MEN, WARS, AND SEX OF THE 60'S

By Lowell Hamilton

A time of unforgettable change in America and the world. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, the birth of rock and roll that eternally changed music. Murder, the second Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammerskold's, plane shot down over Rhodesia by Russian operatives. Assassinations: President John F. Kennedy Martin Luther King-Civil Rights

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lowell Hamilton
• Release date: Sep 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735816012

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ISBN 978-1-7358160-0-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-7358160-1-2 (eBook)

Copyright © 2020 by Lowell Hamilton

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

Foreword

In the late 1950s a researcher at the University of Wisconsin by the name of Don Harlow conducted a series of experiments using rhesus monkeys.

The Rhesus Monkeys is a species of monkeys closest to humans. Doctor Harlow used three infant male monkeys in his experiment. One young monkey was placed in a cage with his mother that fed and nurtured him. The second monkey was placed in a cage with only a feeding bottle attached to a soft foam rubber covered mother monkey. The third monkey was placed in a cage with a feeding bottle attached to a wire mommy.

His experiment lasted a year where in each monkey was fed regularly, just different nurturing. At the end of one year he released all three monkeys into a cage with other monkeys of the same species but varying ages and sex.

The first monkey adjusted somewhat normally to the new surroundings and piers. At various times he would cling to his mother for her nurturing and other times he would move out, experiment on his own, and communicate in various ways with the other monkeys.

The second monkey was somewhat different and reserved. He searched the mature females as if he was looking for something, seemingly a need to be cuddled.

The third monkey was totally different from the other two. He withdrew to corners of the cage and stayed alone. There were no normal behavior patterns detected. He isolated and his attempts to be with other monkeys were attempts at forced sex with young female monkeys.

This is the story of a human wire monkey.

Chapter 1

Rudolph Lee Wilfang was born on June 5, 1922. He was delivered in the mountain home Herbert Lynn, his father, had constructed out of maple and oak trees cut from the side of Wilfong Mountain. Herbert Lynn’s papa, Leroy Alfred Wilfong, had traded a T Model Ford, three quart bottles of white lightning, and a good heifer cow for the 30 acres of mountain located near Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. Shortly after obtaining the official property deed to the mountain he had the misfortune of crossing the path of a very ornery moonshiner named Chester Kilroy Babcock. Unbeknownst to Herbert, Chester’s family had had their whiskey still located in the same cave for generations. It was located in one of the deep caves in the side of the mountain and not even the sheriff knew of its existence. Leroy Alfred did not agree with Chester Kilroy’s intention to continue using the still to make his white lightening. Thus, when Leroy Alfred confronted Chester Kilroy as he was carting some thirty Ball jars full of his brew down the mountain path, he wound up on the wrong end of Chester’s Winchester rifle. Consequently, he was buried in the new cemetery behind the Trentville Baptist Church down in Trentville.

Chester Kilroy disappeared. One rumor had him hiding out at the Cub Motel over in adjoining Cocke County. There were other rumors that he was operating a tavern over in Nashville. The Sevier County Sheriff seemed to have more important things on his agenda than chasing after Chester Kilroy. Much of his own time was spent at the Cub Motel in Cosby where a few mountain girls earned their living entertaining. Moonshine flowed freely in this establishment that was just across the county line; he had no jurisdiction here.

Moon shining, prostitution, and raising tobacco were the principal means of income in this part of the mountains. The latter mainly being a front for the other two. Cock fighting, strangely enough, was the local form of entertainment and gambling. The Cocke County sheriff and his deputies were the main protectors and participants in all the above. The law was their law and any outsider not understanding this concept simply disappeared into a remote lye grave.

So, the only good that came out of Leroy Alfred’s demise was that the sheriff took a couple deputies with sledge hammers up to the cave and the still was left in shambles. He then made a special trip to assure Leroy Alfred’s widow that it was safe to be on the mountain. She, however, took Herbert Lynn and his two siblings and moved back over to Pa paw Holler up near Rutledge where she was raised. Nothing further was done with the mountain until Herbert Lynn married Pearl Mae and built a log cabin house up near the cave wherein his papa had met his waterloo.

Dr. Quacksalver misspelled the last name on Rudolph Lee’s birth certificate. He had wrote the birth information on a piece of brown paper bag that he grabbed out of the kitchen a few minutes After he had delivered Rudolph Lee. He took the same paper bag fragments with his scribbling and recorded it down at the courthouse in Sevierville. It was of no immediate importance to anyone at the time so no one ever saw fit, nor the necessity, to correct the spelling.

Rudolph Lee became the first of two sons that bore the name of Wilfang. By the time the third child, a daughter by the name of Nola Irene, was born, the clerk at the court house noticed the difference in the spelling of the mother and father’s name and corrected the spelling and also informed the good doctor of his error. His decayed teeth showed slightly as he gave the clerk one of his not so frequent smiles and assured her he would correct the spelling on any additional Wilfong children. This he did without so much as an utterance to Pearl Mae or Herbert Lynn of his error in the spelling of their first two sons As a child, Rudolph Lee ran the hills barefooted most of the time, as did most of the other poor hillbilly, clod-hopping children. He would get a new pair of Paul Parrott shoes every fall when the leaves were falling and school was beginning. Sometimes at Easter, if Herbert Lynn got any sort of a raise or bonus at the Mascot zinc mines, he would get a new pair, but most of the time not. There was now four other youngens in the house. That meant that the shoes were kept and handed down to the next child they would fit, boy or girl. Hand me downs, as they were referred to, were an embarrassment but a necessity of the times. If he was blessed with a new pair at Easter he would leave the tag on them for weeks so everyone would know they was new and not hand me downs.

He performed his chores of slopping the hogs, feeding the chickens, chopping the wood, and splitting it for the fireplace and the wood burning cook stove. He attended the painted green, log cabin, one room schoolhouse down at Carter’s Mill. After twelve years of attending the same one room school with the same painted tin roof, the wood burning stove, and the same teacher, Mrs. Hopper, teaching all grades, he received what was known as a Secondary Degree. He was the first in the family to learn to read and write and was right proud of his diploma with the gold emblem.

There was a couple of sayings in the hills of East Tennessee that was true to life. One, if you don’t like the weather in East Tennessee, just wait a minute. The other, a ten-year-old East Tennessee virgin was a girl that could outrun her brother. Both held a certain amount of reality.

Well, Rudolph Lee did at least drop to a twelve year old cousin for his first sexual experience. He was fifteen at the time. He lured Sherry Mae into the smoke house out back near the cave with the lure of some rock candy. Once inside amongst the hanging ham hocks he jerked her white cotton panties down so quickly and mounted her and took her virginity so fast she barely knew he had been there. However, as soon as the glow had diminished and he realized the need would arise in him again soon he bombarded her with threats that if she didn’t return when he beckoned her he would have to resort to her younger sister Mary Ellen for his fulfillment. The thought of him mounting her younger sister in the same haste as he did her drove her to agree to be at his beck and call. She did for the next six months until in the spring her mother noticed the redness in her vagina and questioned her about it. She adamantly denied any sexual activity, which she had come to crave and enjoy, but, at the same time, warned Rudolph Lee that she could not meet his needs any longer and would tattle on him if he looked to her sister.

When he was eighteen, he met Ellen Mae Frazier at the roller-skating rink down at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville. She was a beautiful girl. She wore frail wire frame spectacles that added credence to her virginity. She had shoulder length brown hair, piercing blue eyes that could read Rudolph Lee’s every desire. She always dressed immaculately with clothes she bought herself with her earnings from working as a soda jerk at the fountain at Greenlee Drug Store.

Ellen Mae loved to roller skate. She had been skating for years. She would gracefully flow around the rink to the sounds of Tommy Dorsey’s Band with the lights lowered in the rink. There was a round silver cubicle that hung from the ceiling in the center of the rink that would spin with various colored lights that created a very romantic atmosphere.

To appease his newfound romance Rudolph Lee had made many attempts at mastering the four wheeled skate boots. Most of his time with Ellen Mae was spent at the rink or sitting at the counter of Greenlee’s Drugstore. He had been insanely jealous since he first laid eyes on her. He wanted so much to be able to sway with her on the skates as did this country bumpkin named Kyle David Hancock. Kyle David prided himself as being the best roller skate dancer in the rink. He was handsome as Clark Gable and had his pick of the litter when the lights were lowered. Rudolph Lee would disappear outside with his pack of Camel cigarettes swearing to himself when Ellen Mae would accept his offer to skate to the slow music and lighted spinning cubicle. He could barely stand on the stupid four-wheel skate boots and often would fall and have to crawl to the side of the rink and pull himself up. This with a beet red face and often as not laughter from the other skaters dodging smoothly around him. So, as often as he could, when not with Ellen Mae at the rink, he would escape to the various honkytonks up and down Rutledge Pike.

Ellen Mae refused to be anywhere near him when he had been drinking the moon shine whiskey or the Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz or Falstaff beer. She wouldn’t allow him even the slightest smooch if he had been smoking the Lucky Strike or Camel cigarettes. Everything was a sin to her; she had been raised in the hard-shell Southern Baptist Religion. Dancing was also a sin, but she didn’t count the roller-skating dances as dancing, there was no real physical contact was her reasoning. She never would, however, set foot inside the honkytonks he frequented. Instead, she coerced him into the John Sevier Southern Baptist Church where hell fire and brimstone sermons spewed vibrantly from the frothing mouth of Preacher Whipperberry.

Finally, after months of being pulled into the church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, he accepted and came to the realization that he would get nowhere with Ellen Mae unless he got himself born again.. Thus, he made his decision that he would do whatever it took to have this woman. He had listened to enough sermons and seen many other sinners go to the altar and kneel in prayer with the good Christian men until they accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior and got themselves redeemed. This, he knew, was his only hope.

Thus, after one of the Sunday night services, when the choir was singing the gospel hymn Just As I Am, in silence he slipped out of the pew and slowly wandered down the aisle to the altar where Preacher Whipperberry waited with the Bible still open to John, Chapter three. As Rudolph Lee approached timidly the preacher shook his hand and knelt with him in prayer. He was immediately surrounded by seven or eight deacons and Christian men. They knelt beside him raising their prayers to the heavens that Rudolph Lee be saved from the eternal hot fires of hell and forgiven and redeemed of his sins.

Now, after about ten minutes of kneeling with his eyes closed and waiting for some miracle in his feelings that would save him he tired of the melody and finally stood and raised his arms to the air in signal of being born again. The brethren gathered with him in the altar immediately stood with him and slapped him on the back and made harmonious shouts of victory. The choir and pianist also joined in the melody and began singing the hymn Victory In Jesus. Ellen Mae wept quietly in the pew where they had been sitting almost dead center in the church. She eventually made her way to the altar and stood by his side as the members filed by to shake his hand and welcome him into the flock.

There was a baptismal service scheduled to take place in the Holston River in three weeks. Preacher James T. Whipperberry, who Ma maw Frazier, Ellen Mae’s mother, referred to as Whippersnapper counseled Rudolph Lee that he should follow the Lord Jesus in being baptized. Rudolph Lee agreed and so it was to take place after the Sunday Morning service about three o’clock in the afternoon on the third Sunday of May. There would be a total of seven saved souls baptized, the youngest being twelve years old.

Ma maw and Pa paw Frazier stood on the banks of the river amongst the blackberry, honeysuckle, and kudzu vines. Clouds were forming and it looked as though there might be an afternoon thundershower. Ellen Mae stood next to them holding the change of dry clothes for Rudolph Lee. Next to her stood Clarence Elmore, one of the deacons. Other church elders and family members of the other six stood nearby as Preacher Whippersnapper wadded into the shallow river and out about twelve feet to where he could dunk the seven. The quartet, The Now Believers, sang their rendition of Shall We Gather At The River. The seven newly saved members lined the muddy riverbank. When the quartet finished the last stanza of the song Preacher Whipperberry raised his arms and prayed that the seven be accepted and blessed. When he sounded his amen he motioned for the first in line, a sinner man of about forty years age who had spent many nights in the Love s Creek Tavern with Rudolph Lee drinking. The born again man waded slowly out toward the preacher. The preacher took his white handkerchief and placed it over his nose and mouth and placed his left hand on the man’s lower back.

Then with the words Upon your profession of faith, Justin James Stallworth, I hereby baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Ghost. He laid him back in the water until he was completely submerged and raised him to the shouts of the man’s wife and mother in law. The twelve-year-old girl was next, Rudolph Lee next, and the scene repeated until all seven had been baptized. The quartet sang the gospel hymn If We Never Meet Again This Side of Jordan.

Ma maw held to her first impression of Rudolph Lee being a no-account, womanizing drunkard. She proclaimed that he would never change. She so voiced her opinion to Clarence Elmore’s mother as Robert helped her up the muddy bank that led to Rutledge Pike where they proceeded to walk up the highway to their house on Cedar Street. The usual afternoon thunder shower was beginning.

None of this religious, clean living stuff was to the nature of Rudolph Lee’s hillbilly upbringing. However, he loved Ellen Mae and when she accepted his marriage proposal while they were sipping Coca Cola at the counter with Thelma Lou leaning to hear, he felt he had accomplished the only worthwhile goal in life he ever had. A glorious, victorious, feeling engulfed him as they held hands and walked back down Rutledge Pike.

The wedding ceremony was scheduled to take place in the altar of the John Sevier Baptist Church on July 17, 1939. The ceremony was scheduled for four o clock in the afternoon. There was the usual East Tennessee weather forecast of a chance of afternoon thunder showers but that was not about to put a damper on their day. Ma maw, however, did put a damper on things as she refused to go to the ceremony. She held to her stubborn first impression of him being a sinner and not worthy of Ellen Mae.

The altar was beautifully lined with white lily flowers, white roses, and two pyramid shaped candle stands that held ten white candles each. There was white linen cloth covering the altar where Rudolph Lee had made his submission and surrender. It had been just over a year since they had first awkwardly met at a chance encounter at the skating rink.

The ushers had lit the candles and seated the attendees. Herbert Lynn and Pearl Mae had been seated in the front pew. They only stepped foot in church for weddings and funerals. They never felt comfortable amongst what they considered all hypocritical do-gooders. Then, as Pa paw, wearing his Sunday best J.C. Penny gray suit, slowly entered with Ellen Mae holding onto his right arm, the organist blasted the tune Here Comes The Bride. The church was almost completely full of the gathering of friends, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Do you, Rudolph Lee Wilfang, solemnly swear to take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, forsaking all others, and with her in sickness and in health, and all that comes in life, both good and bad?

Rudolph Lee, holding Ellen Mae’s right hand, acknowledged with a soft yes.

Preacher Whipperberry’s seriously vibrant voice resounded through the church. You could seriously have heard a pin drop as he finished reciting and repeating the vow to Ellen Mae. She acknowledged with a vibrant smile and yes.

He then turned to the congregation.

Does any person here in attendance, either man or woman, know of any objection or reason why this man and woman should not now be joined in holy matrimonial? Let him speak now or forever hold his tongue?

He scanned the audience with his piercing brown eyes and long bushy eyebrows and held the Bible high that he had placed both wedding rings on. There was silence, then, there was not silence.

I want to strenuously speak and place my objection on record here and now as having knowledge that should stop this here wedding and forever prevent the joining of this beautiful virgin woman and this here sinner man not worthy of being in our presence.

Clarence Elmore, a Deacon and regular member of the church for the past five years had stood and was nervously twisting his gray felt hat in his hands. He was wearing a navy blue wool suit that was not suitable for the hot summer afternoon. His eyes and ears seem to tweak in unison, and he was sweating profusely. He could almost be considered a hunch back as he could not bring himself completely up right and he stuttered when he spoke, but the meaning had sunk deep to all in the church. He was dabbing his forehead with a white handkerchief and stared around the church as silence again filled the sanctuary.

The preacher stopped dead in his tracks. Himself pulling a white handkerchief from the rear pocket of his fairly pressed brown tweed trousers.

Rudolph Lee dropped Ellen Mae’s hand. He had been holding it in anticipation of placing the beautiful ring on it. He had bought the ring on credit at Kay’s Jeweler down on Gay Street in Knoxville. His head dropped in wonder and disbelief.

Ellen Mae stared at this objector through the white veil. She had no understanding whatsoever of his words or motive.

Pa paw Frazier was the first to move and take action. He stepped down from the altar and made his way to Clarence to attempt to bring an end to this non-sense. After all, he had been the one who had sponsored him to become a Deacon after he had been denied all his attempts at Loveland Baptist. He approached him and put his hand out to shake and whispered in his ear and Clarence stepped slowly out of the pew and followed his senior deacon down the aisle and out to the porch of the church. The organist brought the keys softly to life again to bring an end to the eerie returned silence.

In most circumstances Pa paw Frazier maintained his calmness and instilled this calmness in others. However, he was sincerely and vehemently interested in putting this wedding behind him. He pulled his pocket knife out and cut off a chew from the plug of Apple tobacco he had removed from the inside breast pocket of his suit. He stuck it in his mouth and offered a chew to Clarence. Clarence refused and instead pulled a pouch of Swisher snuff from the breast pocket of his suit and inserted a pinch into his lower lip. Pa paw pulled on the sleeve of his coat and stared into his eyes with a chilling stare.

What in tar’s hill are you talking about Clarence? Wasn’t you in the altar praying with Rudolph Lee the night he was saved and witnessed him being baptized down yonder in the Holston River?

Yes, to both those questions Deacon Frazier. But I witnessed something up yonder in the woods behind Love’s Creek Tavern. It was no more than three weeks ago and I could not sit still when the offer was made for an objection. My conscious would not be clear if I did not speak up and so I raised my honest objection.

He then walked over to the edge of the porch to spit the juice of his snuff. Pa paw Frazier followed him assuring they was out of ear shot of the people inside.

What did you see that made you jump to your feet with this here worry?

Pa paw spit his own tobacco and reached for his handkerchief to wipe the tobacco juice drippings from his mouth.

It was a drunk Rudolph Lee with that whore Louise Lou Kitts laying up yonder in the woods with her dress up around her waist and her pink silk panties down around her ankles. Rudolph Lee’s pants were down and she was stroking his member and panting like a bitch dog in heat. I was taking a short cut cross the hill to go to Holston Market to fetch some coal oil for my mama’s lamp, that’s when I stumbled upon them.

He inserted another chew of snuff nervously between his lips.

Pa paw paused, then walked across the porch and looked around the corner and then returned back to Clarence.

So, what do you reckon it would take to put this thing in order so we can finish up this here wedding now?

It only took five minutes for Rudolph Lee’s confession to God and to Clarence in the men’s Sunday School room out back of the church next to the men’s out house. Clarence returned quietly to his pew with assurance to Rudolph Lee that not a word of his confession would ever be repeated to anyone. The organist had stopped playing and once again there was an eerie silence that took space in the church. Now, with the air clear and Pa paw and Rudolph Lee back in position at the altar there was new excitement and murmuring.

Once again Preacher Whipperberry raised the Bible and turned to the people and slowly recited the question for anyone to object to speak now or forever hold their peace. To his and everyone in attendance relief no one spoke a word.

You may kiss the bride

The newlyweds exited the church amongst the rain of white rice and the expected afternoon thundershowers. They drove away in a 34 T Model Ford Herbert Lynn had borrowed from one of his bosses at the mines. As was also tradition tin cans was tied to the back bumper and dead fish placed in the hubs to assure that everyone and anyone within distance would know they was newlyweds.

The Ogles from Gatlinburg had come to know Ellen Mae from the drug store. They, as was typical, had become very fond of her. They wanted to attach her to their oldest son, but, when she chose Rudolph Lee they accepted her decision and quickly gave their blessing. They arranged a room for her and her new husband at their hotel on the Pigeon Forge River in the Great Smokey Mountains. With the sound of the rippling water over the rocks in the river, Ellen Mae Wilfang and Rudolph Lee Wilfang began their life together.

Even with all the changes, restrictions, and religion, Rudolph Lee was happy and content. Their first son, James, was born May 9, 1940. A friend of Ellen Mae’s had gotten him a real job at the C. M. McClung Hardware store on Central Avenue in Knoxville. He was selling Western Flyer Bicycles, Radio Flyer red wagons, coal oil lanterns, coal stoves, both cooking and heating, Kelvinator refrigerators, and other necessities of life. There was a war taking place in Europe that had not yet caught his attention.

President Franklin Roosevelt had promised France that if Germany invaded their country that he would send American troops. He made this promise without Congressional approval. When the German occupation took place on June 14, 1940, he could do nothing to keep his word. The occupation of France had posed no clear and imminent danger to America and he couldn’t get a Declaration of War passed in Congress.

On September 16, 1940, the president signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Also, in 1940 there was a committee formed called the America First Committee. There were a number of millionaires and outspoken politicians that belonged and contributed to it. Aviator Charles Lindbergh was the most outspoken member. Other notables included the novelist Sinclair Lewis, film producer Walt Disney, actress Lillian Gish, and others of fame and fortune who felt that Europe’s problems and the slaughter of the Jewish people was not America’s problem. The polls showed eighty one per cent of the American public was against any involvement. Henry Ford was also very vocal against America’sinvolvement.

Rudolph Lee had registered with the draft as he was required to do. He had gone down to register with his friend Oscar Drygood from Trentville. They went to the big post office where just a couple years ago they had gotten their Social Security Cards. They did not like registering to work, having their names in government files, now this new nuisance.

Almost to the day, three months after they registered Oscar got his notice to report. This really concerned Rudolph Lee. Things had gone really well for him since he married Ellen Mae. He read the notice Oscar received and shivered at the thought of being jerked from his life to serve in some foreign soil and get shot at and possibly killed. He had a wife and son, this would probably get him deferred for a while, but the threat was worrisome and constantly occupied his mind. Within three weeks of receiving the draft notice Oscar was sworn into the Army and was off to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic military training. As he had promised, he began writing Rudolph Lee letters from Fort Benning. He told how rough the BCT (basic combat training) was. He wrote of sleeping in the rain, running for hours amongst the drill sergeant’s constant yells. Marching, marching, marching, with a heavy backpack. Forced to enter huts filled with tear gas with no mask. Cleaning their M14 rifles, spit shinning their boots. It was not life as he knew it and it was not easy. He also wrote of the rumors floating through the ranks that soon America would be fighting in that war in Europe and the recruits expected to be on the front of it. Oscar’s letters were disturbing and created more and more genuine concern. After the Christmas and New Year’s holidays Rudolph Lee sat with Ellen Mae in front of the fireplace in their house on Cedar Street and talked. He told her about his fears that he would receive a draft notice. They decided it best if he go down and talk to the Navy Recruiter. So, two days later, on a dreary and overcast rainy Tuesday, he went down to the Navy recruiter’s office next to the Southern Railway Station on Union Street in Knoxville. The only good news the recruiter had was that if he enlisted in the Navy before he received a draft notice he would avoid the front lines in a war that was for sure going to take place. But, if he received the draft notice first, there would be nothing the Navy recruiter could do.

He exited the orange and white KTL (Knoxville Transit Lines) bus at the Cedar Street stop on Rutledge Pike. He slowly walked the country mile to their house at 322 Cedar Street. It was a cozy house they had rented a week after they was married. He hesitated in front looking in the living room window through the flimsy curtains; the floor lamp was lit. He opened the screen door and twisted the handle and opened the wood door with the window that rattled making his entry announcement.

Ellen Mae was in the kitchen putting wood in the cooking stove in preparation of cooking some pinto beans with ham hock. Baby James was asleep in the small front bedroom. Rudolph Lee paused, looked at her and managed a smile. He took her frail hand and led her into the living room. She wiped her hands on her apron and they sat on the rose colored, flowered sofa that faced the fireplace. Reluctantly he relayed the information the Navy Recruiter had given him. The fire in the fireplace dimmed and baby James awoke before they finished talking and weighing their options. They somberly agreed that the best and safest thing for him to do was to enlist in the Navy now. Ellen Mae cried.

The very next day he gave his notice to Mr. McClung. Mr. McClung was a short, round-faced, mustached, and paunchy man with snub features. He wore rumpled suits that indicated his wife did not love him. With regret he accepted Rudolph Lee’s resignation and gave him assurance that his job would be there waiting for him when he returned.

The next morning he returned to the Navy Recruiter and took all the entrance exams. His physical was completed and passed in the afternoon. He was feeling accomplished and somewhat proud as he again took the KTL orange and white bus back to Cedar Street. The bus’s folding doors made their usual slow swishing sound as they folded open. The air was brisk and cool as he walked; he was happy, sad and scared.

Him and Ellen Mae attended the Sunday morning church service as usual. Preacher Whipperberry had a special altar call and prayer for him. Clarence Elmore joined the other deacons and members gathered in the altar. Nearer My God to Thee was the last hymn sang as they exited the church.

They stopped by Ma maw and Pa paw’s house that was located about a half mile from their house at 278 Cedar Street. Rudolph Lee beckoned them to please help and take care of Ellen Mae and baby James while he was away. Pa paw removed his wire frame glasses and cried openly. He had served in World War 1 in the Army and knew the perils and heart aches of war firsthand. Ma maw sort of hugged him and assured him that his wife and child would be taken care of.

On January 11, 1941, in the early morn, he stood on the front porch and held Ellen Mae and baby James. Ellen Mae cried openly. Baby James twisted in his blue cotton blanket. Rudolph Lee held his tears. After he had held them as long as possible, he kissed his wife one last long kiss and then turned and walked slowly up the narrow, cracked concrete sidewalk. He turned and waved and then walked the short distance to the KTL bus stop; it was the saddest, scariest day of his life.

He arrived at the Naval Recruiter’s office at 7:52 am. At exactly 8:30 am he and twelve other East Tennessee hillbilly men raised their right hands and were sworn into the United States Navy. As he had been instructed, he only had brought with him some Burma Shave, a Gillette razor, an Old Spice deodorant stick, and one pair of boxer shorts. The swearing in ceremony was short. He recited the oath that stated he would serve, obey the laws of the United States of America, and give his life for his country if necessary.

It was a somber air that surrounded him and the other twelve men as the recruiter escorted them to the Greyhound Bus terminal. The recruiter handed each of them their ticket and a copy of their orders as they boarded the bus. The bus pulled out of the terminal located on Magnolia Avenue and headed for the Navy Basic Training at Naval Station Great Lakes, near Chicago, Illinois. Rudolph Lee didn’t cry until he was alone in the back of the bus where there was silence and loneliness such as he had never known. No one could hear or see him.

Basic training was eight weeks. Upon arrival as they stepped off the bus there was no hesitation. Immediate yelling and shoving them into some sort of formation. Then they were marched directly to the twelve barbers in a large oval metal shaped structure. There they shaved his blond hair off completely. As he exited feeling his bald head, he was marched to another metal building where he was photographed and fingerprinted. He thought about crying or running but he did neither. Next was another line where they issued him a USN number, an ID card and dog tags. There was an indentation in the tags so they could be placed between his teeth in case he was killed.

Next, he was marched to the mess hall where they slopped some sort of mush and meat on the metal tray he had been instructed to take. He was casually walking through the line when a Seaman 4th Class grabbed him by the neck and showed him the proper way to sidestep through the line. He was told to keep his head and eyes straight ahead. As soon as he had cleaned the slop off the metal tray the same Seaman 4th Class yelled at him and the other three occupants of his table to take their metal trays to the window for cleaning. They were to scrape any remaining food into the metal trash can to the side and put the silver ware in the plastic tray. They then joined the formation outside the mess hall. They were marched to a really large metal warehouse. The line was long to receive his duffel bag and various uniforms, dress shoes, boots, white sailor hats, and belts and underwear. They issued him a complete wardrobe of uniforms, with no insignia and complete essentials within a few minutes.

Everything was hurry up and wait. Stand in formation and wait. Stand in long lines and wait. The worst was being forced to stand in long lines to wait to receive numerous inoculations for which they were never told what the shots were for. He learned military drill, basic shipboard damage control, seamanship, firefighting, and the infamous Uniform Code of Military Justice. It was rough, but not nearly as rough as Oscar had written about the Army. Still, sometimes when alone in his bunk he found himself crying into his pillow.

He successfully completed the basic training and was now a Seaman Third Class with the insigne indicating his rank on the right sleeve. He was granted a two week leave and also was given his orders to report to the Norfold Naval Shipyard at Norfolk, Virginia.

He was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania that was in for maintenance and repairs there.

He took the Greyhound bus back to Knoxville wearing his white crisp Navy dress uniform with pride. Ellen Mae and baby James greeted him at the Greyhound Terminal. She grabbed the round white sailors cap from his head and kissed him a long deep passionate kiss. His hair was short but she ran her hand through it.

They took the KTL bus back to their house on Cedar Street. All was well for the two-week leave. He wore his uniform to the church services with Ellen Mae and was proud of his rank and accomplishment. However, time did not stand still and in a blink he found himself alone again on the Greyhound headed for Norfolk, Virginia and the unknown. Alone, staring out the window at the lonesome brown trees that the leaves had abandoned, the tears welled in his eyes and once again he cried.

It was frosty cool when he exited the bus in Norfolk. It was about 8:00 at night; the date was March 29, 1941. He threw his duffel bag across his shoulder and walked across the empty street. He pulled a fresh pack of Camels from his pocket and pulled his Zippo lighter from his left uniform pocket. He still didn’t smoke around Ellen Mae but now he was alone. He exhaled the smoke in semi circles and watched it disappear into the air.

As he finished his last drag on the Came, he saw the headlights of what looked like a taxi approaching. He waved and the black and white checkered cab pulled to the curb. The driver informed him it was two dollars and fifty cents to get to the base He knew it was only a two mile ride and thought this a bit much but threw his duffel bag into the back seat and followed it into the Chevrolet.

The taxi approached the front gate slowly. There was a yellow and black traffic arm blocking the road. As they got close to the guard shack Rudolph Lee rolled down the window and handed his orders to the guard. The guard handed him back his papers, checked his ID, and gave him set of instructions for his one-night stay in the transient barracks.

The barracks was located near the BX (Base Exchange); the taxi driver had obviously been there before. He paid the driver and watched the taillights disappear back toward the front gate. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and stepped onto the porch of the barracks. There was no one around, he opened the door and entered the dark open bay barracks. One dim light in the corner afforded him enough light to find an open bunk. His blue Navy duffel bag made a loud thumping sound as he dropped it at the foot of the gray metal bunk. He was tired. The duffel bag was difficult to open in the dark so he pulled his Zippo out and held it so he could unhook the straps. Folding his orders neatly he placed them back in the envelope and put them in the top of the duffel bag and then once again flipping his Zippo back to life he closed the straps and snapped it snugly. There was some loud snoring of another sailor at the other end of the barracks. He sat on the side of the bunk, untied his still spit shined shoes and then slowly unbuttoned and removed his uniform. As he had been taught he folded it and laid it on top the duffel bag. After sitting on the bunk, a moment, he reached to the uniform; got another Camel, lit it, and said a short feeble prayer as he puffed on the cigarette. This was as he had promised his wife that he would do each night, minus the Camel part of course.

The sun woke him as it brilliantly shined through the wood paned barracks window next to his bunk. The new Bulova wristwatch with the luminous hands indicated it was 7:09. As he wound the watch and admired it he remembered the look in Ellen Mae’s eyes when she gave it to him. What to fuck was he doing here? He should have just run back to the mountains and hid in a cave. It was a fleeting thought that vanished as he walked to the latrine at the other end of the barracks in just his white boxer shorts. The cement trough that lined the gray wall next to the door reminded him of the trough he used to slop the hogs in as a child.

He peed into the trough then turned and approached the long cement sink with a long narrow mirror above it. The water was cold that he splashed on his face. As he stared at the image in the mirror, he thought he had aged ten years in the last two months. He returned to the bunk, sat on the side, and smoked his first cigarette of the day. The other sailor was no longer at the other end of the barracks. As he crushed the cigarette out and placed it in the butt can mounted on the wall his thoughts were racing forward to what lay in store for him on the ship. The Gillette blade that was in his razor was new. The Burma Shave bowl also had new soap. The Palmolive bar of soap he had brought from home was also new and still in the familiar green wrapper. It almost made him homesick but there was no time for that now. He grabbed the towel hanging on the end of the bunk and returned to the latrine.

The shit, shower, and shave were all very refreshing. He dried off, walked back to his bunk, got a clean pair of white boxer shorts and black socks from his duffel bag and got dressed. There was one last trip to the latrine to check his image. As he examined his uniform in the mirror, he removed the comb from his rear pocket and combed his hair. The image in the mirror reflected a man, a sailor.

He opened the door to the awakening, brisk morning air. An officer approached as he walked the short distance to the mess hall for his first real military breakfast. He felt pride as he saluted him.

The basic training food was slop, not fit for the hogs he used to feed. The transient meal log was right next to the plates, trays and coffee cups he had spotted. No metal food trays.

The cooks smiled as he instinctively started sidestepping down the counter.

Relax, sailor, you’re not in basic training anymore, one of the cooks told him.

The food displayed looked good, steaming hot. He had SOS (shit on shingles); the Navy term for corned beef and gravy served over a slice of toast.

The cook, with a Pall Mall hanging from his lips, slopped on some scrambled eggs and handed the plate back to him. He put his tray on a table in the near empty mess hall and got a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. It took him almost a half hour to consume his breakfast and two cups of coffee.

After breakfast he strolled back to the barracks, retrieved his duffel bag, stripped the bunk, and put the sheets inside the pillowcase and placed them at the foot of the bunk. He folded the blue USN wool blanket and placed it under the pillow. This was as he had been instructed to do when he signed in. He signed the transient log as he exited the barracks. The time, his name, rank, and USN number. Before he opened the door, he sat his duffel bag down and removed his orders from the top. He checked the area one last time and exited the barracks with his duffel bag on his shoulder and his orders in his hand.

There was a small incline that had obscured his view of the docks. When he got to the top totting his heavy duffel bag, he stared down the hill to an enormous array of approximately twenty boats and ships. He stopped, dropped his duffel bag to the ground and stood amazed at the sight. The sun was glaring in his eyes as he scanned the larger ships, there were four large ships. Almost immediately he focused on the massive and impressive USS Pennsylvania; it was the largest ship there. Slowly he made his way down the incline and stood at the bottom of the wide gang plank gathering his racing thoughts. The prevalent thought that raced forward was that he was as nervous as a whore in church. He smiled as he attempted to slow the thoughts that bounced around in his head like a burning flame never ceasing for even a moment. He managed to focus mainly on how to find this Chief Petty Officer Wayne R. Hamilton he was to report in to.

As he approached the massive ship, he brought his mind to the current moment. He had put his duffel bag down leaning it against the gang plank. As he looked up at the railing and massive ship deck, he spotted a sailor in drab blue work uniform swabbing the deck.

I’m reporting in, where might I find this here Chief Petty Officer Hamilton, he yelled up.

The sailor dropped his mop and walked over to the rail. Well, you ain’t gonna find him down there sailor. Come on aboard.

Rudolph Lee again vigorously slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and angled up the gang plank and stepped on board. The sailor shook his hand as he sized him up.

I’m B.J. Thacker from Harlan County Kentucky. Where you all from?

Rudolph Lee hesitated not wanting to sound like a country bumpkin. If he said he was from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee he would sure be labeled. Then he thought, this guy’s from Harlan County, Kentucky that was nothing but coal miners and moonshiners.

I’m from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, he finally offered as they continued shaking hands.

Well welcome aboard here Rebel, nice to have another Southerner. There’s so damned many Yankees on this tug, can’t hardly carry on a conversation because they talk so darned fast. Got to have a mediator to understand their meaning.

That there Chief Petty Officer Hamilton though, he’s a godawful good sailor, he’s from Oklahoma. You got a smoke?

Rudolph Lee shook the pack of Camels and B.J. took one. Rudolph Lee flipped his Zippo lighter and lit B.J.’s then turned the lighter to the one he had put between his lips. B.J. took a deep drag and exhaled.

Wow, a Camel, he exclaimed as he exhaled his first puff. Better save those cause they ain’t got nothing but Chesterfields in the BX on board.

I’d walk a mile for a camel, he sang with a grin.

Chief Petty Officer Wayne R. Hamilton was from Dalton, Oklahoma. He was a slim handsome man in his mid-forties. He stood, shook Rudolph Lee’s hand and chatted amiably as he explained that there was six 4 inch 45 caliber guns, six 14 inch 51 caliber guns, six 12 inch 25 caliber guns, and that the ship had been equipped with the new CXAM-RADAR. Since Rudolph Lee had not gone to any specific tech training he would be assigned as an apprentice to learn the maintenance and eventually the operation of the new radar system. He might possibly be trained as a teletype operator. It would be decided later. For now, however, he would just be doing routine seamanship duty that consisted mainly of swabbing the massive decks and cleaning the turrets of the guns. The guns on the Pennsylvania had to be cleaned and shined daily.

With this explained, Chief Petty Officer Hamilton asked him if he had questions. Rudolph Lee remained nervously quiet so the officer pushed down a button on the intercom system box and in an instant a sailor in the swab blue uniform appeared and led Rudolph Lee with his duffel bag down another narrow metal passage way to another gray metal door that opened into a small area with six bunks and one 10" port window. The sailor opened a compartment door wherein Rudolph Lee was shown where to put his duffel bag and the shelves for his personal items. With this, and the routine question of did Rudolph Lee have any smokes the sailor exited leaving Rudolph Lee alone with his thoughts and fears. He lay on the bunk staring up at the ceiling thinking about lighting up a Camel, and he so he did.

The ship sailed three days after he reported aboard. He was seasick the first five days. He threw up constantly and could not move from his bunk to perform his duties. Finally, after a trip to the infirmary, he got over it and was able to get about adjusting to naval life. As was expected, his first duty was swabbing the deck and cleaning the guns.

A few days after they was out to sea and after sharing a few more Camels B. J. told him where they were headed. He had learned from a friend of his that was a teletype operator that they were headed for Hawaii and the Pacific via way of the Panama Canal.

There had been a shake-up in command and they were going to be taking part in a ceremony taking place for Admiral James O. Richardson. The Admiral, who had been commander of the Pacific fleet for many years, was being relieved of his duties. It seemed that he had objected to orders from President Roosevelt’s Chief of Staff that the entire Pacific Fleet be moved to Pearl Harbor. He had assumed incorrectly that his rank and years of experience would override the wrong orders of the president. His refusal to obey the president’s orders was a bad mistake. He was being put out to pasture prematurely. There was a Four Star Admiral, Husband E. Kimmel, who had silently agreed to go along with the orders and so he was assuming complete command of the Pacific Fleet. This was all hush, hush, top secret rumors. But, for sure the USS Pennsylvania was to take part in the ceremony and then join the Pacific Fleet based in Hawaii. It was in retrospect months later that it was realized by the powers that Admiral Richardson’s objection should have been heeded. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

All this information was relayed to Ellen Mae who was busy taking care of baby James and attending church services to pray for Rudolph Lee’s safe return. The letters were a blessing though and she looked forward every day to the postman’s appearance at the metal mailbox in front of their small white frame house on Cedar Street. Rudolph Lee’s letters helped her survive the endless empty nights and she reciprocated daily with letters filled with idle talk about little James and the gossip from church. The latest gossip being that Clarence Elmore had been excommunicated from the church. He was caught out behind the tobacco barn of Elmer Peabody with Elmer’s eighteen-year-old daughter stroking the penis of the family donkey. Clarence’s overalls was laid neatly on the feed trough and his own penis was erect and his right hand was vigorously stroking it and was at the brink of ecstasy when the daughter’s screams jerked him to reality as Elmer ran to the house to get his shot gun. A few of the pellets grazed Clarence’s head as he dodged through the pine trees with his overalls in his hand. He only returned home to his momma’s house to grab his Bible and his blue wool suit. He hitched a ride up Rutledge Pike to the John Sevier freight yard and hopped the next south bound freight. Within a few days he was on the corner in New Orleans wearing his wool suit and waving his Bible while condemning the sinners that sold their bodies for sex.

The ceremony was humungous and impressive. All the ships from the Pacific Fleet participated with their massive guns firing in salute. The sailors lining the decks, the ship’s flags, the bands playing. An exhibition such as had never been seen before by any of the seasoned sailors. To Rudolph Lee, it was beyond words that he could relay to Ellen Mae.

After the ceremony, the USS Pennsylvania engaged in fleet tactics and battle practice for about ten days in the Hawaiian area. This was also impressive to Rudolph Lee. The entire Pacific Fleet was ordered to move forward to Pearl Harbor on November 17, 1941. In the Pacific Fleet at this time, there were nine battleships, three aircraft carriers with a total of 100 patrol bombers, twelve heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, fifty destroyers, and thirty-three submarines. The nine battleships were intended to counterbalance the ten battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy that was gathered in the Pacific. After the practice maneuvers the USS Colorado sailed for Bremington Naval Yard, Washington State, to be refitted. This left a total of eight battleships to sail to Pearl Harbor. The Pennsylvania arrived on November 21, 1941. She had a crew of 56 Officers, 72 Marines, and 1032 blue jackets. Upon arrival in Pearl Harbor she docked next to the USS Nevada. Toward the end of November, she was moved to dry dock to undergo routine maintenance repairs. Her screws had been removed from their shaft and was resting on the bottom of the dock. She had been scheduled to leave the dock on December 6th and berth at 1010 Dock directly adjacent. Delays had been encountered and on the morning of December 7th she was still in dry dock.

On that dreadfully fateful Sunday morning, there was little activity on the USS Pennsylvania. The watch had just been set and the chaplain was preparing for the eight o’clock mass on the quarterdeck. Virtually all the ships company was aboard. In view of the existing conditions general overnight liberty had not been granted.

Rudolph Lee had been assigned temporary duty with the Quartermasters Office in the Headquarters Building on a hill overlooking the docks. There was little need for his services aboard the USS Pennsylvania while she was in dry dock. His shift was from midnight to eight o’clock in the morning, six days a week. He was off on Wednesdays. His on the job training had been changed from apprentice radar operator to apprentice teletype operator. The duty was good and he enjoyed what he was doing. He sat next to the teletype machine reading over some of the SECRET teletypes that had come in recently. He had a SECRET clearance but not a TOP SECRET.

In the early morning hours of December 7th, he was bored so he began scanning back through some of the messages. Most of the messages were routine maintenance, boring notes about ship movements, etc. One, however caught his attention. Marked as SECRET , it read: November 27, 1941

This dispatch is to be considered a war warning. Negotiations with Japan looking toward stabilization of conditions in the Pacific have ceased. An aggressive move by Japan is expected within the next few days. The number and equipment of Japanese troops and the organization of the naval task forces indicates an amphibious expedition against either the Philippines, Thai Lor Kra Pennisula, or possibly Baranco. Execute an appropriate defensive deployment preparatory to carrying out the tasks assigned in WPL 46. Inform district and Army Authorities.

He read this dispatch looking for some relation to Pearl Harbor, there was nothing. So, he continued through the batch. There was another dispatch marked "SECRET’ that did cause him some minor concern. It was from Navy Intelligence and read:

Naval Intelligence Bureaus are struggling with a recently changed set of Japanese Imperial call signs. We are attempting to track the Japanese Naval buildup in the South Pacific. We also are attempting to relocate Japan’s two primary carrier groups.

He put the dispatch back in the bin with the others; put his feet up on the desk and leaned back. What could this mean? Those Japanese carriers could be headed anywhere. Still, no urgent signals darted into his mind so he pulled out the two boloney sandwiches he had made in the galley before he came to duty and pulled an RC Cola from the refrigerator in the lounge and settled in for his shift.

It was a quiet night, no teletypes at all since it was Saturday night and no movement of any kind going on. He and Army Private George Elliott Jr. played solitaire and hearts the entire shift. Took turns sleeping and talked about women, sex, and the fact that neither of them had gotten a tattoo.

Suddenly, at exactly 0737 in the morning, the teletype clicked away with an urgency. It was from the radar station at Opana Point. It was addressed to Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler in Naval Intelligence at the Navy Intercept Center down the hall. The teletype was marked SECURE! SECRET! WARNING and read: "Large formation of planes is approaching Opana (stop)—Suggest immediate Alert and call to stations URGENT (stop)

Private Elliott jerked the dispatch from the teletype and went running down the hall to the Intercept Center and dashed in without knocking. Lieutenant Tyler had just poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and was thumbing through a recent copy of The Saturday Evening Post

Lieutenant, Lieutenant, we got to Call to Arms a formation of planes is over Opana Point heading this way, the excited private shouted as he handed the Lieutenant the dispatch. The Lieutenant slowly read the dispatch and turned in his chair and thumbed through some other dispatches marked TOP SECRET

I’m not supposed to show this to you because you don’t have a TOP SECRET CLEARANCE, but, read this.

The dispatch was dated December 4, 1941, and read: "Be Advised, a squadron of B-17 Bombers will begin being