He was the man on the recruiting poster. The image everyone formed when they thought of a Marine.

He turned to go.

"Wait!" Ronnie caught himself saying, then stammered. "I

your name?"

He smiled. "Falk . . . PFC Howard Falk." "I'm Ronnie Edwards."

t

What's

The weeks moved swiftly. Ronnie thought often of that feeling he experienced when he shook Howard's hand; the feeling of strength and confidence.

Several weeks later Ronnie arrived at Camp Pendleton. And a few days later he tracked down Howard Falk.

Ronnie found him one afternoon in the mess hall and sat down across from him.

"Hello!" He said, folding his arms before him on the table.

Howard looked up. Without a flicker of surprise, he allowed his lips to form a smile and he replied: "Hello, Marine."

They met often after that. Howard loved to go climbing around the hills on the base every chance they had, and Ronnie enjoyed being with him, sometimes like a younger brother and other times as an equal. He felt good whenever he could beat Howard in any feat. But, it was difficult, because Howard did everything so well.

Howard finished training and was assigned to the 3rd Marine division based on the camp and they continued spending their weekends together.

Ronnie taught him tennis and Howard soon bested him at every game, as he did at pool, bowling, shooting and even climbing mountains.

After Ronnie finished training, he was assigned to Hawaii. He and Ronnie then took their two week leave.

Howard rented a small place on the beach in Laguna. By the second day Ronnie noticed that something was disturbing Howard, and that evening when they returned home from dinner in town, he asked what it was that was troubling him.

"It looks as though you're not the only one who's going to travel," he said lightly, walking into the living-room and turning on the lamp. "I'm being transferred to Viet Nam."

Ronnie stood dumbfounded. His mouth dropped open. He felt helpless, and that dreaded loneliness began to creep into his consciousness.

Howard saw this in Ronnie's eyes. He reached out and grabbed Ronnie's chin, drew Ronnie's face to his and covered his mouth with his own.

Ronnie swept his arms around him and pressed his body against Howard's. Locked in each other's embrace they could feel the beating of each other's heart. Ronnie's pulse raced as he pressed his lips tighter and tighter against Howard's, sliding his tongue across Howard's teeth and lashing into his

mouth.

An hour later, they lay on the couch, still locked in each others arms. Ronnie knew every detail of Howard's mouth, his tongue feeling as if it belonged there.

Grasping Ronnie's head between his hands, Howard raised his face just above his own.

14

"Let's go to bed!" He whispered softly.

The rhythm of the surf paced the beating of his heart, as the morning's