Page 28 - Summer 2019 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine - Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS

door and yelled,
“ATTENTION!”. We
bolted out of bed, still
in our shorts, and he
asked what we were
doing; we just said
we were day sleepers.
After a short visit, he
turned to walk out
and saw a shelf where
my buddy had his
shaving stuff and a
bottle of whiskey. The
colonel demanded,
‘What is this, Soldier?’
My buddy shouted,
‘Hair tonic, Sir!’ The
colonel walked out
without another a whole bottle of Jim Beam whiskey the straw went up her nose and gave
word. in the mixer. I panicked because I her a bloody nose. We dated while
didn’t have time to make another I was in high school, and we both
Dwayne needed an assistant in the batch, so I just served it. ALL of the worked at the Slaton Bakery. The
kitchen to help with all the clean-up, soldiers were bragging about how whole time I was in Alaska, we
and he wanted it to be his Slaton good that cobbler was and were wrote numerous letters back and
buddy, Gene Howard. Even though always wanting me to make more.” forth. When I had a leave of absence,
Gene was a farmer, Dwayne was I went back home, and we got
able to convince the officer that he Dwayne had met Billie Williams on a married on October 21, 1945. We
was the right man for the job. blind date while still in high school. both went back to Anchorage along
“I really liked her, so we went to with Gene Howard’s wife Rose.” The
“One of the most memorable times the drug store for a soda fountain couples rented small homes just a
was when a Mess Sergeant, who drink. She later told me that she was few doors down from each other and
was pretty well known to nip the so excited on that first date that she often played cards together in their
bottle, came in about 3:30 one leaned forward to take a drink and free time.
morning while we
were baking and “Before I was ever deployed,
asked what we were I remember being in a group
making. I told him meeting with soldiers where a
‘cherry cobbler’. Staff Sergeant was trying to recruit
As the mixer was paratroopers. I was all set to join
running, I walked because the pay was almost double.
over to get some But a soldier in front of me asked
water to thin the the Staff Sergeant if the parachutes
cobbler down a ever failed to open. His reply was,
little and heard a ‘Don’t worry about it, Soldier. When
gurgling sound. you hit the ground, we will give you
The Mess Sergeant another one.’ That is when I decided
had poured almost to pass on that opportunity.”

28 Lubbock Senior Link