 Proudly we hail. New York City, where the American stage begins. Here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station to bring you this story. As proudly we hail the United States Army. One man's loss. There's much to tell about the life and world of an army, especially an army at war. Most of what we remember deals naturally with fighting courage and victory. There is however woven into this history of violence another kind of story. A softer, warmer type. One that concerns itself with tenderness and devotion. This is such a story. Our first act curtain will rise in just a moment. The first, here's a special message for the young man listening. Now you can choose your own Army specialist training from more than 100 technical courses and have a class space reserved in your name before you enlist. In addition to your Army career training, you'll have the opportunity of earning college credits through off-duty study, plus many other advantages. For complete information visit your nearest recruiting station and ask about the Reserve for You training program. And listen a little later with a pencil in your hand because we'll be back to tell you more about the Army's wonderful new Reserve for You training program. And now your United States Army presents the proudly we hail production One Man's Law. Funny how it comes back to you. Just a couple of lines in the newspaper and wamo. You're back ten years at an Army base in the south of England, right smack in the middle of Buzzbomb Alley. I thought about the story all morning and decided to tell it to Joe Harris at lunch. Well, what's the big scoop, Steve? Nothing much, Joe. Just a little item I read in the morning paper. Ah, it's in the paper. That's a fine thing to tell a newspaper man. I thought you were giving me a story. Well, there's a part of it here, only a small part. I'll take a look at this. Yeah. Uh-uh. The obituary column, a sure sign of old age. As soon as the guy starts treating you... Not the obituary. As you clown that little piece at the bottom of the page. Oh, this one? Yeah, okay. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, I see. Very nice. Very nice. Will you finish it? Sure. Now, let's see. What are we going to eat? Well, what do you think of it? What do I think? Nothing. Steve, look, the world is full of screwballs. This is nothing. I got a tip this morning about some team up in Stanford of what a million-volt X-ray machine for a sick horse. Can you imagine that a million... You don't understand, Joe. I know this guy. All you do? We were in the same outfit during the war. Twenty-seven transportation. Headquarters couple. Right outside of Shelburne. Frank and I were both in town. You checked that oil filler, Steve? Yeah, it's okay. You about finished? Almost. I'm going to have another look at that right rear fender. I think I can tap that dent out. I'll give you a hand with it, Frank. Ah, you can take off, Steve. I'll thank you. I'll only take a couple of minutes. Come on. You'll miss the six o'clock truck to town if you hang around. I'm not going anyplace, so it doesn't matter to me. All right, if you say so. Thanks, Frank. We'll see you in a minute. I got six pants. Jolly, jolly, six pants. I got six pants to last me all my life. I got six pants to... Hey, what's going on? Who's there? It's me. I'm sorry, Corporal. Come on out of there before I... I'm sorry, Corporal. I was only... You're a kid. All right, shorty, what do you think you're doing? You know you're not allowed to hang around here. No, I'm not, sir. I just enjoy watching the men work on the vehicles. The vehicles? They ain't an exhibition, so shove off. I do know a lot about automobiles, sir. I could help if you'd let me. Nothing, though, and bait it. I could polish them up a bit. I'd not be in the way, Corporal. What's the matter, shorty? You don't understand English so good I said bait it. Yes, sir. I'm going. Body was back the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. And finally, Frank got tired of chasing him. Hand me that wrench, shorty. Yes, Corporal. I'm going. What? The wrench, the wrench. Let's go. I ain't got all day. Yes, sir. Is this the one, Corporal? Yeah, that's the ticket. Oh, just tighten this... Hey. Yeah, how's it look? Smashing. Very good indeed. Smashing, eh? Yes, sir. What's your name, shorty? Tommy. Okay, Tommy. My name is Frank. Hey, that's a bus bomb. What's a doodle bug all right? Get up, I want to hear it cut out. Babies. It must have landed in Barringham. They're getting closer all the time. They were inseparable after that. The American couple, and a skinny little English kid with ears that stood away from his head like two great question marks. We got kind of used to seeing them eating or laughing or working together. All right, Tommy, that wheel's cleaning up. Let's sit down for a while. I'm not tired, Franky. I'll finish it. You're scratching all the good stuff off of it. That's enough. Boy, I'm beat. It's really clean now, isn't it, Franky? I don't know. I can't see in this miserable weather. Look at that fog roll in with you. A bit mucky, isn't it? Lousy soup. It is lousy. Watch your language. But, Franky... Just watch your language, that's all. Yes, Franky. You have weather like this in New York. Come on, Tommy, do we? Well, I don't know. Not even for a joke. We don't have this kind of miserable soup where I come from. No. No, I'm sure you don't. Yeah. Come chum. Thank you very much. Yeah, get fat. Take two pieces. All right, then. I will. That's your stuff. Yeah, I always... Yeah, let me open it for you. How's that, huh? It's delicious, Franky. Oh, I get a great fear. You're a riot, kid. You're going to be the death of me, kid. Franky, what's the matter? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, Franky. All right, away you choo. You look like my grandfather. Try and eat a porterhouse steak without teeth. On his gum choo and racket, you got to take it easy. Smooth and easy. There, watch. See? There you go. Like this? That's it. Yeah, choo, choo. That's his stuff. Good. Am I doing it right now? Perfect. Chew, chew, up, two, three, four, up. Tommy fell into the GI routine as though he was born to it. He was friendly to most of us, but it was plain to see that it was Franky idolizing. And it was Frank whose company he enjoyed most. Franky boy is here. How have you been, Frank? It's kind of late. It's nice out. I thought I'd take a little ride on the bicycle. You ride the kid home? Yeah, I rode him home on a handlebars. He only lived a couple of miles down the road. Yeah, you ought to hear him. He hangs around at those bars for dear life. It's Steve chattering like 60. Every time I make a turn, he says, Good go, Franky, jolly good go. I'm telling you that kid breaks me up that time. You really took a shine to him, didn't you, Franky? Oh, he's a terrific kid. You know something, Steve? I never saw such a smart kid. Oh, he's bright all right. Bright? A kid can turn a motor as good as any mechanic on this base. Well, you know about that. Come on, you're exaggerating. I'd like to bet you a month's pay on it. I'm telling you, Steve, the kids are genius. If he listens, he can tell you what's wrong. I'm sick and tired of hearing about that little limey of yours. Then I'll listen. Like I was telling you, Steve, this command car come in yesterday with a bunch of... How come you're such a limey lover all of a sudden, Frank? Why don't you mind your own business, Chuck? I'm not bothering you. I don't like limey. And I don't like limey lovers. So what am I supposed to do? Follow in a tent. You're supposed to stop the wires cracking because if you don't, the first thing you know, I'm going to lose my temper. You're asking for it? You're a limey loving jerk. I'm going to hit you so fast. You think I'm rubbing you? Any time at all, Fatso. Just say the word and I'll take you apart like a cheap wife. Come on, knock it off, you guys. You're getting all worked up over nothing. No, no, just keep out of it, Steve. This blimp thinks he's going to tell me what they're doing. He's got another thing coming. I don't have to take that from him. You'll take anything I feel like dishing out. And if I hear another crack out of you, I'm going to belt you once. So watch your step. Oh, you're so rough. That's it. Put them up. All right. It wasn't much of a fight. They threw a few punches. And while Frank was game, he was out of his class. He had to spot Chuck four inches in height and about 60 pounds. We separated them as fast as we could, but not before Chuck had landed a nice right hook to Frank's eye. In no time at all, it blossomed into a real shiner. It wasn't a very serious injury, but it did make it necessary for Frank to do a lot of explaining. You see that Tommy? You see those two little scratches under my eye? I do. That's where they switch it a flashlight. I mean the torch. Hit me. You see them, huh? It is a nasty bruise, all right. Well, a bunch of guys. I'm telling you some bunch. No consideration whatsoever. No, sir. Well, what happened? Well, I don't get me wrong. I'm not telling them when to go or when to come back. That ain't any of my business. And I don't care if they come back drunk or sober. But when they tip my bed over and drop their flashlight, I mean my torch right on my eye at 3.30 in the morning. That's too much. I mean, how far can you go? I am sorry, Franky. Say you like that, Tommy, my boy. It takes all kinds to make an army, I always say. It will take but a couple of days before it gets better. I know. I had a Shiner once myself. You did, eh? Well, I hope the other guy had two of them. Okay, Tommy, enough chatter. It's chow time. Let's go chow-chow. Chow-chow? Now then, laddie, up you go on the bicycle handlebars. And we're off. And you'll look sweet upon the sea. Hold it. Today, Tommy, we're going to catch one of those things. Yes, sir. They can't keep missing forever. They're blind, Franky. Hey, where were we? Oh, yeah. Upon the seat of our bicycle belt for two. And so we became part of our life. The English kid with a little blue cap and the big ears. And while he became a sort of mascot to the whole outfit, there was a special devotion that existed between him and Frank, an odd attraction that none of us understood or bothered to analyze. It was just there, that's all. You are listening to the proudly-behaved production One Man's Laws. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. But first, as I promised at the beginning of the program, complete details on the new Reserve for You training program. Now, if you're a young man of service age and you expect to serve a tour of duty in the near future, I'd like to tell you about this wonderful training program that can help you a great deal in planning for military life, called Reserve for You. Completely realistic and up-to-date, it gives you an opportunity to choose your own technical training before you enlist. You make a written application choosing from over a hundred different courses. Then if you qualify and a vacancy exists, you receive a letter telling you that you have a reserved seat in the course of your choice. And this letter is a written guarantee that you will attend the course. Of course, the decision must be made by you. To give you the complete facts, we've prepared a booklet called Reserve for You, and it's yours for the asking. Now, but you're local, United States Army Recruiting Station. You're listening to Proudly We Hail, and now we present the second act of One Man's Law. I suppose you've heard many stories like this, haven't you, Joe? Yeah, it's a nice yarn, Steve. But you know, soldiers, they were always getting involved in situations like that. Look, come on, what do you say we order something to eat? I got $2.30 appointment. Wait a minute, wait a minute. I'm not finished yet. Oh, right, oh, carry on. The buzz-bomb attack got much worse after that. Uh-huh. But we learned to live with it. They came over mostly at night and in the morning. And aside from that, life went on pretty much as usual. Frankie. Yeah, that looks pretty good. Not just a few more licks, it'll be as good as no. Frankie. What'd you say? Frankie, my mother told me to ask you if you could... What are you yelling for? You think I'm deaf? Trouble with you, Tommy. You've got no manners standing around yelling at the top of your lungs. But Frankie, the amaranth... Not another word, no excuses. I got E as you know. Yes, Frankie. No, then, like a little gentleman. What wasn't you wanted to tell me? Mother told me to ask you to tea tomorrow evening. Tea, is it? Tea, indeed. What do you know about that? Frankie Valentino invited to tea. You will come, Frankie. Why, uh, you tell Mater that I will be delighted. Let me see, what am I going to wear? Well, Frankie got all shined up and went to tea. He joked a great deal about it, but we all knew he was very happy to go. Would you care for another cup of tea, Corporal? Thank you, Mrs. Findlay. I would, yes. I am sorry we don't have any coffee. I know you Americans prefer it to our tea. Oh, no, Mrs. Findlay, this tea is delicious. I mean, I really like it. Here you are, then. Thank you very much. I, um, wanted to thank you, Corporal. I want you to know how much I appreciate your interest in Tommy. Oh, don't thank me. Tommy does a terrific job for us out at the base. Don't you, Tommy? Oh, I tell Mom that I do lots and lots of work, but she thinks I hang around and get in the way and all. Not at all. As a matter of fact, we were talking just the other day about how Tommy ought to have some kind of rank and pay for what he's doing. He never gets in the way. It is nice of you to say so. He does love to go out to the camp. I'm afraid he's a lot like his brother was. He was very fond of Motus, too. Brother? I didn't know he had a brother. Tommy, how come you never mentioned your brother? Jack was killed in Burma last year. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, they were always tinkering with some kind of motor-other. I remember when they had Mr. Hutchison's lawyer dismantled right behind the garage. He's our green grower here in Shelburne. Well, they worked on it and worked on it till it ran as good as new. Mr. Hutchison was delighted. Oh, that's why Tommy knows so much about Motus and runs in the family. You know, when I was a kid, I was exactly the same. I could tell you every detail about any car on the road. Jack was the best mechanic in the whole army. I'm sure he was, Tommy. Jack wanted to be an engineer. That was his ambition. I expect he would have been quite good at it, too. What about you, Tommy? What are you going to be when you grow up? I shall be an engineer, too. And a good one, too. I bet my last dollar on that. Corporal, I must say I feel much better now that I've spoken to you. I did rather worry that he was under foot most of the time and, well, pretty much of a nuisance. Ah, don't give it another thought, Mrs. Finley. You want to know what the boys really think of Tommy's work? Yes, I would like to know. They were horsing around talking about it, and one guy finally came up with the right description. He said Tommy was England's answer to the Wildland lease program. How about that? I think I'll stop fretting about him. He seems to be in good hands. You know, to be truthful about it in the beginning, I thought he was going to be a pest, and I used to chase him off the base myself, right, Tommy? You did indeed. Then I got used to him. Now, just about everybody's gotten sore. They like to have him around. Tommy had a way of getting under your skin and working his way into your affection. A shy, quiet way to be sure, but it sure was effective. I remember one day we were cutting down a set of fatigues for him to wear. Thanks, though, will you, Tommy? But it takes so long. I got a fit. What do you want to do, trip and break your neck? They fit very nicely. Quiet. I'm in charge of this detail. What do you think, Steve? Pants long enough? Yeah, they look fine. Okay, I'll mark them. So, yeah, and there. All right, I'll take them off and I'll sew them up. Off a mow. Off a mow. Hey, what about stripes? You've got to hold some kind of rank. Make them a sergeant. But a master sergeant. Oh, no, not to do one. I never met one yet. It was human. Oh, please, Frankie. I'd like very much to be a master sergeant. Please. Well, have it your way. So now you're a master sergeant. All right, you guys. I want the cereal pleased up, and I mean now. You get it? You see what I mean? A born first sergeant, just like I told you. On the double. On the double. The stripes look okay about here, Frankie. Maybe a little... Give me those stripes, will you? I've been watching you guys long enough. You keep out of this, Chuck. You're not going to push me around again. You're holding them crooked in the first place and they're too low. I don't know what's the matter with you guys. Here, here, come here. Tommy, come here, Tommy. Hold still a minute, will you? But I thought you... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's better, sure. Look how you're sewing a pants for Pete's sake. If you don't know how to do it, say so. Don't botch up the job. A doodle bug. It's the dusty trail and those caissons go rolling along. Oh, no, the bombs I can take with that singing. Ew, that's too much. What are they doing, putting pilots in those things and now they're getting closer all the time? They're beginning to irritate me. All right, let's go, you guys. Let's go. It was like a welcome home. Frank never mentioned Chuck's former attitude or his change of heart, but he seemed to rejoice in it. That's for Chuck. He became as fond of Tommy as the rest of his work. And when it happened, it was he who told Frank the news. We were at breakfast in the mess hall. Yeah, oh, boy, did you hear that one go off this morning? I swear, I tell you, I thought it was right in my footlock. Yeah, it was a beaut, all right. What time would you say it was? Well, about 8.30. I watched him out of it, knocked you out of the sack. I was up before you, white guy. Somebody's gonna have to sit down and talk to them, cross up with downright inconsiderate. Yes, sir, that's what it was. Hey, uh, Frankie, Chuck, Chuck, you're green around the guilds again. How many times do I have to tell you that six bowls of oatmeal, a mess kit full of powdered eggs, nine pieces of toast, and eight cups of coffee is too much for breakfast, huh? Frankie, listen, you know that bomb? Don't talk to me about it. I want to enjoy my breakfast. No, thanks. It hit that little tool shed behind headquarters garage. Hey, tidy, man, that means we're gonna have plenty to do today. Listen to me, Frank. Somebody was in the shed. Nothing? No, no, no, none of the boys. Oh, you had me scared for a second. It was Tommy. Tommy. But it couldn't. You know, you were out of your mind, Chuck. It couldn't be Tommy. I mean... No, no, no, no mistake, Frank. I went out myself. I saw him. It was Tommy, all right. But that's crazy. Tommy? Yeah. I guess he heard it cut out and he... he thought it'd be safer there. Gee, I'm sorry, Frank. I don't get it. Don't make sense. I just don't understand. No, we all took it pretty bad. Tommy was a wonderful kid. But on Frank, it had a different effect. He didn't grieve outwardly. It was a small, subtle change. As though a part of his spirit had died. I decided to have a talk with him about it. Hello, Steve. Hi, Frank. What do you say we go into town tonight? Ah... Oh, thanks. I think I'll hang around a barrack. I've got a few things I want to do. Ah, come on. We'll have us a couple laughs. We've got to dance on to Red Cross. Ah... Some other time, Steve. Frank, you can't keep this up. You have to snap out of it. What are you breaking my back? Why snap out of it? Because I don't feel like going on a crummy dance. No reason you've got to give me a big speech about it. Come on, Franky. There you are, Steve. It's four months, Franky. It's enough. I guess you're right, Steve. I don't know what it is. I just can't get it through my head. I can't believe it. Even now. Things like that happen in a war. You've got to get used to it, that's all. I think of it... I get along mixed up. I don't understand it. What do you mean? Well... I like the kid, you know that. Well, okay. But I don't think I like them more than some of the guys I grew up with. Some of them died, too. Even my family. Remember when my uncle Pete got sick and died? I sure did love that guy and I'm ashamed to say it, but it didn't feel as bad then as I do now. Yeah, I don't know the answer. Maybe because it's so crazy. Maybe that's why I can't accept it. No, I know it's hard. Can't figure it out. Maybe if he was older, do you think that would have made a difference? I guess so. What I mean is with the older ones, you know, all the friends and relatives, it was a pattern, a reason. They get older, things happen, they get sick and die. You can understand that. But this, this is what gets me. A bunch of crowd scientists get together and figure out this terrific gimmick, the bus bomb. So I set it up on a ramp, launch it. It flies a path of smoke, fire and terror right across the channel. Ah, Frank. Frank, what's the use of rehashing? No, no, no, wait, no, wait. And then it lands. Explosion shakes the earth. It's terrific. And what's the big deal? What did they accomplish? Knocked off a skinny little English kid with big ears. Tommy. I mean, does that make any sense? None at all. Well, I guess that's what throws me. It's all so crazy. Now you'll get over it, Frank. It may take a while. Six months, maybe a little more. You'll forget all about it. Maybe so. Who knows? He seemed to forget about it after a while. Maybe he was just a little quieter than he was before it happened, I can't be sure. For purposes though, he was a nice friendly guy. One of the nicest guys I met in the Army, as a matter of fact. We were discharged from Dix together. Now whenever I drive through, I stop at the garage he owns and we shoot the breeze for an hour or so. Yeah, I'm sure he forgot about it. You know, we had the same kind of a deal for an hour off when we were in France. We had a kid we called Xiaohan. Well, this kid he used to... Hey, hey Steve, wait a minute. Let me see that newspaper again, will you? Yeah, I should. Read it. Yeah. Now let me see, where was this? Yeah, here it is. Mr. Frank Valentino of Ozone Park, New York has donated $10,000 to an English college, the Portsmouth Academy for Scientific Studies and for the purpose of establishing the Thomas Findlay Scholarships in the School of Engineering. Well, I'll be... You see, Joe? Dead wrong. Frank, he never did for you. High school seniors, here's an important message for you. The United States Army's Reserve for You program will guarantee you a classroom seat in an exciting Army technical career course before you enlist. You'll get top-notch training on the job experience while serving side-by-side with America's finest young men. The choice is wide open and it's yours to make. High school graduates can choose from more than 100 interesting career courses that range from atomic technician through welding. A fact-filled booklet called Reserve for You tells you about the entire program. Get in on the swing. Get your free copy of Reserve for You by visiting or writing your nearest United States Army recruiting station. The program on Proudly We Hail presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army and this is Mark Hamilton speaking, inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.