"Give this to string bean."(Kevin Hughes) Go see String Bean, tell him I sent you."
Okay, I had to go to Brigade Supply to get something for our First Sergeant. I didn't know anybody in Supply other than our own Supply Clerk.
"How will I know who String Bean is, Top? Doesn't he have a name?"
The First Sergeant gave me one of those looks. You know the one they must learn in that Special Sergeant Major Course. The one that says: "You just do what you are told. If I wanted to give you his name, I would have."
So off I went. Hand receipt in hand.
I go to the Supply Room at Brigade. At the front counter I show them my Hand Receipt and I say:
"My First Sergeant says I am supposed to show this to String Bean."
The guy doesn't even flinch. He just turns and yells:
"Hey Bean, special request here from your Buddy in Alpha Company."
I hear a very deep bass voice come from the back:'
"Yeah, I will be right there. Give me a minute."
I wait.
And out from the rows of bins, cabinets, and shelves comes...String Bean.
My jaw drops.
He must have been six foot three or four. And if he weighed more than 130 pounds...I would have been shocked. The name fit him perfectly. He sees me staring.
"What?"
"Top told me to give this to String Bean."
"That's me. See any other String beans around?"
I just shook my head.
I took the item back to my First Sergeant.
"Well, did you have any problem finding String Bean....even though you didn't have his name?"
I smiled. "Nope."
Then the First Sergeant surprised me:
"Well, what is his name?"
I gulped. I didn't notice. He was just String Bean.
The First Sergeant smiled.
"See Hughes, you won't remember his name, but you won't forget String Bean."
And I never have.
First Sergeants know things. LOL

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