Viewing page 24 of 77

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Page 20
quence. I shall have to ask you a few questions. To begin with, where were you on the afternoon of last July fourth?'
"'F-flying, sir,' stuttered Charlie, wondering what was coming next.
"'Did you land anywhere?'
"'Y-yes, sir.'
"'Well, where did you land and what in blink blank did you do after you landed?' The Colonel was apparently in a bad humor and things began to look bad for Lieutenant Marvin. Charlie was visibly scared. His face grew red, then white. It was a few seconds before he could answer.
"'We—we landed at Keyport, sir, and I—I—, Aw, hell, Colonel, I made a speech and-'
"'You made a speech! You made a SPEECH?' The Colonel pounded his fist on a desk. He grew apoplectic with rage and his voice roared out to where the adjutant and I were listening in. 'You did a lot more than make a speech. You disgraced this field, that's what you did. You impersonated a French officer, deceived the innocent citizens of a neighboring town and laid yourself liable to court martial! And by the great de Haviland, you'll get a court!'
"'Y—y—yes, sir,' gasped Charlie who probably thought a firing squad preferable to the Colonel's anger.
"'You'll get Leavenworth for this, sir. You'll get Leavenworth at least and...and...say, lieutenant, what did you say to those people in Keyport? What did you tell 'em?' The Colonel's voice had moderated a bit. His last question was asked in an almost confidential tone.
"'I—I told them—'
"'Wait a minute, You need an audience,' The old man pushed back his chair, strode around his desk and out to the adjutant's office, leaving Marvin standing dazedly at attention.
"By this time there must have been a dozen of us eavesdropping near the adjutant's desk. The Colonel addressed us collectively: 'Gentlemen, will you all step into my office. We are going to be entertained,' and there certainly was a twinkle in his eye when he extended the invitation.
"'Again at his desk, the Colonel was once more the stern, military commander. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'Mr. Marvin is going to address us. At least he is going to make a speech as he calls it. He is going to repeat for us word for word an oration he recently delivered on another occasion. Lieutenant Marvin, you will mount that chair and repeat your performance—exactly as you did it on July fourth!" 
"Well, my children, I have seen many examples of cold nerve, but never one that equalled Marvin's at that time. The boy was so scared that perspiration stood out on his forehead, but did he quit? He did not! Charlie got up on that chair, faced his grinning audience and, after one or two false starts, repeated as nearly as possible the monologue he had got away with in Keyport. Perhaps the irony of the situation appealed to his sense of humor; perhaps the fear of ridicule made him go through with it; but in any case, I think each of us including the Colonel admired his poise and—well, nerve is all I can call it.
"When Charlie reached the end of his 'speech' there was a spontaneous round of applause. We just couldn't help it. But the Colonel never even plined, he deliberately deceived the people of Keyport by impersonating a French officer. You know the gravity of such an offense and, as commanding officer of this post, you realize my duty under the circumstances.

[[image of two men wearing coveralls standing in front of an airplane propeller]]
"Speed Holman, pilot, and Thomas Lane, mechanic who won first place in Class A of the Spokane Air Derby.

"However, in this particular case, I am going to leave the disciplinary measures to the judgment of you gentlemen here assembled. But, before any action is taken, I want to submit two exhibits for your consideration. The first is a copy of THE FREEPORT CHRONICLE, issue of July fifth and the second is this little black box.'
"From a drawer of his desk the Colonel extracted the newspaper. Full across the front page were the headlines:
LIBERTY LOAN OVER-SUBSCRIBED!
Keyport Responds to Plea of Noted French Ace Lt. de Marvin from Wellington Field Spurs Citizens' Patriotism
"And the article went on to give all the credit to Charlie. The inspired reporter didn't miss a thing. Lieutenant de Marvin was depicted as a heroic young Frenchman with nineteen air victories to his credit. The paper spoke of his courage, his modesty, his patriotism and even the lost wife and baby...all of us were holding our sides with laughter when the Colonel's voice broke in.
"'And now for the second exhibit, gentlemen. This package reached me this morning. It was addressed to Lieutenant de Marvin, but knowing no one of that name, I opened it myself.' The old man lifted the cover of the little box and disclosed a beautiful, platinum watch. He held it for our inspection. On its case was engraved:
Presented to
Lt. Charles Henri de Marvin
by the citizens of 
Keyport, Texas.
July 4, 1918
"Even the Colonel smiled at the bewildered expression on Charlie's face. But, by this time, the C.O.'s office resembled a football field when the home team makes a winning touchdown. Everyone was slapping Charlie on the back at once. The old man's voice brought us to attention.
"'This is more than a laughing matter, gentlemen. I would like your recommendation as to charges against Mr. Marvin. What action shall be taken?'
"The room was silent for a moment. Then some one, braver than the rest piped up, 'Colonel, I'd give him the watch!'
"And Charlie got it."