August 24, 1997 - Whoppers!

Note: Because so much happened on this day, I have chosen to break up the journal entry and comment on each element, one at a time.

970824 - My last Sunday here was quite an eventful one. I went to Chapel and R.E. which were both awesome.

Every week at Chapel, there was always a group of recruits singing much louder than the rest of us. This is not because we were singing quietly, mind you. It's because they were no longer recruits at all. They were Marines. They had just completed the Crucible and were attending their final Chapel service on the island. This Sunday, that was us. It was incredible and overwhelming, similar to my first Chapel service but for a very different reason.

Then we came back here and, after chow, while C___ and I were walking firewatch, we were caught talking so our liberty was secured. I was bummed but not too bummed because I deserved what I got.

After chow, C___ and I were excited beyond words. We were about to have three and a half hours of free time on Parris Island. And not the kind of "free time" we'd had each night where we could write letters or take a dump. No, this was three and a half hours of free time where we were free to walk around the base. Free to eat what we wanted. Free to go where we wanted. Free to buy what we wanted. Actually, though, I guess we weren't excited beyond words, since we were caught talking. We had been standing in between the racks, planning all the places we would go and all the food we would eat, when one of us finally noticed the Drill Instructor.

I know what you're thinking: "Didn't I already read this post? You already wrote about getting caught talking on firewatch." Well, yes and no. Yes, I did get caught once before. No, I'm not smart enough to learn my lesson the first time.

So, after the DI from another platoon yelled at us for a while and said that, if it were up to him, we'd both be put back on training day 1 since we'd clearly learned nothing, he filled DI Sgt. V__________ on our offense. Once the other DI was gone, DI Sgt. V__________ called us over and informed us that we were not going to go on liberty. I was disappointed, but glad that was the only consequence.

After 2 hours, though, DI Sgt. V__________ told us to go for the remaining 1.5 hours. I was thrilled. We first went to Subway and I had my first soda in 3 months. It was weird but good. We then went to the exchange for a short while and called our parents for the rest of our liberty. It was pretty cool.

This portion of the entry pretty much sums it up. We had some soda. We tried to decide what, if anything, we wanted to buy. We called our parents. For sure, calling my parents was the highlight of liberty. It was difficult to say goodbye, but not terribly so, since I knew I would see them in person in just four days.

Then we came back and changed back out of our "Charlies." After changing, we were sent into the head with our footlockers unsecured so the DI could pass out our Whoppers with cheese. When we came out, he told us we had two minutes to eat and went back into the DI hut.

I had never believed for an instant that we would actually get Whoppers with cheese for winning Final Testing. In fact, I had forgotten all about it. That's why, when DI Sgt. V__________ sent us into the head and told us to leave our footlockers open (which we were never, ever supposed to do), I was suspicious. That suspicion was increased when, upon entering the head, I saw that the windows had been taped over.

Soon, the DI called us back out to our racks. Now, our footlockers were closed, but not locked.

DI Sgt. V__________: I promised you those Whoppers with cheese, didn't I?
Us: YES SIR!!
Sgt. V: You got two minutes.

We opened our footlockers and grabbed the Burger King bags. As soon as I grabbed it, I knew something was up because it was so lightweight. I opened the bag and saw, not one, but 3 Whoppers. Yep, 3 chocolate-covered malt balls. Oh yeah, also in the bag was a small square of cheese. 3 Whoppers w/ cheese. We all laughed about that. 

The entire platoon erupted in laughter when we realized the joke. When DI Sgt. V__________ came out of his room, he said, "What, I said I was going to give you all Whoppers with cheese, didn't I?"

I responded, "Sgt., you said you were going to give us a Whopper with cheese. There are 3 in here."

"Well, the Drill Instructor was feeling a little generous," he replied.

Then we had a short practice for graduation. After graduation practice, we were told to pitch in whatever cash we had so we could order pizzas. We each got 6 pieces and some Coke. It was great. We were instructed to tell NO ONE about it so hopefully no one will slip up. I have to go but I have 5 days left...

Not much to add to this last part except that, in order to keep the DIs from the other platoons from ratting us out, each one of them came in and took two pizzas and some soda. We didn't care though. We'd had more than enough to eat and were getting closer and closer to the finish line.