Memorial Day Story

My old boss Cliff Thomas in California had magic. Anywhere he went, people would crowd around him and laugh. Anyway he told this story about being in the service in World War II. He was in the advance crew that went into areas before the regular soldiers would go. (I don't remember the military terms). Half his comrades were killed. Cliff was wounded and sent back to California to recover. One weekend he went AWOL from the hospital to see his girlfriend. When he got back, they threw him in the brig. The war ended while he was in confinement and he could hear everyone celebrating wildly. Cliff sat in solitude. Along comes this fresh, new lieutenant and orders him to scrub the floor. Cliff says, "So I punched him....It was easy." Said he was one of the few that had been through the whole war and came out a private.