The piece of historical fiction that follows was based on the recollections of Phyllis Schmidt Berglund, a Corporal in the Marines during World War II. Phyllis served from April in 1943 to October of 1945, working as a bookkeeper for the officers’ club in Eatonton, North Carolina. She grew up in Canton, and when she turned 21 she volunteered to join the Marines in order to help with the war effort to the best of her capability. Today she lives in Newington, Connecticut.

Over the Hill

It was Memorial Day weekend, and Cecilia Vanderbush had just finished packing for her trip back home to visit family in Baltimore. Everyone was anxious to escape the base, even if it meant visiting the dreaded in-laws. She rubbed her aching forehead, and frowned at the paperwork that had been sitting on her desk since she’d come in that morning. Distracted with all the personal preparation needed for a short vacation, those papers – which included requests for leaving the base – had gone neglected. She checked her watch; she was going to be late. Cecilia quickly glanced down at the first request form, and noticed the name Phyllis Schmidt. Phyllis was a bookkeeper, who kept the finances of the Officers’ Club in order. Feeling a twinge of guilt for ruining Phyllis’s weekend, she walked out of her office without approving her request. Mentally, Cecilia made a note to make it up to her later on and got into her car.

The line was long for boarding the flight to Baltimore. Apparently it was a popular vacation spot, so along with the familiar fatigues, Cecilia saw a multitude of skinny, pale legs jutting out from newly-purchased Bermuda shorts.

Upon finally boarding the plane, she took her seat, massaged her temples, and sorely wished for a couple of aspirin. When she opened her eyes, she found herself watching a vaguely familiar woman walking down the aisle towards her. She couldn’t quite place her until she saw the look of alarm on the woman’s face, and then she realized it was the Marine whose trip she guiltily hadn’t approved: Phyllis Schmidt. From Phyllis’s distressed expression, she knew right away that Phyllis realized she had been caught going AWOL. To make matters worse, her assigned seat was the one directly in front of Cecilia’s. She watched her anxiously take her place, probably wondering whether or not Cecilia was going to say something. Had Cecilia’s day been not quite as hectic, and had her weekend promised to be less stressful, she might have addressed Phyllis’ breach of conduct. However, Cecilia was resigned to whatever fate would bring her that day. Dreading her mother-in-law’s scrutinizing glare and the need for plastering a smile on her face for three days, she leaned back, sighed, and fell asleep.

Cecilia woke up seemingly hours later and could sense Phyllis’ continued distress. She watched the back of Phyllis’s head as she fidgeted in her seat and thought she could almost smell the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Good, she thought. She should sweat it out. In boot camp, drill sergeants had the hardest time convincing the women that they were really in the military. Cecilia remembered the time she was marching in training, and the girl behind her was losing her stockings. When the drill sergeant saw the girl trying to fix them, he said, “Forget you’re a woman! You’re a marine!” So, although independence was a quality Cecilia appreciated in women (being one herself), she didn’t appreciate it in Marines. She calculated in her head a punishment worthy of Phyllis’s crime, going AWOL, and decided to restrict her to the base for an extended period of time.

Their short flight was over, and as the other passengers collected their possessions from the plane, Cecilia placed a hand on Phyllis’ shoulder for reassurance. Phyllis turned and nervously smiled at her, then Cecilia walked away, steeling herself for her encounter with the in-laws.

Cecilia would hear later on that Phyllis did just fine while she was restricted to the base. Through a mutual friend, Cecilia discovered that Phyllis had a unique talent for embroidery, and had become quite prolific during that time period. Cecilia chuckled to herself, remembering Phyllis’ nervous fidgeting and thought, “Serves you right for going over the hill.”