and Training, and Training, and Training----and every quarter we spent one week getting graded by not only 8th Army, but the DOD would send a grading team out as well. Each and every guy in our Unit was a hot dog, in fact, that's why we were all assigned to this unit in the first place. Ego, pride, performance, and individualism got us in the unit and when we were at work we were truly the best----but when we were off work, well, we were basically Party Animals to the "N"th degree. The fact that if we ever got in trouble, all punishment was handled in house by the Team Leader, we never suffered retribution for acting like idiots. At least not through the conventional Article 15, or Captain's Mast. No, no one ever got busted, but we did have to pull extra duty now and then. Assimilating back into the Stateside Army was hard for everyone of us after we left.
"As you were", let me get back to the story (Smoke em if ya gottem), so, "E" and I hit the Ville, and the first place we go is the Korean Pharmacy. I know, I know, but everyone was doing it and I succumbed to the peer pressure-----I'm weak that way. Anyway, I was a Nod Man (Cough Syrup), and "E" was a "Pink Heart" man, which can best be compared with Quaaludes. I had never done any of these Pink Hearts before, but after downing a couple bottles of Nod, I agreed to try a couple out. Approximately 45 minutes later----the world turned off for me. I was awake, functioning (sort of), and apparently able to talk, but I don't remember.
The Next thing I remember is I am waking up in bed with some chick I have never seen before, in a hooch I had never been in before, with "E" passed out on a futon with another girl I never saw before. I look at my watch and see it is 10:30 AM-----I'm thinking "Cool, in time for Chow if we hurry". So, I wake up "E", we get dressed, and start our way to the Main gate talking about how we don't remember anything. As we approach the main gate, we see something we did not expect-----lots of traffic from military vehicles and almost everyone is in uniform. As we were showing our ID's at the Gate we asked what the hell was up with all the traffic on a Saturday and if we had missed a recall or something. It was at that time we found out that it was Tuesday morning.
After getting Biatched out for about 2-hours, both "E" and I were assigned to clean every single weapon in our Unit Armory. Every single weapon-----but the other options were much worse, and by Friday afternoon we were done. At first I thought we got off easy, but by Friday I was so sick of guns I never wanted to see one again. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I no longer hunt or have weapons in the house. Boy, those were the days, do your job well and expect no concern over drug or alcohol abuse-----using the black market to make side cash, and the "I am so special, they cannot afford to lose me" attitude that while being true while in Korea, did not carry over stateside. Hell, I managed to pick up E5, SGT even with a few instances similar to the lost weekend. It was like being rewarded for having fun.
Then I went Stateside----but that's another story, as is the time I was caught with actual proof that I had committed 45 counts of forgery, and was let off with a stern lecture from my 1st SGT. AHHH, memories.
