A memoir of a Vietnam veteran
Monday morning, fifth week. The field phase of our training was coming to an end and Swann let his ego get the best of him. He had pushed us hard this morning, doubling the repetitions for most of the exercises and then doubling the length of the run. Not satisfied with the distance, he had also picked up the pace and turned loose a couple of sergeants to harass, shame and herd any stragglers back into the flock.
As we came around a bend he pointed to the exercise stand three quarters of a mile away, �All right, if even one of you candy ass Transportation pukes can beat my ass to that stand I'll knock out fifty and the rest of you won't have to run the rest of this week.�
His voice was solid and his breathing regular. Nine and a half miles of the airborne shuffle hadn't winded him. What he didn't realize was that sitting in the middle of our pack were Pat Rudy, a fellow Phi Delt from Ohio State and a member of the Buckeye lacrosse team, and Bill Thompkins, a member of the University of Michigan's soccer team. The word �GO!� was no more out of Swann's mouth than those two shot by him, legs flying, arms pumping, taking huge strides that gobbled up the ground beneath them.
Swann, his reputation of infantry bad ass at risk, dropped into low gear and went after them. After 200 yards it was obvious that he was falling further behind. Even better was the fact that he had expended his reserve in his effort to catch Pat and Bill.
Now our pack closed in on him. Several of us discovered that the first four weeks had made us stronger than we realized. We found the energy to break from the formation and run past the failing TAC. Swann pushed hard, but his legs began to wobble. Agony and embarrassment seeped into his face. There was no more go, no more fuel in the tank. He finished deep in the midst of our howling pack. He slumped to the side, bent over and gasping for air, his face purple. Pat and Bill stood by the stand waiting for Swann to finish his push-ups, smiles reached from ear-to-ear on both of their faces. The rest of us let loose with cheers and a few choice words about the infantry.
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