Having had the time of our lives, not to mention our way, with two pretty . . . make that drop-dead gorgeous U.S. Navy nurses, Marty and I were now confronted with the consequences of our actions.
After hearing from the ethereally attractive Commander Lundgren, at the moment, my personal choice as the Sexiest Woman in Southeast Asia, of the horror, chaos, and despair that the triage nurses in-country encountered every day, and learning, as well, of the suicide of Kerri and Shauna's good friend, I had begun to feel like a depraved fool.
* * *
Suddenly, Lt. Janvrin, who'd stood impassively through Commander Lundgren's sobering tale, went off.
"You people got in some shit while you were out on your little escapade," he ranted. "You want to explain that?"
Without waiting for an answer, he began spewing accusations and invective that accused Marty and me of everything from misuse of government property to dereliction of duty.
"And how 'bout having sex with a couple of officers?" The lieutenant was rolling now.
He then proceeded to level charges ranging from lewd and lascivious behavior to doing it doggie style, anal penetration to gang rape. He was, it seemed, out for our gonads.
When he paused to take a breath, a flushed Commander Lundgren responded with her opinion that, first of all, the lieutenant ought to tone down his descriptive phrasing, and secondly, that the women had merely chosen a particularly misguided way of relieving nearly unbearable stress. "Might it be, Lieutenant," she concluded, "that the ladies took advantage of your men, rather than the other way around?"
"Sir," Marty interjected heatedly. "My mamma didn't raise no rapist. It was all one girl to one guy out there. If Axelsson had touched Shauna, I'd have shot him myself."
I gave Marty a nasty look, but kept quiet because it was true, and I wouldn't blame him. I did wonder, however, if I would have done the same if he'd approached Kerri.
Admiral Zumwalt weighed in, stating that to his knowledge very few victims fell in love with their rapists, that he saw no evidence Marty or I had forced ourselves on the two nurses.
Undeterred, Lt. Janvrin suggested further violations of the UCMJ . . . the Universal Code of Military Justice, the embodiment of military law . . . which, if proven, could very well land Marty and me in prison. In particular, he demanded an inquiry into our failure to report the short but intense firefight.
The admiral agreed that the charge of dereliction of duty ought to be recognized and dealt with.
With that, inspiration belatedly struck and I volunteered the information that we had a combat map on the boat; that I could, with reasonable certainty, point out on the map exactly where we had taken fire.
The admiral immediately leaped to his feet and rushed to the hatch . . . God forbid you called an ordinary office door a "door" in the old Navy. He asked for some commander named Howell, apparently one of his entourage, demanding the artillery spotting map of the Vung Tau region, which was quickly produced. He returned to the desk and unfolded the map, whereupon Marty and I shortly agreed on the location of the ambush.
"Lieutenant, come with me." Admiral Zumwalt said imperiously. "We're gonna get some gunships and grunts over there. I'll dispatch one of the gunfire support destroyers that way, too." He hesitated, turned to look sternly at us. "Do either of you know if there were any V.C. casualties?"
Both Marty and I responded "No, sir."
"Sir," I elaborated. "Our return fire most definitely suppressed Charlie's will to continue the engagement. I believe we put some serious hurt on their, um, behinds, but, with the ladies aboard, it seemed prudent to just di-di the hell outta there, sir. Also, as the senior watch stander, it was my intention to report the engagement to the duty officer at the docks as soon as we got back. But the Lieutenant was right there, along with the rest of the crew, and, well, things got a little complicated, sir."
"Right." The admiral withered me with a fierce look. "I suppose the thought of using your comms to call in air and ground support never entered your mind?"
"Well, sir . . ." I began, eyes averted.
"Ah, never mind. Let's go, Lieutenant." The admiral looked toward Commander Lundgren. "Commander, I'm leaving the disposition of this matter in your hands." A glance toward Marty and me, "You men are officially before the mast," meaning we were to stand by for sentencing and punishment. Abruptly, he and Lt. Janvrin were gone, though not without a this-ain't-done-yet glare from the lieutenant on his way out.
Seemingly apropos of nothing, the commander asked me, "Axelsson, what's your rating?"
"Bos'n's Mate, Third Class, ma'am," I replied, startled by the question.
"And what do you have to say about your conduct with my two nurses?"
Apparently, I was going to be the bad guy in this whole scenario, but I was determined to be honest, even though it might cost me my rate, my next twenty liberty passes, and/or my freedom. "Ma'am, there's no doubt that rules were broken, procedures ignored, government property misused, hostile attacks unreported, and officers, um, bedded. As for most of those perceived offences, ma'am, I have no excuse. As for the last one, the only thing I can tell you is that we were a bunch of ordinary people enjoying life for a little while. Demarest has it right, ma'am, nobody forced themselves on anyone, we were all willing accomplices."
"I see," she responded. "So what are your feelings for Lt. Cavalieri?"
Once again I responded truthfully. "Ma'am, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the lieutenant. I will obviously retain a certain affection for her, like, for the rest of my life. And I hope, ma'am, that the lieutenant feels the same way about me."
The commander's next statement: "I don't suppose either of you men used a prophylactic," struck me like a slap to the ear. What if one or both of the women became pregnant? Marty, on the other hand, seemed pleased at the thought.
