Camp Lejeune, North Carolina—1969H
e was mostly at loose ends. Which was not a bad way to be at a major Marine Corps base, assuming you were senior enough to avoid s**t details and smart enough to keep a low profile. Shake had no problem in either area. He was what the Marine Corps called a transient, unassigned and awaiting orders. As a Staff Sergeant, he didn’t have to hide and slide, dodge and duck like more junior transient Marines at the facility. In the Marine Corps, Staff NCOs were assumed to be self-motivated and busy with productive things at all times, so he mostly got a nod and pass from the people roaming the transient barracks looking for idle bodies to flesh out working parties.
His wounds, from an AK round that tore a chunk out of his right thigh, were healing nicely altho
