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The Lieutenant Who Wasn’t
By Gerald F. Mazur

One of B Battery's Lt.’s couldn’t have been more than nineteen years old. He was affectionately referred to as, “Baby Sanh.” He had been a long-haired hippie before he was drafted and still wore a peace symbol on a leather thong around his neck. He napped on a cot between shifts in a side room of the FDC bunker. Otherwise, he slept in one of the enlisted men's bunks in the enlisted men's FDC hooch. Because he was a 2nd Lt., the Battery Commander gave him all of the “little jobs” that were reserved for officers at the bottom of the ladder, i. e. Mail Officer, Day Room Officer, Policing Officer, etc.

One day, the Battery Commander visited the FDC bunker and saw Baby Sanh sleeping on a cot. That was not the first time that the he had seen Baby Sanh without his shirt, but definitely the first time he saw him wearing a peace symbol. The next day, Baby Sanh held no more of the little jobs in the battery, because Battery Commander felt he could not trust an officer who was a hippie “ peacenik.” Baby San soon transferred out and became an FO.