從康布里德到魚子醬-再返回

（和再回來嗎？）

1925至1943年

我從來沒有見過大海，直到我被送到帕里斯島新兵訓練營中的海軍陸戰隊。 自那時以來，我一直在43個國家和點票 - 因為，在年齡 72，我有一些有趣的項目，在火上。 但這些項目出現在奇數時間，並在兩者之間，我試圖逗自己被傳遞一個位的經驗，我曾有幸“忍受”。

幾年前，當我開始我的職業生涯作為一個“國際吉普賽”我覺得，基本上是商業信函沉悶，因此通常被忽略。 我開始嘗試寫的方式將可能得到重視的收件人。 因此本，在多年的朋友和同事們說：“你應該寫。”

當我還是青少年和青少年時代前我打了很多的棒球，以為會是不錯的一個職業棒球運動員。 當我在1946年中國在美國的海軍陸戰隊，我們開始了一個棒球隊後，我們派出了日本帶回日本，而且沒有很多事要做。 我沒有這個團的第一個球隊，但我沒去一次對蝙蝠的傢伙誰曾是公牛筆投手為芝加哥白襪隊。扔了快球，他看上去對我來說，阿司匹林片劑在接近每小時 90英里和裁判大喊“罷工”。 他扔了第二個一石激起千層我死刑 - 再罷工。 第三球來了就在我的腦袋，是一個右打者，我跑下三壘線為了擺脫死亡。 它彎曲在中心的板塊，裁判大喊“打三”。

然後我意識到，我是不會成為一個職業棒球選手。

另外，在我十幾歲，我開始玩薩克斯管樂隊在當地的舞蹈和我的志向是當一個人在一邊了許多好帶。 這是時代的“鞦韆”和大牌明星的米勒，古德曼，多爾西等

在1942年十二月，在耄耋之年17，我有一個呼叫從一個樂隊在北卡羅萊納大學。 他們已經預訂了巡迴演出的聖誕和新年季節和4其5薩克斯球員們已經起草。 他們邀請我和其他兩名成員的本地樂隊加入他們的行列。 在這次巡演，後來在中國，我正與人民真正的人才，我意識到，我是不會成為一名職業音樂家。

在看過許多作家的輝煌 - 和一些不那麼輝煌 - 我也意識到我將永遠不會在這一領域的一個親任 - 但是 - 我要為我的孫子寫這萬一有一天，他們可能想知道從那裡來。 （通常我會說：“他們來自何處”，但我記得當溫斯頓丘吉爾在議會嚴懲有一個介詞在最後一個句子。責備他回答說：“這是一個與魯莽，我不會把“。

第一次有人對我說：“你應該寫”被認為是導致我的第一封信惠好公司總部，當我第一次來到危地馬拉。我本來打算通過文件，當我到達時，我發現，每個字母月表示，更或更少“的銷量上升了1.3％，比去年同月。 管理費用為 6.8％至6.7％，而不是去年。 庫存為 1,200噸。 等等，等等“

自建廠以來在危地馬拉是非常小的，由惠好公司的標準，我決定，沒有人要讀這種類型的報告，特別是當他處理許多公司在海外。

我的第一個字母情況如下：

伍德先生伊凡

副總裁，國際

惠好公司

華盛頓州塔科馬市

親愛的伊凡

如你所知，聯合果品公司開了自己的箱廠和Cajas Ÿ Empaques危地馬拉剛剛失去了45％的業務。 當然，這造成了虧損的月份。

我們會收回這筆盡快和我想這就是為什麼你送我到這裡來。

上週三，游擊隊殺死了美國駐聯合國大使和所有在這裡的外國人都害怕的S -更少。 作為一名前海軍，我想我可以勝任。

我開始適應文化變遷緩慢。 當我到達時，我注意到，所有的房子周圍有牆和草坪和花園在這種化合物。

我以為這是為保護，這是部分正確的，但它有一個更實際的原因是。

危地馬拉有一個六個月的雨季和旱季六個月。 旱季缺水導致的極端，也滋生細菌。

大多數人認為這個問題是一個水資源短缺，沒有飲用水。 總有啤酒，可樂和蘇打水飲用。 真正的問題是，你不能衝馬桶，但一次。

住在家裡三個人和一個女傭在這些細菌已造成了大家的“綠色蘋果快人一步”，只有能夠沖洗廁所一次，是超出通話的責任。

正是在這個時候，我才意識到其價值的牆隱私和實際使用的所有美麗的樹木和灌木，在花園裡。

我的貓，這已經在許多經驗這類的事情，排在第二位。

此致，

MB的蒂爾森

阿什維爾，北卡羅來納州

也許這個小的標題是混亂的書信 - 讓我澄清。

我出生在阿什維爾，北卡羅來納州於 1925年。 我的家庭是“中等收入” - 而不是混淆與“中產階級”。我的兒子，比爾，在他的論文的碩士學位建築學寫道：“經過了漫長而有趣的童年” - 我想這句話警察因為我也有一個漫長而有趣的童年 - 但是，作為一個中等收入家庭的南部，我們吃炸雞和玉米餅。 這將是幾年前我曾經蝦仁杯和魚子醬 - 但他們是好！

現在，退休後，我們又重新回到玉米麵包。 隨著一點點運氣，多一些努力和再過幾年，或許，就像麥克阿瑟將軍，我們還要回來。

偉大的爵士樂歌手，珍珠貝利曾經說過：“我一直不佳，我一直在豐富和豐富的更好”。

如果我的故事很有趣，因為它是唯一的有趣的人與我有關聯。 基於這個原因，我會講述許多故事，有些不點名“，以保護不那麼無辜的”。

如果我住在今後多來是因為有更多的是前者比後者。

我想開始的地方是在開始。 我出生在阿什維爾，北卡羅來納州，並命名小梅爾文布萊洛克蒂爾森充分的理由，這是我獲得的綽號“查理”，這與我一直堅持了多年。

我的母親，瑪麗裡根，我是最小的8個孩子的JJ裡根和卡羅琳皮肯斯的威弗維爾，數控 - 一個大都市的500人，其中大多數是稱為“表哥”或“阿姨”或“叔叔”，即使有可能不會有一個家庭連接。 這是一種標誌尊重在那個時候。 它也派上了用場以奇特的方式。 弗蘭克叔叔韋弗就坐在板凳上的主街。 因為他已經得到了一點輪圍在中間，他不能他的褲子拉鍊所有的方式。 後來，當一個男性成員的家屬將壓縮註冊忘記我們只說“你好，叔叔弗蘭克”和罪犯立刻意識到他已經忘了。

裡根爸爸，我們打電話給我們的祖父，被稱為“第八屆排名數學家在美國。”這是被接受，它出現在他的訃告。 但是 - 在10歲左右，我開始問自己：“你如何評價數學家？”的擊球冠軍的計算方法是打主場迎戰倍蝙蝠。 一個告別演說者是由一個總和的分數，你怎麼排名的數學家？

隨著我逐漸長大，我覺得我想通了這個稱號如何演變。

該奧德費洛斯霍爾是當地採集點和社交俱樂部的人在威弗維爾。 在這裡，他們可以發揮咀嚼煙草和多米諾骨牌。 我並不真正了解遊戲，但我確實知道，他們玩的方式是，它是一個數學練習。 爸爸通常是贏了，因為他是好的。 他與教授對應從耶魯和哈佛，他們就打發對方的問題需要解決。 有人說，他將在中間跳的夜晚，寫答案的一個問題，他晚上襯衣，回去睡覺，但 - 這仍然沒有回答的排名。

我想像的是，毆打後，被徹底“Fessor”裡根，一個組可能會說：“Fessor是真的很聰明。 他一定是最好的數學家在國家“。 而另一位答道，“嗯，我不知道，那裡的小伙子，他是愛因斯坦的相當聰明。” 而且，經過討論，他們一致認為，也許他不是第一名，但他只能是數字 8。 這是我的理論，但也許他是3號 - 誰知道？

從大學教授的工資甚至比他們差那麼現在，爸爸裡根也是一個測量師，他有一個幼兒園和一個小農場。 他擁有漢堡山是他的房子後面，雖然它是比較小的真正山，它也有果樹，農田和牧場。 他也有一個房子裡煙霧國家火腿均治愈。 這還是我最喜歡的肉類。

他看了路德伯班克我猜想，因為他嘗試用嫁接果樹。 如果我沒記錯，畢竟這些年來，他有一個樹，有蘋果，梨，櫻桃，桃子在同一樹。 我不認為這種持續的，但就在這一年中被嫁接，所有的果實可食用。

媽媽怕裡根夫人是一個神的老學校 - 長行的後裔，衛傳教士。 我記得一個星期天，爸爸裡根偷偷開了個穀倉，聽取世界大賽電台（有沒有電視即可）。 媽媽罵他朝思暮想違反安息日。 爸爸回答說：“但是，誰也看不見我。” 對於這些媽媽回答說：“上帝能看見你。”

通常，當我很小的時候，我所有的母親的兄弟姐妹和他們的孩子會吃飯（這是中日餐）在裡根的房子。 由於人數眾多，我們的孩子吃了第二個表。 正是在這裡，我開發了一個不喜歡的蛋糕。 媽媽裡根的椰子蛋糕為乾燥的撒哈拉沙漠，體重約 800磅每片。 我的母親似乎已經繼承了這個偉大的烹飪技能所以不要在我的生活我已經說過我親愛的安，“為什麼你不喜歡我媽媽煮？”

我不想糾纏於爸爸裡根，但我可以繼續下去。 所以 - 只有一對夫婦的更多的事情。

有一次，他和他的兒子，最年輕的正當時大約 6歲，被上升漢堡山，修復一些圍欄。 最年輕的，我認為這是“宣講”，是前面幾個人，爸爸是某些方面落後。 突然有一種血液凝結的尖叫聲，和爸爸開始跑上山。 他認為只有一個可怕的悲劇，他喊道：“什麼事？”誰是最古老的一個與“宣講”（我認為這是格雷迪）的吼聲“他把他的腳趾上錘子。”

爸爸喊回來的反應是“拿把錘子和殺死那個男孩！”現在這讓我想起了比爾考斯比常規在那裡他的妻子說，他返回後，從工作“上台階，殺死那個男孩。”

媽媽裡根跌斷她的臀部，而我遠在海軍陸戰隊。 她變得老態龍鍾，正如我們所說的話，但現在我知道這是老年癡呆症。不幸的是，她去世之前，我從中國回來。

爸爸裡根持續了許多年以上，但被打死一輛汽車在穿越高速公路。 這款車是受到度蜜月的情侶，當然，他們被摧毀。如今，家裡可能已經被起訴，並要求巨額資金。 在那些日子裡，我希望我們回到這些道德，我母親的家人道歉，夫婦倆解釋說，85歲，他沒有看到或聽到非常清楚，他們絲毫不負責。

我最喜歡的部分，並希望能效仿，據說是因為他對他的方式，能看到他的女朋友。 （所有權利安妮，退出傻笑，我知道你的心思調喬治格甚溫的“我看是未必如此”，其中的歌詞說：“瑪土撒拉活九百年，但有什麼用的活著的時候沒有女孩會屈從於任何人誰是900年。“）我的夢想就不行嗎？

現在，讓我們的奔馳通過我的母親輩的裡根家族：

最古老的安娜李（我們孩子們叫她“鍵”） - 如果她還活著，她會殺了我說這些，因為她是一名演員，因此，相當徒勞的。 她從未到百老匯，但她在波士頓的研究，並積極參與地方和地區播放。 我覺得她最近的是一家生產名為“賜給這山”，這是一個編年史的切諾基印第安人。 她在此扮演了數年，還主演了一個成功的玩一種叫“緊布里切斯”，這是寫的休伯特海耶斯，劇作家來自北卡羅萊納大學。

關鍵的女兒瑪麗馬德琳。 因為主要是比我大20歲的母親，媽媽和瑪麗馬德琳（甘露）實際上從小一起長大。 這可能聽起來像老連環畫“山男孩”，其中6'高，獵槍 totin'走私犯有個舅舅叫拉夫。 叔叔拉夫在尿布和大約是6個月大 - 但就是這樣這是在舊天前計劃生育。

重點已婚Scroup樣式（難道你不喜歡這些名字？）

阿爾瑪（誰，我們稱為 Tante）是一名護士。 她嫁給了一個律師，住在高點，數控她的丈夫，誰，我們叫“叔叔諾貝”，被評為 Xenobious沃克。 當我發現他的真實姓名，梅爾文不好聽的那麼糟。

我的母親，瑪麗，是一個與音樂才華。 她在衛理公會教堂獨奏的幾年，大多數人不知道的，她在葬禮上唱什麼，我們現在所說的“無家可歸者”。 當我發現這一點，我感到自豪。

我的舅舅是：

格雷迪 -是在軍隊在二戰中一，也許是先行者的普遍服務義務。 他當時在法國的第一線，然後寫了一些關於戰爭的歌曲，被送往附近招待部隊時，他們在休息區。 他寫了一首名為“血腥的戰爭”，這是後來出版，這是一個簡單的歌有許多詩句適用於時代，我用了很多年後寫模仿我們的朋友。

後來他被董事會主席，縣專員。 這是一個政治性的工作，顯然十分重要。 當時沒有共和黨邦科姆縣或者沒有在北卡羅來納州，但有激烈的競爭。 兩派分別被稱為“環”和“反環”。 這枚戒指是受迪肯格林。 他從來不舉行選舉的職務，他住在酒店，但Langren，什麼也沒有發生未經批准的執事。格雷迪終於打敗了，我真的不知道他做了什麼之後。 我知道阿姨恩典，他的妻子，曾在Ivey的百貨公司。 也許從來沒有什麼格雷迪之後。

他的兒子們格雷迪，Jr和戈登。 格雷迪小有很好的低音的聲音，像他的父親和在教堂唱詩班唱歌。 最後我聽到，他先後在退伍軍人管理局。 戈登有一個籃球獎學金，UNC和我看到他最後一次在教堂山分校。 我回到中國，並從利用GI比爾完成我的教育和他作為年輕，剛剛進入聯合國軍司令部。 最後我聽到他，他是在外交部門在巴基斯坦。

羅布-我猜他的名字是羅伯特，但我從來不知道什麼，但“叔叔羅布”。 羅布驗船師，或如我們說，現在，一個土木工程師。 他相當成功，他建造的房子後方媽媽和爸爸裡根。 他和阿姨（我們把它讀做螞蟻）拜耳有兩個孩子 - 博比和Gloria（格洛）。 鮑比想成為一名牙醫，但由於某些原因沒去成。 最後我聽到他，他是一個推銷員的莫頓鹽。 格洛嫁了人誰了汽車經銷商在弗吉尼亞海灘。 當我在多米尼加共和國，她和她的丈夫（我很慚愧， [MT1]我不記得他的名字）來到卡薩代坎普的高爾夫度假。 尼斯人。

歐內斯特-大叔“ERN的”是一個記賬員。 他和阿姨左拉（沒有，我們有一些偉大的名字？）有4個孩子。 一個是智障，被放在一個“家”。 最年長的是伊萊恩，一個愉快的女士。 她嫁給了一名海軍陸戰隊隊長，當我在營勒瓊海軍陸戰隊，他們邀請我去他們家吃晚飯。 後來，我們去看電影，但因為我是一個 PFC。 他是一位船長，我們分開。 我坐在樓梯上，他們坐在陽台的人員的部分。 今天，這很可能是所謂的“歧視”，但我認為這是正確的。

歐內斯特小（芽）和吉姆是兩個男孩。 巴德和我作為同齡，很可能比任何接近我的表兄弟。 巴德是一個笑話出納員掌握，特別是臟，但是很有趣，玩笑。 他結束了作為一名海軍牧師 - 和相當不錯。 不幸的是，他死在他早期的40年代。 我從來沒有見過他後，我們離開教堂山分校。

吉姆是一名海軍，像一，但既然有一個年齡差距，我沒有靠近他。 最後接觸我是從佛羅里達州傑克遜維爾吉姆遭受了嚴重的關節炎和案件大部分時間被關在VA醫院在Gainesville，佛羅里達州開始了他的裡根家族的編年史。 我將盡力找到，如果他留下來，雖然我沒有一個電話號碼。

卡羅爾-我們叫他“叔叔鼓吹”。 他得到了這個名字，因為作為一個孩子，他經常去到森林，宣揚說教。 這顯然來自探訪有關“電路騎手”誰是媽媽的一部分裡根的家人。 宣講結婚“安大媽” - 一個很小的夫人誰擔任銀行出納在當地銀行。 她是一個受害者的銀行搶劫，完成獵槍和口罩，在當地銀行。 這是時間的約翰迪林格以及它是否迪林格或其他一些小偷，我們不知道 - 但它是令人興奮的覺得這是老約翰。

他們唯一的孩子是蘇西。 蘇西約 2年比我年輕，所以我們並沒有關閉，當我們還年輕。 然而，對於原因不明的我們倆，雖然我們從來沒有見過對方超過一次或兩次後，我們長大了，我們成了“最喜愛的表兄弟”。 蘇西嫁給了一個大好人誰是長官馬爾科姆麥克萊恩在西蘭。 最後我聽說他們住在康涅狄格州和他們的大兒子是在海軍少尉。 我會試著找到他們也。

斯克魯格斯- （這些名字都得到更好的時間）。 斯克魯格斯叔叔結婚“米爾特阿姨”。 他搬到埃文斯維爾，印第安納在我出生之前，所以我只看見他在罕見的訪問威弗維爾。 他們有一個兒子，吉姆。 我記得他，只因為在一兩個月停留在威弗維爾在暑假期間，他開始發胖。 沒有人能理解這一點，直到他說：“這是最好的牛奶我曾經在我的生命”。 媽媽和爸爸裡根已經養了奶牛和投手純霜冰箱。 吉姆是喝幾杯一天。 談膽固醇！ 最後我聽到吉姆，他在拉斯維加斯。

總之，有人曾經說過我母親的兄弟“兩人被嚴重的，堅實的公民。 人喜歡威士忌，一婦女和其他喜歡既喜歡。“不用說，我不能確定他們的名字。

夠了我母親的家庭。 讓我們繼續到我父親的身邊。

我從來不知道我的爺爺，因為他去世時，我的父親是14。 出於這個原因，爸爸從來沒有完成的學校 - 我想他去了7年級。他開始為我的驅動車大叔叔，韋弗，這是醫生的起源我父親的暱稱“小督”，後來演變成簡單“醫生”。

我的奶奶是埃賽彭蘭德。 我不認為埃賽是真正的名字，但是這就是我們從不知道的。 這是前幾天的社會保障所以，當吳埃賽她再也無法運行招待所，她來和我們一起生活。 唯一的事情，我記得“奶奶蒂爾森”是我，當她坐在她的腿上，當時我才7歲，我讀聖經故事。 此外，她常常帶我上電車服務的地方，他們在夏季西瓜。 我仍然愛西瓜。 奶奶去世時，她和我們一起住。 我不知道她在那裡睡覺，因為我們有一個二居室的房子。 我親愛的姐姐“直到”，我也跟一間臥室，我的父母另一方。 奶奶睡在哪裡？ - 我從來沒有想過，直到這一刻！

喬治和埃賽有5個孩子。 最古老的是我的叔叔喬治，那麼我的爸爸梅爾文，然後貝莎，埃德加和哈里特。 此方的家庭也有很大的名字。

瑪麗安阿姨嫁給喬治 - 洋基不會少。 他們沒有孩子，但有一個皮蓬狗。 他們來到一晚的房子，悲痛欲絕，因為狗已經死了。 他們感到內疚，因為他們沒有及時清除他的扁桃體。 其餘的我們，他的狗來自磅或在街頭，吃殘羹剩飯，不能想像一個狗去看醫生進行手術。

最近，我聽到我的表弟弗雷德里夫斯瑪麗安阿姨還健在的年齡在97但實際上不是“它”。 饒了我這一點。

埃德加是害群之馬。 他已婚，有一個孩子;伯莎安。 伯莎安住了幾十年的哈里特。 她後來發生了什麼事，我不知道。

伯莎是偉大的。 我們叫她阿姨蒂莉（綽號她的丈夫，弗雷德，給了她 - 來自蒂爾森）。 他們有一個不錯的房子，一個網球場和2個在威弗維爾在山中小屋上里姆斯河。 此屬性鄰接營杉是，也許現在仍然是獨家營男孩和女孩。 弗雷德曾在該銀行在Weaverville，當所有的銀行開始出現大蕭條時期，他是，現在我們怎麼說？ - 精簡？

在此之後，他們賣出（或損失）在威弗維爾的房子，搬到了小屋。 他們居住於一體，並租用了其他。 他們的小木屋，在老式的方式，但非常舒適，除了食物是保存在春天的房子和管道是一個很好的被鮮花包圍了大樓，我們稱為“約翰尼家百合花”。

他們的兩個孩子被弗雷德（Junie）和瑪麗伊麗莎白（Libba）。

I recently spoke with Fred and he had just celebrated his 80th birthday. He said he did not have many friends because he did not like old people. Fred played on the tennis team at NC State, perhaps a result of having a court at his house. He was a captain in the Air Force in World War II and after the war moved to California and entered the real-estate business. I think he still dabbles in this. I hope to see him if my housing project in Tijuana develops because he lives near San Diego.

Libba married a merchant marine officer and had one daughter which she named “Eve” because she was the first girl in her husbands family for several generations. I have lost touch with them completely and, since Libba was older than Fred, perhaps she is no longer alive.

Harriet married John Brady, an engineer. They produced two sons, John and George. John and Harriet were divorced and Harriet ended up in New York working for the government. She passed away some years ago. George lives somewhere in New England but John died quite young. He was editor of the newspaper in Franklin, NC – a town quite similar to Weaverville.

I had a special affection for Aunt Tillie because, when I was about 10 years old I use to climb the trees behind one of her cabins and walk on the huge grape vines which grew in these trees. She would not let Uncle Fred cut these grape vines because “Charlie likes to climb on them”.

I took my lovely Ann to the cabin when we were engaged – shortly before we were married. I did not realize that she was not enchanted with the mountains, as I was, and I insisted that we swing on a grape vine over the creek. She cut her leg in the process and this was her last venture on a grape vine. She did, however, go to sleep on a swing on the porch and really relaxed so it was not a complete loss.

Now – after all of these people, along comes “little Melvin”. I was born on January 4, 1925 and it hit me yesterday, after watching the untimely death of Princess Diana and also Sister Maria Teresa, that Sister Teresa who died at age 87 was born only 15 years before me. I had better hurry to finish this chronicle!

I have come to believe – well, maybe not believe, but be interested in the general characteristics of the Zodiac. I am a Capricorn and have all of the general traits attributed to us “Goats”. I married a Leo and she has all of the characteristics of a “Lioness” – Princess of the jungle.

由於我們是相當緩慢的摩羯座，頑強，有時天真的個人，我最早的記憶是擬合。一次，我在外地打我們家旁邊的威弗維爾，在那裡我們搬到我出生後不久，我在後孔加強。 我的小腳下降，但平指出了在底部，所以，它將不出來。其他人，也許更明亮，更情緒比我會尖叫著尋求幫助。 我作為一個沉悶的摩羯，默默地站在那裡，直到我被錯過了。 我的母親，誰沒有那麼冷漠，來到尖叫進入該領域，挖了我吧銀勺。

我的下一個回憶的是，我養過一隻山羊。 我的父親建立了一個形狀像馬車一輛消防車和山羊可以拉的。我的表兄弟，誰是年齡大了，顯然比我聰明，會說：“查理，你在這兒等任何緊急呼叫的進來，我們會乘坐旅行車和調查任何大火的發生。“雖然我相信他們在當時，這使我從”吸盤在“很多次。

我的下一個記憶是，當我們搬回阿什維爾租了一間房子梅里蒙大道。 我只有6歲，但我記得我有一個小黑板上畫架在我的房間，但我只有一件白色粉筆，用以繪製。在週日在中央衛理公會教會學校，南，有彩色粉筆。 我偷了它！

非常聰明，我躲在這在我的房間直到下一個星期三。 然後 - 在院子裡玩，而我絆倒，摔倒了。 我想出了從地面和我的父母說，誰是前面門廊“瞧，我絆倒了，並降落在彩色粉筆盒”。

他們當然知道，粉筆已經從週日學校失踪了3天，是足夠敏銳等待事態發展。 之後告訴我是多麼幸運，我卻發現這個粉筆和謹慎的問題，如何得到它有可能 - 我供認不諱。 我又回到了粉筆第二個星期天，我從來沒有偷東西至今。 也許，如果我已經得到了這還是我一直被關押在六歲，我將是一個認定的犯罪。

順便說一句，中央衛理公會南的意思，沒有任何黑人眾。

我的爸爸，誰被稱為某種程度上是一個幽默大師，曾經說過，我們每次提出來的租金到期。 這不是真實的，但那時我差不多八歲我們轉移到6科爾曼大街。 這是約一英里遠，但它意味著我將有一個完整的一套新的朋友，因為它是另一個鄰居。

我有很多的回憶 6科爾曼大街。 這是一個小房子，也許七百平方英尺的原則地上，而是用一個地下室和一個車庫。 我們有兩間臥室。 媽媽和爸爸，我有一個共同的第二位，我的妹妹。 蒂爾森奶奶睡在哪裡時，她來和我們一起生活，我不知道。

我的父親一直想有一個“伙計”，因為我覺得他很迷戀老西和牛仔的電影。 康樂公園之一，1930年的主題公園，其中有一個動物園，快活去圓，凹凸車，摩天輪等，也有騎一匹小馬。 爸爸發現，業主小馬會讓任何人有騎小馬保持在冬季時，該公園是封閉的，如果他們餵食，並照顧它。

他讓我一匹小馬。 我的母親和妹妹都不太高興，但是爸爸，我和我的朋友們！

雖然我們的房子小，很多回到約 300英尺。 我們在租用的財產，但爸爸帶下來的車庫門，並用來為一個穩定的兩岸為我的小馬“菲莉絲” - 又名“菲爾”。

令人吃驚的是你有多少朋友，當你有一匹小馬。

菲爾用於獲取鬆散，自從我離開學校的文法我姐姐離開之前高中時，她不得不去到梅里蒙大街得到菲爾和把她帶回了穩定。 菲爾似乎總是踩直到的腳，不知道他們關於馬和恨也，直到不知道所有你需要做的就是拿起腳踝和腳抬起。 我想她學到了一些粗俗的話在這方面的經驗。

在同一時間，我有一隻狗，一隻貓，一個矮腳母雞和矮腳雞。 狗有6個小狗，小貓，貓有8個和一個孵化育雛 bantams 12。我媽是很寬容。

At that time I started my first commercial venture. I sold magazines from door to door – Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal. I was not very good at this so I was not successful. The only one worse than I was my neighbor, Billy Charnuckle. His approach was to say to whomever answered the door “You don't want to buy any magazines do you?” They would of course say “No” and shut the door.

When I was about 11 we moved to Murdoch Avenue. This was the favorite place I lived while growing up. It was a small house – one floor with a basement, part of which was a garage. It had 3 bedrooms, two of which were formerly a large sun porch so there were windows all around. Off of the living room there was a large storage closet with exit to a small balcony. I chose this for my room rather than one of the bedrooms. It had room for my bed, plenty of shelves and not much more but it was private and cozy. It had a few disadvantages not for me but for others. My sister, being 4 years older, quite often had company and dates. They were in the living room and to get from my “hideaway” to the bathroom, it was necessary to pass through the living room. I went to bed early, since I was carrying newspapers on a morning route and for me to get up about 11:00 pm and traipse through the living room in my underwear was quite disconcerting to my sister, particularly when she was trying to impress the latest “love of her life”.

The main reason I liked this house was the neighborhood. It was known as “Norwood Park” and there was an abundance of kids of all ages. Across from my house was an area which we called “The Woods”. It was perhaps about 5 acres of trees with a creek running through it and a corn field on the other side.  Each summer we built a dam across this creek and created a swimming hole. This was supervised by the older members of the group who were at least 15 years old. The rest of us, ranging from age 8 to 14, were the common labor.  The creek was perhaps 8 feet wide and about 1 or 2 feet deep during normal times. Our procedure, which wasn't bad for a group of kids, was as follows:

We cut down a tall tree – perhaps 30 feet tall with a diameter of perhaps 12 or 15 inches. This we laid across the creek to reach the banks of the creek which were about 5 feet above the creek level. We staked this log down at each end so that it could not move in either direction.

We then began to scrounge all over the neighborhood and any nearby construction site for any lumber which was not tied down. As I write this I realize that we were probably stealing but we never thought of picking up a loose piece of lumber as theft even though we usually did this at night.

然後把這些木板是在約 45度角，一端釘在日誌跨越“峽谷”，另一端中的污垢，這將是池。每年年底，我們開始在我們的方式和工作中間，留下了空間，小溪流經。 我們下面的木材堆放石塊，以支持木板和木板上面我們堆積污垢。 這條土被挖掘出來的小溪的河床和兩側，使池深大。

經過幾個星期的工作已經完成，大壩一節中，除了該中心大約 3英尺寬。 這是一次動員所有的孩子誰曾就可以了。 （你不能在池塘裡游泳，除非您參加了建造）。 上午7時左右抵達每個人都用鏟子，鎬，錘子和這麼熱鬧。 當木板被安置在中心，我們都開始瘋狂鏟支付剩餘的空間。 這通常是由上午9時完成隨後而來的等待大壩溢出。

它通常需時約 5天的池塘填滿，當然，在這段時間裡沒有水下游，因為我們已經封鎖了整個流程。 我們把樹枝在銀行在水位，並檢查他們的第二天，看看有多少英寸的水已經上升。 從這種原始的測量，我們可以猜測什麼時候水會流過堤壩。

克里克從春天開始在日落山，流經的阿什維爾鄉村俱樂部高爾夫球場前格羅夫公園酒店。 通過後，我們的游泳洞，它蜿蜒穿過郊區和下游約 15英里，它流經農場的土地。 關於第3天沒有水就不會有一個農民走上游明白，為什麼他的生活並沒有獲得任何股票的水從河。 我們知道這會發生，所以我們一直有人值班在水壩，而這是填補（夜間除外）。 當農民將不可避免地到來，一個信號將出去，任何一個附近會來懇求他等待“只剩一天了。” “請，先生，請不要破壞我們壩”。 他們從來沒有因為他們也一直孩子。

溢出是一個值得慶祝的時刻。 這話一出到整個社區“大壩流量將超過大約午夜時分！我們求我們的父母，讓我們去看，通常，他們同意而且經常伴隨著我們。

我學會了游泳洞，在此游泳，因為它是很淺，我可以在一茶杯潛水沒有擊中了底部。 在清晨，但它清楚後，20個孩子已經挑起了泥底，在下午晚些時候它是黑褐色。 At night we would take a small piece of wood, about 1 foot square, place a lighted candle on it, tie a string to one edge and float in into the pond. Frogs, attracted by the light, would jump up on the wood and give out what I suppose was their mating call. It was there that I learned to call frogs and this became a great source of amusement at cocktail parties – especially when a frog appeared from a country club pool.

本場對對方的池塘從樹林裡並不總是種植玉米。 有時，他們種植的土豆，我們會挖出一些，他們在烤煤泥漿覆蓋，有一場盛宴。 我想這是偷也。

我們有相當大數量的孩子在附近，近得年齡是兼容，並能實際領域的棒球隊和足球隊的鄰居。

在這個時候我在報紙上的路線。 這也許是最大的商業經驗的年輕人，但今天它不存在。 它的演變，其他事物一樣，投入量，現在處理的成年人與汽車誰僱用年輕人或移民提供了大片地區。 我的路線是100個客戶在一個工人階級區。 他們去工作，並希望他們上午7:00晨報由早上6:00。 所以 - 我就起床了四：上午及製成品早上6:00，又睡了1小時，站起來去上學。 在夏天的時候有沒有學校，我的朋友誰也載文，來到游泳池在鄉村俱樂部（我們是不是成員），我們遊在上午6:00在上午。 有時警衛會出來，並威脅我們為非法侵入，但他從來沒有拉他的槍，我們就離開了平安。

I also got a job on the weekends as a clerk in McIntyre's Fruit Store. This was run by Joe McIntyre, his brother and a sister.  Leo, Joe's brother drove a semi trailer truck to Florida each week, returning with citrus from Indian River and Bananas from Central America which came in by boat to Miami. Nowhere else in Asheville was such fresh, quality fruit available because the supermarkets did not exist at that time. Joe also brought in exotic (for Asheville at that time) fruits and vegetables from California. These included avocados which my Mother dearly loved. Each pay day I would buy her one. At that time – 1940, they cost $1.00. I suppose that is about $20.00 today. Transportation has changed our eating habits because an avocado still costs about $1.00. At that time I hated avocados but after living overseas where they grow wild, I have developed a taste for them also – particularly in guacamole.

Since this was at the tail end of the depression, I had been taught to be very frugal – a trait I lost somewhere along the line  – and , unknown to my family I opened a savings account at the First National Bank of Asheville.  I paid my expenses from my paper route so when I received my check from McIntyre I put most of it in the bank.

I was working full time during the summer so at the end, when school started I had about $250 in the account. This was more than my Father made in a month. One day my passbook fell out of my pocket on the sofa and I did not notice it. My Mother and my Sister found this and were astounded. My Mother casually suggested that I buy some clothes for school so – there went my savings but it did help the family quite a bit because I was still growing and last years clothes did not fit.

I had now graduated from Claxton elementary school and entered High School and I loved every minute of those 4 years. I was a Freshmen for three years. No, I didn't fail – it was a quirk of fate. At that time we had only 11 grades of school. 7 were in elementary (grammar) school and 4 in High School. During the depression Junior High had closed. When I entered Lee Edwards High School I was in the 8th grade. At the end of the year, Junior High was re-opened for one grade so I was a Freshman in the 9th grade. At the end of this year a second grade was moved to Junior High so I was a Freshman in the 10th grade. I graduated at age 16 because I had skipped 1/2 a grade in grammar school. This was not because I was smart but again a quirk of fate.

Today one must be 6 years old in September to enter the first grade. When I entered school, being born in January, I entered in grade 1-A in January. When I was in the 3rd grade this system was abandoned and we had entry to school only in September. Those of us in the “middle” had to either move up 1/2 grade or move back 1/2 grade. I was moved up so I gained 6 months on most of the normal graduates.

When I started High School I carried as heavy a schedule as was allowed. Most people had a “Study Hall” but I never took one, preferring instead to take both Band and Physical Education – both of which were electives. I loved sports and played everything, but not good enough to make either the varsity or to think of an athletic scholarship to college. My Mother, being a musician, wanted me to study piano. At this time any boy who played piano or took dancing classes was a “Sissy”. I have regretted my decision to bow to peer pressure to this day.

Because of my overbite, I was assigned to the clarinet and I played a very exuberant, if not inspired 3rd clarinet in the High School band. For graduation my family gave me an alto saxophone. I had never played sax before but I loved it. I began to play in the local dance bands. The first was formed by a transfer student from New Mexico. His name was Bob Shamaskin. He was known as “The Jerk from Albuquerque” but he was a nice guy and gave me my first chance.

After this band folded I joined one of my friends from Norwood Park who had become an accomplished trumpet player. His name was Arthur Weneje. During this era the bands were named after the leader. This was before we got names like the Grateful Dead, Three Dog Night, the Rolling Stones etc.

Our first job was for the graduation at the Asheville Normal School (this was what teacher's colleges were called in those days). We all griped a bit about being paid $2.50 for the evening but Art said “Listen, these people hired us without ever hearing us. This is our first job so play as best you can and we will get other jobs.”

We were pretty good for a young band and our next job was a debutante ball at the Vanderbilt Hotel. Here I first ran into Union problems. The local musicians union threatened to boycott the Hotel Vanderbilt for hiring a non union band. This came out in the newspaper under the headlines “Local Union Wants To Kill Ambitions of Teenagers” – so they never followed through.  But – we also never got another job at the Vanderbilt.

Our next job was on the local radio. Of course we were not paid for this. But as a result, we got a job playing for a Fraternity Dance in Spartanburg , SC the idea of getting an out of state job was unbelievable , particularly since we got $5.00 each plus expenses.

The band eventually broke up for lack of work and we all played “gigs” whenever we could and people who could not get a job at other time of the year could get one at Christmas. During the Christmas season and New Year there was always work because there were perhaps 3 bands in the area and 15 parties. Many times I went on a job and the first thing we did was to shake hands with the other members of the band and say “I am pleased to meet you”.  After the audience had a few drinks, the band sounded great.

World War II had now started and, being almost of age, we were all ready to go. I joined the Marine Corps in November of 1942 at age 17 but was not called up until July of 1943 when I graduated from Biltmore Junior College (now UNC- Asheville).

For reasons which I still don't understand, I was awarded a huge dictionary at graduation from Biltmore College for being the outstanding student. I still have it somewhere. My only regret is that, being caught off guard, I did not have a proper acceptance speech. What I should have said was “Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Faculty and Guests, there are only 3 reasons why I have been accorded this honor. My sister is not here tonight because she is at school in Greensboro but the other two reasons are here. Please stand up Mom and Dad.” I hope all three can hear this, where ever they are.

I joined the Boy Scouts at age 12 and this was where I learned many things, which, joined with the principals taught to me by my family, church and school is probably why I did not find it necessary to carry a gun to school and shoot at random.

Being a Capricorn, I seemed to be singled out as a leader – although I never sought this. After about 2 months into Troop 4 I was picked to be the patrol leader of the Nighthawk Patrol at age 12. This consisted of 10 other kids and was no big deal – but I learned some things. In my first year at Boy Scout Camp there was a contest among all of the Patrols. The brand new Nighthawk patrol with its brand new patrol leader quickly fell behind. At one location we had to build a fire with two matches, at another we had to tie the proper knots to move a fallen tree etc. There was a counselor at each location and as we reached the one about 3 from the end, all other patrols had finished. I said to the counselor “We might as well quit. Everyone else has finished.” He replied “There is some honor in coming in last. There is no honor in quitting.” I have come in last a lot of times since then but I never quit.

One of the volunteer jobs I had was to hold the ropes around the greens at the first Land Of The Sky professional golf tournament. The favorite was Ralph Gudhal who had just won the US Open. He did not win because a young ex caddie by the name of Ben Hogan won his first tournament there.

I did not have dramatic talent but I was interested in the theater so I joined the stage crew in high school. The Lee Edwards High in Asheville always did well in drama, as well as football, and we went to the regional competition at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Our entry was an original play, written by the drama teacher and it had a mountain theme. We on the stage crew had made the props which were the inside of a mountain cabin. One of the props had a gun rack which held a rifle. That particular prop warped on the trip down and we brought it back straight with a stage brace. Miss Welch was ecstatic with our ingenuity and we were proud. It was fine until the middle of the first act. The stage brace slipped, throwing the rifle onto the middle of the stage, almost decapitating the star of the show. For some reason, Miss Welch was no longer ecstatic and we were in the dog house – women are fickle.

After I graduated from high school I enrolled at Biltmore Junior College. The first year, 1941, at “Biltmore Tech” as we liked to call it, was situated in the first floor of the Asheville Normal School. Math had always been my easiest subject in High School and I usually did the homework, if at all, at the end of the class or when the teacher went over the homework at the beginning of the next class.  When I arrived in college I found the game plan was different. Homework was assigned and at the next class another topic was taken up. Quite often it was based on knowing what had been assigned for homework – I almost failed. I got on the ball and recovered because I remembered my experience in taking 4 semesters of Latin. I got an A, a B, a C and a D. Seeing the hand writing on the wall, I quickly switched to French class.

The second year, 1942, Biltmore Tech moved to an old orphanage. It was an ideal location for a school with several hundred people because the rooms had not been private so they were large enough for a classroom, there was office space and the yard was very large with beautiful oak trees. I had never cut a class in my life but on one gorgeous spring day, I could not resist. Instead of attending economics class, I retired to the lawn and propped myself up against one of the large oaks and let spring fever attack. In about 10 minutes Mr. Junuis Allison, the professor, brought the class outside to have class under the trees. Spotting me at the next tree he said, “Good afternoon Mr. Tilson. Would you care to join us?” My answer is rather obvious – so much for being a truant.

The male population and the faculty of Biltmore College was fast being depleted because of World War II. The math professor was called by the government for one of the agencies, the chemistry professor was hired by DuPont, the language professor (he taught both French and Spanish) was commissioned in the Navy, learned Japanese and was sent to the Pacific to de code intercepted messages and the Phys Ed teacher was called up by the Navy to train recruits.

The male student body was also being depleted by the draft. In 1942 our basketball squad consisted of 6 people. Since the PhysEd teacher had also been the coach, the ole Capricorn ended up being player/coach. Toward the end of the season, we almost won a game.

In October, 1942 we had a special assembly for the male students in which Recruiters from the various branches of service made their pitch to try to get enlistments. The Air Force outlined the glamour and excitement of flying, the Navy gave the old “see the world” bit, the Army stressed how one could learn a trade or a specialty. A Marine Captain stood up and said “I can't make the promises that the others have made. If you join the US Marine Corps you will probably get shot and wash up on the beach of some Pacific Island. But – if you are interested, I will be here as soon as the meeting ends.”

I signed up that day but was not called up until after graduation in July of 1943.

1943 – 1944

EMORY UNIVERSITY

July 1, 1943 I boarded a train for Atlanta to start my interesting time in the US Marine Corps. The Navy had started a program called “V 12″ as a preliminary to Officer Candidate School. The reason was that the armed forces were building so fast that officers and non commissioned officers cold not be trained as fast as they were taken in. V 12 was offered to individuals who qualified and were currently students in college.

Because this was a rather select group, the talent gathered was most invigorating. Because these people came from various schools and were all reasonably bright and physically fit individuals, it made for an interesting time. The good part for us, as participants, was that we were continuing our education although we were also being trained as Marines.

Emory was, and still is, an outstanding university of medicine and ministry. I dare say that it has never been the same since the V 12 of the Navy and Marine Corps descended upon it. We took over the dormitories and bunked 3 to a room in two tiered bunk beds. The good beds and mattresses were stored in the attic – which I later discovered and took a nap on a pile of 6 mattresses every afternoon. I seem to never get enough sleep and can sleep 10 hours every night – although I don't get to. Perhaps it is because my blood pressure runs low or maybe I am just lazy.

Our group had been drawn from the southeastern colleges while other groups in the north and west drew on students from their respective areas. Since Georgia Tech, across town, also had a V 12 unit, our group at Emory came mainly from smaller schools. Besides me and two others from “Biltmore Tech” we had people from Rollins, The University of the South, Bob Jones College, Furman, Newberry and a host of others whose names escape me at this time.

Our routine was a bit different from what I was used to. We were up at 6:00 am, ran one mile, showered and went to breakfast. Then we went to class just as regular college students until 3 pm from 3 to 5 we had close order drill, rifle instruction and ran 5 miles. Then we could play baseball or football until supper (not dinner). Study period was from 7 pm to 10 pm and lights out at 10 pm I have not been so healthy or in such good condition since.

As mentioned above, there was such a diversity of talent available that almost any kind of group could be formed. Word was put on the bulletin board that there was an inspection next month by high ranking officers from Washington and asking anyone interested to become a part of a marching band. In two weeks we had a reasonably good band, complete with an experienced drum major. To our chagrin, there were no majorettes available.

As an off shoot of this, there was a call for anyone interested in being a part of a dance orchestra which was being formed. I joined this along with some really good musicians and I learned a lot.

Since there was a shortage of men outside of the service, the girl's schools had a difficult time getting enough for the Christmas dances. My roommate, Adrian Testerman, knew a girl from Brenau and she invited him to attend the Christmas dance at the Tri Delta sorority and bring two friends. Hap Marshall and I gladly accepted.  Brenau is in Gainesville, Georgia so we took the train from Atlanta – about a one hour trip.

My blind date was Denny Williams. Denny was engaged to an Ensign and she was not overwhelmed with me nor I with her. I spent most of the time with her roommate, a vivacious young thing named Ann Sholes and as the Sicilians say, I was struck by the thunderbolt. I had a date with Ann the next day and we walked around Gainesville. Ann, always the adventurous type, did not tell me that the girls were prohibited from walking in the city without permission. We were accosted by an old maid teacher who ordered us back to the campus and told me “We think boys would rather marry Brenau girls who have been brought up properly. I replied, in my usual smart mouth way “I just came for the week end, I did not come to get married.” Little did I know that the old biddie was giving me an accurate forecast of the outcome. Ann was in her first year at Brenau but she was a sophomore. Her freshman year was at Stevens College in Missouri but with the cost and travel time involved in going from Lynchburg to Missouri, her parents felt it better that she get closer to home.

Ann and Denny came to Atlanta in a few weeks and we went to the Fox Theater to a movie – that was about all we could do. They returned the same night, after curfew and sneaked in a bottle of rum purchased in Atlanta. Someone squealed and they were campused for a month.

Toward the end of my assignment at Emory, Charlie Smith who had married my cousin Mary Madeline came through Atlanta. Charlie was an executive for FW Woolworth. He took me to dinner at the Biltmore hotel and asked if I liked shrimp cocktail. I said “Yes” but the truth is I had never had one… (Caviar was starting) he also took me to the Fox Theater, which is still the place in Atlanta for entertainment. The featured performer was Eddie Peabody, the King of the Banjo. Many years later while I was attending a meeting of the Fiber Box Association, Eddie was the featured entertainer. The president of the Association, after the cocktail hour had been in session, introduced him as follows: Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a rare treat for you tonight. Eddie Playbody is going to pee on his banjo.

Feeling like a man of the world, I wrote Ann and said “We probably won't see each other again but it has been fun.” She was distraught because now she had only 5 boyfriends instead of 6.

1944

DUKE UNIVERSITY

As more and more of the V-12 group were sent to Parris Island, Camp LeJeune and Quantico, the V-12 program began to contract and the operation at Emory was closed and after 6 months at Emory the remaining personnel were sent to Duke.

Another marvelous opportunity to attend a first rate University.

We were at Duke only 3 months but it was fun, interesting and educational. There was a dance band in existence there and I joined it and was asked to switch from alto to baritone sax. This was because I was not very good and no one wanted to play baritone but I did it quite well. There I learned that a baritone sax really does not play with the sax section. The arrangements were written so that the baritone plays kind of a counter melody with the trombones and bass.

It was also there that I had my first beer. Having been raised in the Methodist church, any alcohol was forbidden and even at communion they gave grape juice instead of wine. This is how Mr. Welch, who was a devout Methodist, started his company “Welch's Grape Juice”. After reading the Bible I found that Jesus drank wine so who am I do otherwise?

The Duke campus at that time was split – one part was for males and one part was for females. There was a bus which took us to the girl's campus but we had to register to enter. How times change. There was also a large bronze statue at the entrance of the girls campus of Mr. Duke seated. The legend at that time was that the statue would stand up if a virgin entered.  Today he would probably remain seated but times were different then.

There I also learned a bit about people. We were told that the workers who cleaned the halls (we cleaned our own rooms) would ask us for a loan. The people “in the know” said “If they ask for a loan of $5.00, don't loan it to them because they will dodge you forever. But, instead, give them a $1.00 and they will be forever loyal”. 想想吧。

I always seemed to have two close friends. I have found that this is about the total number of close friends one can have even though you may have hundreds of acquaintances. My two close friends at that time were Harrison “Hap” Marshall and Adrian Testerman. Adrian was dating a girl on the other campus whose name was “Bobbie”. A delightful, intelligent and very rich girl. Unfortunately, she was born with an eye problem and Hap and I would say “Are you still dating Cross?”

After the war, Adrian married Bobbie and Hap and I were humiliated since we were invited to the wedding.  I am still in touch with Hap who lives in Greenville, SC but we have not seen each other for a long time. To my distress, I found that Adrian and Bobbie had divorced, Adrian married a second time and passed away a few years ago. Our reunion, which we had planned for years, will have to wait.

So – on to

1944

PARRIS ISLAND

There have been many books written and movies made about Boot Camp in the Marines and it is something special and is part of the reason for the reputation of the Corps. It was tough but perhaps we had it a little easier than a raw recruit coming in cold. The job of the drill instructors (D I's) was to instill blind discipline (which they surely did), teach us to march and strip an M-1 rifle. We already knew how to do the last two so their job was easier. For this reason, we perhaps did not get as much abuse as is normal. However, I do remember when I lost my locker key. The punishment for this was to put a bucket over your head, run up and down before the Platoon flapping your arms like wings and yelling “I am a shit bird from Yemassee, I lost my locker key”. Yemassee was a small town on the mainland across from Parris Island. Our train stopped there on the way from Durham to Parris Island and it was not exactly the Orient Express. There was such a shortage of rail cars that everything which would run was pressed into service. Ours had kerosene lamps and a pot bellied stove for heat. Although we griped about this, the guys from the First Division who were on Guadalcanal would have swapped with us gladly.

This was when I first learned of Government Morals. I had always been taught “Thou shalt not steal”. When we reported, we were issued two sheets and a blanket for the bunks. When I went in to my assigned bunk, there was no blanket. I reported this to the DI he said “I signed for all of these blankets so you will not go to lunch with the rest of the Platoon but when we get back from lunch I expect to see a blanket on your bunk”.  The message was clear and while everyone was a lunch I went to the next Platoon and stole a blanket. How many times this happened and who finally ended up without a blanket, I do not know.

One of our lessons in Boot Camp was to learn how to box. The assistant DI said “Today we are going to learn to box. Are there any professional boxers here?”  No hands were raised. Are there any Golden Glove Boxers here?” Two hands were raised. “You two fall out”. “Are there any college boxers here?”  4 hands were raised. “You 4 fall out”. “Are there any street fighters here?' Two hands were raised. “You 2 fall out”.  “Now, after eliminating these people, I assume that I know more about boxing than you.” and he proceeded to give us a lesson from which even the pros and amateurs learned something because it was not just boxing but total self defense. He taught us that, if the Marcus of Queensbury rules don't apply, a blow to the Adam's apple, a kick on the knee, a stomp on the instep and other areas which shall remain unmentionable, is more effective than a right cross to the jaw.

Our DI's were very good and honorable but tough. Some were not so honorable. One of my staff when I was in China told me a story about when he was in Boot Camp. In the barracks there was a walled off section where the DI lived. My friend told me that one night when they had just come back from “chow”, the DI was in his room. In a loud voice he said “I had $5.00 and I was going over to the NCO club to drink some beer but I lost the $5.00 somewhere – so, I guess we will have to stay here and have a field day (which meant scrubbing the floor with toothbrushes).

One of the recruits yelled out “I found 50 cents of your $5.00. Another chimed in “I found 75 cents” until the entire $5.00 appeared and the DI had his evening and the boots had some rest.

After 4 weeks we earned the ultimate privilege – going to a movie.  The screen was outdoors and we arranged our selves in the sand. If you build up a little mound behind your back, it can be quite comfortable sitting in the sand. Before we went we asked “What is on at the movie?”

The DI's always replied “12 rounds of grab ass starring Shirley Temple and Boris Karloff.” I guess this was part of their training – but you know, the expression “Grab Ass” was pretty accurate when applied correctly. If you remember when you were a pre teenager, all of the boys were constantly tripping each other, pushing each other, grabbing each other and fretting the girls. Other, more civilized persons than Marines probably called this “Horse Play”.

Before I leave Parris Island I must speak of the sand fleas. The environmentalist will tell you that every living thing on earth has a reason for being. If the sand flea has a reason, it must be to pester Marines at Boot Camp. When you are in formation at attention, you cannot move a muscle. If a sand flea crawls up you nose, as they are prone to do, all you can do is swallow them. At any formal parade on Parris Island you would hear “snuff, snuff” – indicating that another sand flea had bitten the dust – or at least the digestive tract. Are they rich in protein? Only the DI Knows.

Then we graduated and received the rank of PFC – Private First Class!!

This meant $5.00 per month raise and an attitude of superiority over the poor buck private.

Also, if you shot Expert on the rifle range this meant another $2.50 per month plus a medal.

And – off to Camp Lejeune to learn how to kill Japs (although we did not really want to kill anybody – except for a few DI's)

1944-1945

CAMP LEJEUNE (1)

Although I did not realize it, this was to be my first time at Camp Lejeune. It is perhaps the largest base in the Marine Corps and is situated in the eastern part of North Carolina, close to Jacksonville NC and not too far from Wilmington NC How many square miles it encompasses I do not know but it numbers in the hundreds of thousands and borders on the Atlantic Ocean and the Inland Waterway.

We were put in Companies according to our age (which at that time was 19 for me and the others in our company). We now had a collar adornment which said “OCS”.  This stood for Officer Candidate School. Needless to say, the other troops training at Camp LeJeune did not like us very much.

One thing I have found in war time is that those who survive do not talk about the terrible things which happen but about the funny things. I recall that we had maneuvers in the Boondocks and we had a box lunch. This consisted of a ham sandwich with mayonnaise. Having been in the heat for a long time, when we ate the sandwich, it got all of us.

回國後到軍營，它打我們。 After much study by architects and engineers it was determined that toilet facilities are needed for 5% of the group involved. When 100% have the “Green Apple Quick Step”, 5% ain't enough. I recall going into our own bathroom which had about 10 toilets and saying “Please get up”. The occupant would say” I would like to but I can't”.

Then I would go to the next barracks and say “Please get up”. The occupant would say” I would like to but I can't”.

Statistics do not always work.

My Mother sent me some candy and I ate it all in one night. The next day I had a stomach ache. I went to sick bay and asked for some medicine. The doctor said “Let me check you”. He punched on my stomach and I almost jumped through the ceiling. He said “You have acute appendicitis. I am sending you to the hospital”. I was put in a truck with a group of prisoners who were also going to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital and sat on benches, waiting. After about 2 hours they got to me and asked for the papers I was carrying. The nurse said “My God, you have acute appendicitis. Get on this stretcher”. I was sent to the operating room and operated on immediately. Instead of stitches I had staples. These rusted and gave me some problems. I don't think the surgeons use these anymore. I was in a ward of about 150 others, most of whom were gunshot wounds from Guadalcanal so I felt kind of inferior – but it was a fun group. When the lights went out there were always jokes and songs – mostly vulgar. After about 4 days I was up on my feet and was assigned to clean the bathroom even though I could not straighten up.  One day, after mopping the bathroom a Lieutenant Nurse came in and said “This is not good enough. Do it over”. As she left I said “Bitch”. She said “What did you say?” I said “I have an itch under the scar”.

After two weeks the doctor came in and said “There is a hospital in your home town of Asheville. We can send you there for two months to recuperate”. I declined this because I would lose my class and would fall behind. If I had accepted this I probably would not have gone to Guam or China. Was I smart or stupid?

We worked hard and learned a lot. The war was in full force in Europe and the Pacific. We were headed for the Pacific and we knew it.

I began to write to Ann again and while she was still preoccupied with other suitors, I was still enchanted. To my surprise and pleasure, I found that because of transportation and cost to Brenau, she had transferred to Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va. which was close to Quantico where I was going next.

1945

QUANTICO

I arrived in Quantico and, although it was tough, I enjoyed it thoroughly. This was Officers Candidate School so we had a few amenities which we did not have in Parris Island or  Camp LeJeune. We ate at tables for four with chairs instead of a long table on benches and we were called “Mister”. The best part was the quality of the instructors.

Although our primary purpose was to learn to kill people, we also learned the skills of leadership and organization. Both of these principles apply to life in any field. Since that time, I have been interested in the principles of leadership and organization which are put forth by many prominent people. I am not a great student of the Bible but if I remember correctly, Moses, who was known for his leadership, found himself bogged down in settling disputes among his subjects and did not have time to govern. He went to his father in law whose name was (I think) Jethro. Jethro said “Make men captains of tens, captains of hundreds and captains of thousands – then you work with the captains of thousands but don't forget the individuals. This has remained a principle of the military, business and government.

General Eisenhower said “Leadership is a business of push and pull. If you put a piece of string on the table and push it, it will fold up. If you pull it, it will follow you. If you want a promotion, you must push the person above you to create a spot for your promotion but – you must also pull the person below you to fill your spot so that you can be promoted.”

Henry Ford, who did not invent the automobile but who did invent mass production, was once asked by reporters “Mr. Ford, are you an engineer?”  He replied ” No, but I can push this button on my desk and the best 10 engineers in the country will be here in 10 minutes”. He was not afraid to surround himself with good people.

Again, at Quantico, we had a relatively easy time compared to the people who came in cold. There was a program where applicants came in directly from civilian life and had to be taught all of the basics of being a Marine. We had been in V-12 for a year, in Parris Island for 10 weeks and Camp Lejeune for a year. This made it easy for the instructors so they made it (relatively) easy on us.

As in all walks of life there are tragedies but in the military there are more than normal. My fist view of a dead person was at Quantico. We went into the field to be shown how to blow a tank trap with explosives. We were perhaps 1/2 mile away and when the charge was set off great pieces of rock and dirt were blown into the air. The explosive was too big and rocks began to rain down on us. One large rock, the size of a basketball hit one of our platoon on the head. He was perhaps 20 feet away from me. He died instantly.  This was my first real insight into the horrors of war – but it happens on the highway at the rate of 50,000 per year.

I called Ann and arranged our first date as soon as I had a free week end. I went to the train station to go to Fredericksburg and was hit by the “Gallops”. I went to sick bay and they gave me paregoric. This stopped the problem but I felt terrible. When I got to Mary Washington I went through the grilling that the house mothers used to do and they called Ann. I shall never forget her running down the hall, dressed in a gray flannel skirt, a pink angora sweater, pink angora bobby socks and loafers. She threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. I was hooked.

We began to meet in Washington, DC which was a short train ride for both of us. Ann stayed with her Aunt and Uncle – Bill Clarkson who was a Colonel stationed at the Pentagon. Colonel Clarkson was very self confident gentlemen and many called him arrogant – but I liked him. He was in the army before the war started and was a Warrant Officer. I don't know if this rank still exists but at that time it was between “enlisted” and “officer”. When the war started he was promoted to a commissioned officer – a Captain I think – and was sent on a special mission to General Clair Chennault's “Flying Tigers”. They were volunteers fighting with China against the Japanese. Colonel Clarkson got sick and was flown to Hong Kong for treatment. While he was there, the Japanese attacked and all of the Americans were taken prisoner. Bill told me they spent 5 days on the roof of the American Embassy firing at the Japanese Zeros with 45 caliber pistols.  This is like a bullfighter attacking a bull with a pen knife but it was all they could do. Hong Kong fell and they were captives. For about one year, he was missing in action as far as his family knew. During his captivity he drew up some “official” documents transferring himself to the diplomatic corps. After about a year there was a negotiation whereby the diplomats were returned to the USA on a Swedish ship – I think it was the Gripsholm – and he was on it. While the ship was leaving the harbor his subterfuge was discovered and the Japanese tried to stop the ship but the captain would not turn back so Bill returned to the USA.

He was sent to the Walter Reid Army hospital at Bethesda because of under nourishment. After checking him, the doctor said “We have to get some weight back on you. To help your appetite, what would you like to drink before dinner?”  He said “I would like a Scotch and soda”.  – and that was his medicine. It don't get no better than this in the hospital

I called Ann for a date in Washington and this was before direct dialing. The operator said ” President Roosevelt just died'. I got the news before it came out in the papers and CNN was not in operation at that time.

At that time a hotel room in Washington was almost impossible to get but we had a system. The Willard hotel, an old but famous hotel always had suites available. Five of us would go together to rent a suite and although there were only two beds. We would sleep on the floor, sofa or wherever. Since we did not sleep much on the weekends it really did not matter. One weekend Ann did not have permission to visit her Aunt and Uncle but she came to Washington anyway. Her friend came with her and others in our group at the Willard had girl friends. We all stayed in the suite. Fear not – this was not an orgy. We were of a different generation so we moved the mattresses off the bed and two girls slept on the springs, two on the mattresses and the guys slept on the floor. Since one bed was in one room and one in the other, we had to pass the mattresses through the window since they would not go through the door. We were on the 12th floor. The next morning Ann and I went to have breakfast at a diner across from the hotel. We looked up and saw a mattress being passed from one room to the other on the 12th floor. Fortunately the management was not looking.

On another week end, Ann told me she was “campused” and could not meet me in Washington. I called Sara Bohannon, a good friend and ex classmate at Biltmore Tech who was going to George Washington University. We met and had a good time re hashing old times – nothing romantic. I had always wondered what Sara's father did since they lived in Grove Park, belonged to the Country Club and traveled a lot. I found that he was a lobbyist for the oil industry – an occupation which I am sure is on going.

It turned out that Ann was not “Campused” but was meeting an old high school  boy friend. My friend, Fred Williams bumped into them accidentally and talked Ann into returning on the same train with us. To my surprise, when I went to the station to meet Fred, there was Ann. Stan Kenton was playing a concert at Quantico that night and I asked Ann to get off at Quantico and go to see Kenton because he had Anita O'Day singing with him and she was great. It was strictly prohibited for any girl from Mary Washington to get off at Quantico – but you know Annie – so she did. We were disappointed to find that Anita O'Day had left the band but her replacement was June Christie who went on to her own fame in the Jazz world. We got Ann safely on the late train and she managed to conceal her activities from the Wardeness at the school.

Finally, in June of 1945, graduation day came. I invited Ann to attend. She really wanted to go to the graduation of her favorite cousin, Billy Clarkson at West Point but Billy talked her into coming to Quantico because he was to be married right after graduation and Ann would not really get to see him. I have been grateful to Billy but I never got to meet him. He was killed in a fighter plane crash in Germany.

Ann returned to Asheville with me on the Southern Railroad – what used to be a fine form of transportation. She stayed for one glorious week and when she returned to Lynchburg, I left for Camp Pendleton.

We were allowed the equivalent of train fare from Quantico to Los Angeles with 5 days per diem for meals but the option of how to get there was open. I elected to go by plane – my first trip in the air.

1945

CAMP PENDLETON

I caught American Airlines from Knoxville, Tennessee to LA It was on a DC 3 and took 18 hours. I thought it was incredible. Upon arrival, being a Jazz fan, I went to the Hollywood Palladium to hear Les Brown. Doris Day was singing with him at the time.

The next day I reported to Camp Pendleton and began 2 months of Troop Leaders School. Most civilians think the military spends its time shooting and crawling through the mud – and there is plenty of this – but a great deal of time in training officers is spent on learning how to instruct your troops and to make effective plans. There are many incompetent leaders (and followers) in the military but when the chips are down the cream comes to the top and an Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Vandergrift, Puller or hundreds of others emerge. The skills I learned there stood me in good stead later in life in business. I had always wanted to be a teacher anyway but I had to wait for my son and granddaughter to fulfill this ambition.

We worked 6 days and had 2 days off so our “weekends” moved up one day each week. This was the pattern in all of the military installations in the area. If a normal 5 day week had been in effect, the number of service men descending on Hollywood, LA and San Diego at one time would have sunk the southern coast of California.

Our normal routine during these two months was to go to the Hollywood Palladium the first night of our pass, meet some girls, dance and do whatever your morals dictated (mine were pretty dull), save enough money to go to Laguna Beach  to drink beer and body surf in the wonderful waves at this beach. I should point out that even though I was a Marine Lieutenant, I could not buy a drink in California because the age limit was 21 and I was 20. Being of sound mind and body and being thirsty I changed my birth date on my ID card from 1925 to 1923 with one stroke of the pen. Also, it was most embarrassing to invite a young lady to dinner and have the waiter refuse to serve you a drink.

One week end a friend asked me to join him in La Jolla which was just north of San Diego (and is now part of metropolitan San Diego). Having no knowledge of Spanish, I was hearing “Lahoya”. I went on the bus, missed the sign and ended up in San Diego.

Then came our orders to pack up and paint “DUVA” on our sea trunks and sea bags.  This was a top secret code but everyone seemed to know it meant “Guam”.

1945

GUAM

We boarded ship in San Diego and became part of one of the most costly mistakes in World War II (of which , I am sure, there were many). The ship was an AKA and the only cargo was 21 brand new, wet behind the ears, Marine Second Lieutenants. While we were zig zaging across the Pacific for 28 days, the atomic bomb was dropped. The crew, knowing that we were the only cargo on a ship which would hold a battalion and equipment, were convinced that we were specialists connected to the atomic program. After denying this for a week, we finally began to say, “Yes, but it is top secret and we can't talk about it”.

Upon arriving on Guam, we were all sent to the Transit Center which consisted of a series of tents with wooden floors. We waited, we waited and we waited. Guam had been “secure” for over a year after the Marines landed there and on Tinian which was close by but there were a number of Japanese in the Jungle who did not get the word that the Island had been captured. From time to time, some of these would be captured and they always wore Marine green underwear which they had stolen off the clothes lines at various locations.

To break the monotony of waiting, I decided to hitchhike to North Field to see where some of the planes had taken off for Tokyo. As I recall, the planes carrying the Atomic Bombs had left from Tinian or Saipan and had landed on the return at Okinawa (they did not have fuel to get all the way back). This explained why taking Okinawa had been so important. While on Guam we saw the battle plan for the invasion of Japan with the estimate of hundreds of thousands of casualties. Thanks to Harry Truman's decision to drop the bombs, I am still alive.

While I was standing on the road waiting for a Jeep or truck to come by and give me a lift to North Field, there was a great crashing sound in the jungle. I was unarmed and assumed that a Japanese soldier was coming out. Instead, a huge water buffalo with big horns emerged. He looked at me, I looked at him. He turned and retreated into the jungle. Only the laundry man and I will know how scared I was.

We were finally assigned to a unit. Five of us were assigned to the 2nd battalion, 22nd Marines. Later, after I was promoted to First Lieutenant and became a human being in the eyes of the enlisted men, the First Sergeant told me that when the 5 of us reported he said “My God, here is the basketball team from Podunk High School”.

Adrian Testerman was in our group and he was assigned to be the Adjutant. I was assigned to be S-2, Combat Intelligence Officer. He and I did some “networking” and found that Hap Marshall had landed and was assigned to the 29th Marines across the Island. We walked over and had a good reunion.

We received orders to pack up and leave for China. I was given a work detail with the second platoon of company D to load the ship. Up until this time, the only command I had had was a platoon or a company made up of officer candidates. All of these were eager to do well and get good grades from the instructors so if you gave a command or instruction, they did their best to comply. How naive can you get when entering the real world?

I marched the Platoon to the dock and met the crane operator. He was leaving for supper and would be back in one hour. He also told me that I needed only half the platoon at one time so I divided them up in group 1 and group 2 and told them to relax until the crane operator returned. When he returned I called out “Group one, fall in”. After several shouts with no action, I began to look around. I found one Marine under a tarpaulin drinking pineapple juice which he had found in the shipment and had opened with a bayonet. When I asked if he were in group one he of course said “No.” Wising up, I found some more, here there and yonder. I would ask which group they were in and when they replied either one or two, I would say “Fall in, your group is working.” In this manner I had gathered up about 10 people. I went to search for more and when I returned there was no one there. I then found another eating corned beef which he had discovered in the shipment. I asked his name and when he gave it I said “Private, you have 10 minutes to find your platoon sergeant.  He reported in about 2 minutes. I told him to locate both groups and have them fall in. He yelled “Alright, all you SOB's from the first platoon, company D, fall in.”  They came from all directions and this was the last time I by passed a chain of command.

We completed loading and left for China.

1945-1946

CHINA

After about three days at sea we ran into a Typhoon. Ropes were tied on the deck for those who had to go out but most stayed inside. Sleeping was difficult because of the pitching and rolling. When we looked out the portholes at other ships in the convoy, it appeared the Destroyer Escorts were going under. They would disappear behind the waves and then break water like a fish jumping. I am told that even the sailors with much time aboard did not make a meal for three days. We had a Chinese interpreter attached to Division Intelligence and he was sick the whole time. Fearing for his health, we finally convinced him to come to a meal. In the officers wardroom the plates were placed upside down and were turned over for serving when you sat down. This poor fellow turned his plate over and promptly threw up in it. The rest of the table rose, as if on command, and retired.

The fourth day the storm passed and we spent much time on deck watching the flying fish (they don't have those in Asheville, NC) I was standing by a Gunnery Sergeant who had previously been in China in the 30's. I said “Gunny, how will we know when we are getting close?” He replied “You will smell it.”

We were prepared for a combat landing because there were several divisions of Japanese in Tsingtao and we were not sure they had gotten the word that the war was over. However, we received radio messages from the Chinese military that all was quiet so we docked in the harbor. To make sure everything was calm we sent a reconnaissance platoon ashore. This was commanded by a lieutenant who was known by the name of “Whiskey”. This had come from the Okinawa campaign where he was famed for always finding something to drink.

Whiskey was gone for some time with no radio messages and we began to be concerned. He finally returned, without his hat. The welcome from the Chinese was joyful and his jeep had been surrounded by a group of “Ladies of the Night.” They sang out “Fuckee ?, Suckee?” to which Whiskey replied “Both.”

We disembarked and took over Shantung University which had been the Japanese Naval Academy. Field grade officers were quartered in houses outside the compound. We junior officers were 8 to a room in what had been class rooms. There appeared on the scene a Chinaman dressed in a long white gown, just like in the movies. He spoke a little English since he had been houseboy to the Marines in the 30's. He asked for a job as our houseboy and I hired him. He cleaned our room, shined our boots and we taught him to clean our weapons.  This was soon discovered by a Major and since the Field grade officers did not have a house boy, we were ordered to fire him. In about two months, everyone, including the non coms had house boys and we were allowed to re hire our friend.

Our mission was to send the Japanese back to Japan but first we had to take a formal surrender. This took place on the grounds of the local race track. Our division stood in ranks while the Japanese officers paraded by our commanding General and place their swords in a huge pile. (These became souvenirs which were given out by rank. There weren't enough to filter down to 2nd lieutenants.) This ceremony, which was quite impressive, was very tiring. We were at parade rest for over 4 hours in the hot sun. Viewed from the front of the ranks, it was a very orderly, military sight. But – a plane took aerial photos and from about the fifth row back, guys were sitting down, lounging and smoking. When these came out the general's staff spent weeks identifying who was where in each company.

We soon found that the local Generals in the Chinese army were responsible for funding their own armies. This resulted  not only in taxes but there were groups of Chinese soldiers who were going into the European sector, entering the house at gun point and taking whatever was available. We started patrols, day and night, in this sector to prevent this. Most of the European population was white Russians who had been in Tsingtao for years. There were also a few English and French. Most of these were sent back to their own country by the Chinese government and it was tough because many had never been to their own country.

Chang was still in charge at that time but the Communists controlled all of China except those cities where there was a Marine contingent. Besides Tsingtao, we had units in Shanghai and Tientsin. Because of this we had to set up a defense line around the airport and around the whole city. We had gun positions and fox holes prepared and could move out to these in a very short time. Because of some sniping and other activity, we were called to move to these positions several times – usually a 2 or 3:00 in the morning.

On one such trip, as day light crept up, I noticed something moving in the trees. I went to investigate and found a Chinaman hanging, an apparent suicide. His possessions were on the ground – a pipe, a small amount of tobacco and a small pocket knife and from his clothing he was obviously a poor peasant. I did not touch anything and upon our return, I reported this to my counterpart in the Chinese intelligence. We went back to these positions three days later and I found that the poor fellow was still hanging but his meager belongings were gone and his clothes had been stolen. I returned to the city, strapped on a .45 pistol (which I normally did not carry), went to the police station and demanded that someone accompany me to the site, cut the poor fellow down and bury him – and they did.

I tried to get one of the trips on an LST returning the Japanese troops to Japan but they always went with a staff sergeant in charge so I never saw Japan except when I was leaving on a ship for home, I got a glimpse of  Mount Fujiama .

After all of the Japanese had been returned we really did not have much to do. We had close order drill in the mornings and were encouraged to participate in sports in the afternoon. I played a lot of tennis – not exactly the thing you brag about when asked about your military service.

I had the good fortune to report to Captain Jack Marston, an excellent officer and later a good friend. Jack was the son of General John Marston who was the Commandant of Camp Lejeune when I was there. Needless to say, I did not know the General.  Jack was one of the older more experienced officers – he was 25. Our battalion commander, Colonel Stephens was known affectionaly as “The Old Man”. He was 28. I had my 21st birthday in Tsingtao. As best I can remember, it was a fine party and used up our ration of two bottles of bourbon per month for several months.

Since the war was over, many officers who had been desk bound were anxious to have overseas service on their records and many applied. Most of them were excellent officers who, through no fault of their own or because of a special skill, were assigned to Washington. Some were just opportunists. One of the latter was a Major assigned to the Regimental Intelligence Section and when I had the duty as Officer of the Day, he called and said he wanted to accompany me on the inspection of all of the guard posts.

We started at the dock and as our jeep approached we were halted and asked for the password. I gave this and we drove up to the sentry, an old country boy from Tennessee. He said “Evenin' Lt. Tilson, evenin' Major and I replied “Good evening, Herman. Everything quiet here?” “Yessir, no action.” The Major looked at the paper listing all of the guard posts and said “Private this is a two man post. I am going to report your partner for deserting his post!!”  To which Herman replied “Oh he ain't deserted his post Major. We seen you coming and didn't know who you was. He's in that clump of bushes over yonder and he's got an M-1 rifle pointed right at your head.“ To my credit, I was able to stifle my laughter.

Buck Thalheimer, a friend from Quantico, and I became friends with Mr. Yen Chi Dong, a wealthy Chinese merchant who had a big house right outside of our compound. As was the custom, we would take him to dinner one night and the next time was his turn. His beautiful young wife, who I saw by accident once in his house, never was present but his brothers and his mother quite often joined us. Once we went to a restaurant which had 5 floors. It got better as the floors increased. The first floor was for walk in patrons and the fifth, where we ate, was all private dining rooms with each person having a waitress. My waitress had gold teeth and was ugly by any standards. Mr. Yen offered her to me if I wished. Besides her being ugly, I had been so frightened by the training films on VD that I had no interest.

I defended several enlisted men as a result of my reputation on Guam. I had forgotten about this until 1993 when I was handling a loan with option to buy for Cartonera Hernandez. The negotiation was with Union Camp (recently bought by International Paper) and I was thrown against some of the finest lawyers in the USA and Dominican Republic. This resulted in the following letter:

November 15, 1993

To: Dr. Ramon Caceres – Troncoso y Caceres

Mr. Jeffery Fraum Esq. – Counsel – Union Camp

Mr. William Lets Esq. – Counsel – Bank of New York

里克。 Georges  Santoni – Herridia Bonetti

Mr. Victor Alvarez Esq. – White & Case

Mr. Donald Baker Esq.  -  White & Case

From: MB Tilson

Gentlemen,

We have successfully completed the negotiations between Cartonera Hernandez and Union Camp/Bank of New York for the $15 million transaction.

As I recall, the gestation period of an elephant is quite long so I think we have given birth to an elephant rather than a baby.

During this extended period I sent many lawyer jokes to Jeff but perhaps the best joke of the whole transaction was when Jeff sent me a package addressed to “MB Tilson, Esquire”.

Georges Santoni , who received a copy, called me and said “Are you a lawyer?”

I told him it was a joke from Jeff but after I hung up the phone I realized that I was a lawyer before any of you.

In 1945 I was serving as combat intelligence officer for the 22nd Marine Regiment on Guam. We were scheduled for a combat landing on the mainland of Japan but, thanks to the atomic bombs, we were diverted to China instead.

Since Guam was secure, except for a few Japanese in the jungle who would not believe the war was over, we allowed the men to go on liberty into the small villages on the island.

One of the men in my section was put in the brig and was scheduled for a court martial for “lewd and lascivious conduct unbecoming a Marine”.

When I asked his friends what he had done they said “He was waving his dick at a gook girl” (The Marine fighting man was not very reverent).

This was before the Code of Military Justice went into effect and the custom was to appoint an officer as defense attorney. The legal officer of the Regiment acted as the prosecutor. I was appointed as defense attorney and so, I became a lawyer in 1945.

Several of you were not born at that time and I am sure none of you were yet lawyers.

I was eminently qualified for this since I was 20 years old and had spent the last three years learning to kill people.

But – I did learn the dilemma which you attorneys face when your duty is to defend your client even though you know, or at least suspect, that he is guilty.

In this case the client readily admitted that he had indeed done this but he had not been arrested at the scene. The MP's came for him only after the young lady reported him.

He further stated that she had decided not to appear against him and that his story to the Military Police was that he was not in the city but was visiting his brother who was on a submarine which had arrived at the port in Guam.

Since I knew, or at least thought, that the burden of proof was on the prosecution, my defense was as follows:

I did not let him testify. I submitted to the court the record showing that he was off the base on authorized liberty. I entered into the record his statement about visiting his brother on a submarine. He did not name the submarine because the coming and going of submarines was top secret at that time.

Since the young lady did not wish to testify and since the court could not disprove the submarine story, I rested my case.

He was convicted anyway and sentenced to six months in the brig with loss of pay for this time.

After two months, the verdict was reversed by the Judge Advocate General's Office in Washington for lack of evidence. He was released and his pay restored.

The consensus of the men in the Regiment was that he should have been punished but after 2 months in the brig with 10 days on cake and ale (which you civilians would call bread and water), this was enough. Besides, having been in the Pacific for three years, all he was doing was advertising which is nothing but good business.

The word of the reversal spread through the Regiment and, after reaching China, I defended several more cases. I was known to the men as the “Perry Mason of the 22nd Marines”.

So you see, Gentlemen, I am not a lawyer but I used to be.

此致，

Having not much to do, we organized a dance band and played at the enlisted club twice a week. The men were allowed to bring Chinese girls to these dances. Three of us were officers and were not supposed to be in the enlisted club so we took off the bars on our collar. Since there were no stripes on our sleeves, we appeared to be buck privates and quite often had to take a lot of lip from drunk corporals. Occasionally a fight would break out between sailors and Marines. The only way to stop it was to start playing The Star Spangled Banner. When the National Anthem was being played, all service men were required to stand at attention and salute. Francis Scott Key never knew how many broken bones, black eyes and bloody noses he would prevent.

I met an English journalist who had been sent to cover the operation. He encouraged me to enter the Diplomatic service when I returned home and finished my education. I asked him why he thought I could be a diplomat and he said ” When we have been playing bridge (which I was just learning) I have seen you open the bidding with two no trump without anything in your hand. As the hand progressed I could see no emotion to indicate that you were in trouble so I made many mistakes, assuming you had something hidden.” I sometimes wish I had taken his advice.

Then came the day we all had waited for. On the bulletin board was posted the names of those returning. These were listed in order of time spent overseas and my name was pretty close to the top since the real veterans of Iwo Jima, Okinawa etc. had already been sent home when the war ended. Also a chance came up for us to fly in Marine Corps fighter planes as passengers to Shanghai, Tientsin and Hong Kong. I did not take this because I was afraid of missing the next ship home. Adrian Testerman took a more logical approach saying “I'll never get this chance again and a few more months won't make any difference.” He took the trip and when he returned I was still waiting for the boat.

One reason I declined was that I had sent Ann an engagement ring and a wedding ring. I don't think I had ever formally proposed but she accepted and sent me a newspaper clipping with her picture and the engagement announcement. She still had a number of boys after her and she continued to date. Absence makes the heart grow fonder – but of whom??  Fortunately for me, when she met me in Asheville upon my return, she agreed completely.

We got word that we were going to pull out and we who remained were transferred to the Sin Wah Hotel. We were there for three weeks while we were loading the ship and the waiters and clean up people were fabulous. You could leave money on the table by the bed and nothing happened. But – the night before we left everyone knew we were leaving at 6:00 am. That morning every watch, fountain pen, wallet and money was gone – as were the waiters, cooks and clean up personnel.

I was in charge of loading the equipment for our Battalion on the ship. I was up for 36 hours and after boarding I slept for 16 hours straight. When I awakened, we were at sea.  A few days later we passed by Japan – but far away – but I did get a glimpse of the top of Mount Fujiyama – Spectacular.

We were on a ship with 5,000 men and the routine for the men was to eat breakfast and then get in line for lunch and after lunch, get in line for supper. Since I had been in charge of loading the ship the Colonel excused me from being on guard duty as officer of the day. Instead, he placed me in charge of the laundry. Can you imagine having to sort out green underwear, all identical except for the name stenciled on them, for 5,000 men?  He did me no favors.

Most of our band was on the ship so we re-organized and played on the fan tail each night. This would normally have been cocktail hour but, as you know, American ships are dry (at least they were after the booze sneaked aboard ran out).

Again we by passed Hawaii. I guess we were the only group going to the Pacific which did not stop in Hawaii going or coming. I am sorry I missed it.

One morning we were awakened by the fact that the ship was not moving. Coming on deck we sighted the lushest vegetation I had ever seen. After having been in China for a year and at sea for about 24 days, the sight of greenery was wonderful. We were anchored off Panama, ready to enter the Canal. This took all day and we all stood on deck watching. I would like to do it again someday because it is an experience which I shall never forget.

After passing through the Canal, we anchored on the Atlantic side and were told we would have two days liberty. The paymaster said we could draw whatever pay we had coming if we wished. I had $50.00 so I assumed that this was plenty. After returning the first night and having prowled all of the night clubs, I and many others had to go to the paymaster and ask for more. All of the clubs had girls who would come to the table, dance with the Marines and engage in lively conversation.  Of course we were expected to buy the girls drinks and, being young and naive, I did not know they were drinking tea and not bourbon.

The young Latin lovely for whom I had been buying drinks suddenly stood up and said “Excuse me, I am on.” In about 3 minutes she came on stage and did a most erotic strip tease on top of a drum. When she returned to the table, I did not know quite what to do. I guess I was like Gomer Pyle.

Having been raised in the South, perhaps the most astounding thing to me was to see black people speaking Spanish. In my town when you get past “Que horas son?” you are bilingual.

We boarded ship and headed for Norfolk, VA. After about 3 days we were off the coast of Virginia Beach where I would later spend happy vacations with Ann and later Bill and Kerry. We disembarked at Norfolk and boarded the train for Camp Lejeune. Since all of the Marines on the train were reservists going home, it was a little difficult to maintain discipline but, once a Marine, always a Marine and I was able to keep my group under reasonable control.

1946 – 1947

ASHEVILLE & UNC

We were all given 60 days leaving so I left for Asheville on the Greyhound bus. After 28 days aboard ship, this was luxury.  A few days later Ann arrived in Asheville with the possible idea of breaking our engagement. As she tells it, when she saw me walking across the station, she decided we were for real. (I was neat and trim at that time since, being in uniform, I did not have to pick out the proper tie to go with my shirt.)

After a visit in Asheville I returned to Lynchburg with Ann and we were married on November 9, 1946. We were both 21 years old. Because Ann has always looked younger than she is (she still does), her sister had to go to the Court House to swear that she was old enough to get a marriage license.

My family came up for the wedding and besides the traditional champagne and wedding cake, we had Virginia country ham on beaten biscuits. At last count my father had eaten about 3 gross. The wedding reception was in Ann's home and it was a beauty. The house was formerly owned by Carter Glass whose family had started the local newspaper. Carter was a senator and is responsible for the Federal Reserve Act. The house was rented but came up for sale a few years later. My wonderful father in law, Warren Simpson Sholes (who was known affectionately as “Bill”) was determined to buy it. He had to be out of town on business and left a friend with power of attorney at the auction. The man decided the bidding had gone too high and let it get away. I am not sure Bill ever got over this although the house he did buy was something special also.

Since I was getting paid for the dance jobs, I had enough in China to keep me in cigarettes and 10 cent beer and therefore I put away a big part of my small salary and had enough for a good honeymoon. Ann wanted to go to Bermuda but, having been overseas for over a year, I wanted to keep my feet in the USA. We went to Washington, DC to re-visit our dating days and then on to New York. We were driving Bill Sholes car. Since they only had one car, I don't know what he did to run his business while we were cruising all over in his car.

I have always been a Jazz fan and at that time 52nd street was a swinging place. Also each hotel and theater and night club had first class orchestra and small groups. We danced to Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa , Eddie Condon and listened to June Christy, Billie Holiday, the Ink Spots etc. It was great.

When we were in Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe an older gentleman sent us drinks. (People did that for service men at this time). Since that time, I have tried to do the same whenever possible.

We returned to Camp Lejeune where I received my discharge and accepted a permanent commission in the Marine Corps Reserve. Then back to Lynchburg and on to Asheville.

We were a rare couple – both virgins until we married. Ann's chastity was because that was what proper young ladies did at this time. Mine was probably for lack of opportunity and a fear of VD instilled by the Marine Corps training films. But there are many advantages to this situation. For one, you don't have to compare your mate with other encounters.

We rented a room in Asheville next door to my family while I waited to get into a University. I applied to Furman where Hap and Adrian were and was accepted but a week later I was accepted at UNC at Chapel Hill and this had always been my first choice so I was Happy!!!

Because of the GI Bill, all of the colleges in the country were expanding like wildfire. We went to Chapel Hill to find a place to live. All dormitories were for single students and all available houses, apartments and rooms had been rented. The university had established a trailer park but it was full. The only chance was to buy one on the site from someone graduating. We were lucky to find one and it was a palace – 20′ long and about 20 years old. This was before “trailers” became “mobile homes” and although we had running cold water in the sink, there was a common bath house in the middle of the park. Fortunately I did not have to get up in the middle of the night as I now do – Ah, Youth.

Since the next term did not start until January I took a job at my Alma Mater, McIntyre's Fruit Store. I earned $30.00 per week and could have joined the “52/20″ club at $20.00 for doing nothing. The 52/20 was another benefit offered to veterans to help them out until they could find work. It offered $20.00 per week for 52 weeks and all you had to do was to register and show that you could not find work in your field. One of my cousins registered as a snow plow operator and a friend registered as a commercial fisherman, neither occupation existed in Asheville. I preferred to retain my dignity and work, even though it was menial.

I filled in for one dance job with a local band but had to join the union to do it.

In January we left for Chapel Hill and arrived at night with a light snow on the ground. I could not get the kerosene heater lighted so we shivered all night under my Marine overcoat. The next day a neighbor showed me how to light the stove and the heater and life became more pleasant. I started classes and we settled in to being married – and it was fun.

I had many friends and acquaintances there and some of them were in the KA fraternity which was just a block up the street from our trailer. If I came home from class and Ann was not at the trailer, I knew I could find her playing poker at the KA house. Never a dull moment with that lady.

By this time the funds I had accumulated had run out and although the GI bill paid tuition and a small allowance, it would not support a wife. I took a job in the library at night and Ann got a job at a camera shop developing film. This was almost fatal for me.  One of her co-workers was a cute little blonde country girl who was the girl friend of Art Weiner, a star tight end on the football team. Art was about 6′5″ tall and weighed about 250 lbs. Ann bruised her arm one day and when her friend asked how she said “Charlie threw me up against the wall”. The girl was appalled and Ann said “Oh, he does this all the time.” Her friend was prepared to have Art Weiner punch me out until I convinced Ann to tell her that she was kidding.

Our entertainment was mainly events at the University so we were able to hoard enough to have dinner each week end at the Port Hole, the best restaurant in Chapel Hill. Their specialty for dessert was toasted pound cake with ice cream and the aroma of the pound cake permeated the whole restaurant – it was a delightful smell and I still find a dinner in a nice restaurant to be one of life's finest experiences.

We particularly enjoyed the basketball games. This was before integration and, had this not been changed there would have been no Michael Jordon at UNC.

After Biltmore Tech and a full 12 months at Emory and Duke I had only 6 months to go for a degree. I graduated in August with a BS in Commerce. I don't think they offer this degree any more. Usually a degree in commerce with a stress on accounting is a BA but ours had some engineering involved.

I was proud of the BS until it took on a more vernacular connotation in recent years.