Her Blue-Eyed Sergeant (Soldiers 0f Swing Book 1)

by Linda Ellen

  Hendricks scoffed as he tossed the towel on his bunk and began getting dressed. “It’s all over the barracks – Sgt. Banks has a girl down at the USO and she’s a real dish,” he mocked.

  Gene refused to let the man get his goat. He merely turned the page in the newspaper and lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. After a minute, he asked casually, “What’s it to you?”

  The other man threw him a look as he buttoned up his shirt. “Absolutely nothing, Banks. Less than nothing.”

  Gene just drew in a breath and let it out in a controlled sigh. “That’s good.”

  For some reason, that made Hendricks angry. Probably because he found it so difficult to ruffle Gene’s feathers, no matter how hard he tried. The man always seemed to be one degree short of the boiling point. Evidently he could tell that Gene was trying not to smile, so he stopped his movements and sneered, “You really tick me off, Banks, you know that?”

  At that, Gene lowered the paper and swung his legs to the floor to sit up on his bunk, glaring straight back at the obstinate fellow staff sergeant. “What’s your beef, Hendricks? You’ve been on my case since day one and I ain’t done jack to you. What’s up?” He waited while the other man finished dressing and grasped his cap from off the chair on his side of the room. “You got a beef with me, out with it. ’Cause I tell you what; I’ve had just about enough of this unprovoked animosity.” He could practically see the steam coming out of the other man’s ears. “Well?” Gene pushed.

  Hendricks crammed the hat on his head, obviously still angry. “Like you don’t know,” he spit out.

  With that, he stomped out and slammed the door to the room.

  Gene stared after him open mouthed. What in the Sam Hill did that mean? That guy’s nuts!

  After a few moments, Gene shook off the unpleasant altercation and began to get ready to obey orders for the night. Drawing an older uniform out of the bottom of his footlocker, he began to hurriedly change into it. I wish they’d give that jerk his own quarters. I’ve about reached my limit of sharing “temporary” quarters with him…

  Once dressed, Gene waited until the barracks had fallen silent and he could no longer hear noise outside, figuring most of the post had left for their weekend liberty. It was dusk as he crept out of his room and shut the door behind him. Reaching the outer door, he looked around before slipping out and heading off to his destination – hopefully to get to the bottom of the supply mystery.

  Vivian smiled at the young sailor who awkwardly thanked her for his dance, practically stumbling over his feet that seemed too big for his body. It was her sixth dance of the night and the ballroom at the USO seemed hotter and more crowded than usual. Whew, I need something cold to drink, she mused as she tried to make her way through the over packed room.

  Politely pushing her way through the crowd of soldiers and sailors, she grinned as she came upon her friend Mary June, who seemed to be heading in the same direction.

  “Hey girl,” Mary June greeted as she hooked arms with Viv.

  “Hey. Boy, is it busier tonight or is it my imagination?” Vivian huffed as she finally made it through the back of the crowd and over to the refreshment corner.

  “Yes, it does seem so. I’ve lost track of the number of dance partners I’ve had already – but I can count the bruises,” Mary June laughed. “Seems like I’m getting the ones with two left feet tonight.”

  “I wish the band would play more slow songs,” Vivian giggled.

  Her friend nodded in full agreement. “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy about did me in. The sailor I danced that with kept tossing me over his shoulder – once I thought I was going to land on my head!” she giggled, only half teasing.

  They collected their refreshments and navigated to a far corner to try and get a few minutes’ respite, talking idly about one thing and then another.

  A little time went by and then Mary June rose up on tiptoes, peering at something near the doors to the main hall. “Hey,” she reached over to tap Vivian on the arm, speaking loudly to be heard over the music and the noise of the crowd. “I thought you said Gene wasn’t coming tonight.”

  Vivian’s heart ramped up as she focused on her taller friend. “He wasn’t…why?”

  “Well…unless my eyesight’s gone kaflooey, he just came in and he’s standing to the left of the doors talking with some other soldiers.”

  Vivian stretched up and even hopped up and down a few times, trying unsuccessfully to see over the heads of the dozens of people between them. “I can’t see…are you sure?”

  “Far as I can tell from here. He’s not in his usual uniform, though, so maybe it’s not him,” Mary June answered. The crowd seemed to push against the girls as more enlisted men crowded into the large room.

  After a minute, Vivian gave up and gazed around her at the mass of bodies. “Well, he knows I’m here. He’ll find me.”

  A full song went by and then Mary June was coaxed back into the mix of dancers. She called over her shoulder, “I’ll see if we can dance our way over there. I’ll point him your way.”

  Vivian nodded and a few moments later, she was cajoled to dance as well. She barely heard anything her partner was saying, as she was so intent on spotting Gene. Perhaps he finished his assignment early. Yes, that must be it…

  Finally half way through the song, the dancers nearest the door parted just enough for her to catch a glimpse of him. As Mary June had said, he was just to the left of the doors. Relaxing against the wall, he had one foot braced and both hands in his pockets. He appeared to be just watching the action. The crowd thickened again and she lost sight of him. Frustration mounted and she wondered why he hadn’t sought her out yet.

  Another song started, with yet another partner. Without actively taking the “lead”, she couldn’t really influence where they headed as they navigated through the mix of gyrating bodies, dodging elbows and arms, but they did manage to get closer to her intended direction. Perhaps her partner could tell she was interested in something on that side of the room and he was trying to be accommodating.

  Suddenly, the dancers parted and about ten feet away, there was Gene wearing an olive green uniform that didn’t seem as tidy as was his norm. The pants weren’t creased and his tie was crooked. He wasn’t wearing his billed hat, but had a garrison cap tucked in his belt. Vivian strained to see him clearly, but the crowd tightened again and her partner swung her away. She nearly stumbled; the incident having left her shaken.

  What in the world is going on? Perhaps it’s not him… Wait…he said he had an assignment…could he be on some kind of… No, that’s crazy – what kind of assignment would he have here at the USO? It’s not him, that’s all there is to it.

  The night got no better as it dragged on. Several songs went by as Vivian performed her duty and danced with whoever asked, until finally she caught sight of Gene again – this time dancing! Gene was dancing with another girl! Vivian only managed a few seconds’ glimpse, but she was sure it was him and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

  Vivian felt sick. Why is he doing this?

  An hour later, Vivian was finally able to make it over to where she had seen him as the crowd had begun to thin out, but he was nowhere to be found. He could have gone upstairs or even left the building, she had no way of knowing.

  And he hadn’t sought her out even once.

  CHAPTER 10

  Sunday went by slowly for Vivian. Gene didn’t make it to church – but then, he’d said he would “try” to make it. Vivian had tossed and turned all night wondering why Gene had come to the dance when he had said he couldn’t, and then he hadn’t even tried to seek her out! The whole thing gave her a familiar and unwanted feeling.

  Walter had lied to her and tried to keep the truth from her that he had another girlfriend. Now, was Gene lying to her as well? How well did she really know Gene? Actually, she had only met him a matter of weeks ago. She had known Walter for four years, but hadn’t really known him at all before he had broken her
heart. She knew she had trust issues, but she had thought that with Gene it wouldn’t be a problem. He had seemed so perfect… Now, she just didn’t know.

  Vivian waited all day, but Gene never showed. Once, she had picked up the telephone to try and call out to the base to get in touch with him, but found that their home’s line was dead. Great. Someone probably hit the pole again. I hope it’s fixed soon… But it wasn’t, and Sunday ended in silence from Vivian’s blue-eyed sergeant.

  On Tuesday, Vivian finished up a quick note to Gene. Signing her name, she hastily read it over before sealing it to put in the post.

  Dear Gene,

  Not sure what happened Saturday at the dance, but I wanted to let you know that I signed up to ride on the bus with some of the other girls out to the base Friday night for a dance at the NCO club. I hope you will be there. Perhaps we can talk? I’ll be sure to save a few spots for you on my “Dance Card”, ha ha. See you then…unless you’re busy…

  Regards,

  Vivian

  Satisfied with the wording and that she hadn’t come right out and accused him without letting him explain, Vivian folded the single sheet and put it in an envelope she had already addressed to Staff Sergeant Eugene Banks with the base address. She sealed the flap and placed a stamp on it just as Mary June finished with her last customer before their break for lunch.

  “Did you tell him you’re coming out to the base on Friday?” Mary June asked as they gathered their purses.

  “Yes,” Vivian answered, then paused as she looked at the envelope in her hand. “I hope I’m not being presumptuous…”

  The girls began making their way to the door as Mary June turned her head to glance at her friend. “Nah. The way the sergeant has been acting toward you, it seems to me like he’s thinking about staking a claim. You’ve got a right to know why he did what he did Saturday night. Surely he can tell you without giving away ‘troop locations’ so to speak.”

  Vivian sighed, hating the cloud that had settled on her budding relationship with Gene. Things had been going along so smoothly until this…

  “You’re right. Let’s get lunch before that clock beats us back.”

  They laughed as they exited the building, only stopping long enough, on their way to their favorite soda fountain, for Vivian to slip her envelope inside the nearest mailbox.

  Friday night sluggishly rolled around, and Vivian finished freshening up her lipstick in the employee ladies room at the bank. She and Mary June had already changed their dresses and were ready for the dance. They would walk the short distance to the club and board the buses to make the thirty-five mile trip out to the army base. The same buses would bring all of the girls back to Louisville and deliver each young woman safely to her own home as a thank you for their service.

  Viv’s stomach was filled with angry butterflies.

  She met her friend’s eyes in the mirror. “Oh Mary June, I’m so nervous. What if I get out there and…and he doesn’t want me there…or…”

  “Now, hold on. Just relax,” she responded without interrupting the smooth application of her lipstick. “If Sergeant Banks does not show for the dance, just hold your head up and your arms out – they’ll soon be filled with willing male bodies in khaki and olive drab, honey, believe me. And Mr. Banks will be the one out of luck.” She gave Vivian a saucy wink. “Okay?”

  Vivian laughed as she blotted her own lipstick, much of her nervousness receding. “Okay.”

  Finished with their preparations, Vivian smiled and picked up her things. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Twenty minutes later, they were boarding the bus to go out to the base.

  The busload of chattering girls set out from the club for the seventy-mile round trip to Fort Knox. What an adventure. Once past the city limits, US 31W, aka Dixie Highway, was merely a narrow two-lane road full of potholes and Vivian didn’t think they would ever get to the top of that hill at Muldraugh. It seemed to go on forever. She could hear the bus’ engine straining.

  Mary June and Viv made the trip on a shared seat about mid-way towards the back, and had fun listening to the others relate their funniest USO GI stories. Mary June threw in a few of her own, but Vivian merely soaked everything in.

  “I had a country boy a few weeks ago who said he wanted to teach me the ‘chicken reel’ – and then he proceeded to show me how it’s done!” one buxom redhead cackled. “Believe you me, this gal is not gonna be caught dead flapping my arms and crowing like a chicken, not for all the tea in China. Or should I say…all of the Sergeants out at Knox!” The squealing laughter rose to such a crescendo, the bus driver nearly put his hands on his ears.

  A cute brunette chimed in, “After the last dance on Saturday, the sailor I was with leaned over and whispered, ‘Tell me where ya live and I’ll come by tomorra’ and gitcha. We’ll have us a good ol’ time on the town.’ When I politely told him no, but thank you, he snapped his fingers and mumbled, ‘Dag Nabbit, another filly turnin’ me down’.”

  The girls laughed and giggled over one another’s stories. So many were leaving their seats and stretching to give each other curlers or stockings, that the driver finally threatened to pull over to the side of the road and make them walk the rest of the way if they didn’t stay seated. That got their attention in a hurry.

  Finally, the lights and buildings of the installation came into view in the distance.

  Off to the left, the girls could see the famous United States Bullion Depository, or “Gold Vault” as everyone called it, set far back off the road and obviously well guarded. Viv had heard about it, of course, as had everyone who lived in the surrounding area as well as the nation, but she’d never had the opportunity to see it. She knew it had been built in 1937, and it was rumored to store, in addition to gold, important documents like the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and more. It was an impressive structure, and in the waning light of evening, it resembled a glowing island. A circular drive encompassed all four sides of the building and the bright lights illuminated its beautifully manicured lawns.

  Just past the depository, the driver turned right, onto the base and Entrance Drive, which was a long street with buildings on both sides and a huge flagpole at the end. It was the heart of the main garrison. The girls quieted once the bus rolled into Fort Knox proper; several of them, including Vivian, stared wide-eyed out the windows for their first view of one of the US Army’s premier, permanent posts.

  They rolled past a gorgeous brick, two-story administration building, and then a long white structure with a sign that indicated it was the Post Exchange. She knew that meant it was kind of like a general store. Further down they passed a large multi-storied, two-winged hospital, a good-sized theater with a white-columned portico, and a lovely chapel with a round, stained-glass window above the double front doors.

  Vivian could see two tall, checkered water towers off in the distance. For the first time, she realized Fort Knox was like its own little city. There were lovely houses for the married officers with children. There was a school, playgrounds, a swimming pool; the streets boasted quaint lampposts. Right there on base, they had everything one needed to live and function. For a moment, she sighed thoughtfully as she imagined living there with her military husband, and raising children alongside other military wives.

  Finally the driver turned down a street and pulled up in front of a large rustic stone and timber building with a long creek-rock-edged sidewalk leading from the curb to the curved staircase and the front door.

  “Here you are, ladies. The Noncommissioned Officers’ Club.”

  Vivian looked over at her friend and drew in a breath, blowing it out through pursed lips. “Okay, it’s now or never, I guess.”

  Mary June laughed and gave Viv a playful push. “Aww, you worry too much. Get yourself up and let’s get in there – a whole bunch of handsome NCO’s are waiting to dance with us!”

  The other girls laughed as they made their way down the aisle of the bus.


  “Want a brew, Banks?” Sergeant Philip Lowe asked as he offered to hand Gene one of the brown bottles of beer he had smuggled into the party. The dance tonight was in honor of Sergeant Major Brice Holland’s fortieth birthday – his wife had requested. However, all alcohol was supposed to have been locked away in deference to the majority of the USO girls being under twenty-one.

  “No, man,” Gene shook his head and glanced around. “Mrs. Holland sees you with that, you’ll be spending the night in the clink.”

  Lowe shrugged and took a swig of beer before stashing it.

  Gene took a quick look at his watch, wondering where on Dixie Highway the buses were right then. He was anxious to see Viv.

  Less than a minute later, he and the others heard the distinctive motors of the buses pulling up outside, and his face transformed into a wide grin. He then took a place in line with the other officers to watch the girls streaming into the club, resembling a contingent of colorful butterflies.

  Pretty soon – there she was! Walking right behind her friend, she looked this way and that as she and the others made their way inside. Then, their eyes met and he thought hers looked a bit uncertain for a moment. But, then she smiled and gave him a nod. Is she still upset about Saturday? If so, I’m gonna have to take her mind off of it. There’s a war on, and if she’s gonna be a sergeant’s girlfriend, she’ll have to get used to plans being interrupted.

  He’d been looking forward to this night ever since he received the invitation and then found out Viv was coming. His arms ached to hold her again, and he couldn’t wait for the dance to start so he could claim her for the first song—and as many as he could, since it was a private party and the normal USO rules didn’t apply.

  When all of the girls were inside, Mrs. Holland stepped up to a microphone at the end of the large rectangular open room where a small contingency of military musicians had been assembled. She was a lovely woman, tall, dark haired, and wearing a gold, long-sleeved satin evening dress.