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Army Now
Part Four – "What Matta, GI, No Work?"
by Don Drewniak
Dolores,
Phaedra and I headed back to Worcester two or
three weeks later during a ten-day leave. Upon
completion of the leave, I flew to Seattle on a
commercial jet, while Dolores returned to
teaching. I stayed overnight in a Seattle hotel
before boarding a commercial flight that would
take me to Taipei via Japan and Guam. On board
the flight were two Navy E-3’s, one was
nineteen, the other eighteen. My orders were to
take charge of them.
Upon arrival
on a Sunday morning, we took a cab to the Defense
Command and were dropped off in front of a
trailer. The lone occupant was an Army E4. After
exchanging small talk, he stated that there was
nothing he could for us as he was a weekend fill-in.
“Leave
your duffel bags here. Go out the main gate and
turn left. A block away on the opposite of the
road are several hotels. Take your pick.”
Addressing me,
he said, “You get your own room; the Navy
boys share. You’ll get reimbursed. They take
our dollars. Once that’s done, come back and
pick up your bags. You’ll get taken care of
tomorrow.”
Off we went.
The first building on the right housed the Okay
Bar.
“Hey, let’s
get a beer,” said one of the Navy kids.
“Yah!”
blurted the second one.
In we went.
There was minimal lighting in a long narrow room
with an empty bar on the right and fifteen women
standing along the wall on the side opposite the
bar. All had tags affixed to their blouses just
above their left breasts. I later found out that
the tags were nicknamed “VD badges.”
The women were supposedly checked once every
three weeks for venereal diseases.
We took the
first three stools at the bar. Our beer choices
were Taiwan Beer and Wine Monopoly Beer and
Taiwan Beer and Wine Monopoly Wine. We ordered
three beers. Three large green bottles of beer
were placed in front us. Before we had a chance
to take our first sips, the first three women in
line came over and literally pulled us over to a
booth.
I ended up
flanked by two of the women. The Navy kids
flanked the remaining one. Seconds later, the
“Boss Man” appeared. Addressing me
since my uniform indicated I was the ranking man,
he said, “Fifteen NT.”
Totally
puzzled, I squinted my eyes, raised my hands and
asked, “What?”
“Ah,
smart GI. Ten NT.” While I was still
clueless, the kids plunked a bunch of U.S. bills
on the table. Boss Man scooped them up while the
woman sitting on the outside of me grabbed the
Navy kid opposite her and off they went. They
were followed by the “couple” sitting
opposite me. Then what was happening finally
dawned on me.
Boss Man:
“Ah, smart GI, you get bargain, five NT.”
“No.”
I waived him off.
The remaining
“Lady of the Afternoon” grabbed my
crotch and said, “What matta, GI, no work?”
“I am
married, have a wife.”
“So, no
matta.”
“No,
sorry.”
“Please,
I go back line.” She pointed to the end of
the line.
I pulled four
dollar bills from my wallet. Placing one of them
on the table, I pointed to the beer.
She nodded and
picked up the dollar.
Making sure
Boss Man was out of sight, I removed her hand
from my crotch and put the three remaining dollar
bills in her hand. She showed a faint smile while
a tear rolled down from her left eye. I walked
out of the bar after gulping down a third of the
beer.
One dollar in
1968 was the equivalent of eight dollars today. I
way overpaid for the beer. It was worth it. Also,
the going rate for a prostitute was $1.50. No
regrets.
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