CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
By the time 6 o'clock on Sunday evening got there, the civic center was packed. Most of those who had served their country wore their uniforms to the meeting. The football team and their friends got there early enough to get the front three rows on stage left. Yes, Maybelle got there about five minutes 'til. Tom told them to let her park her wheel chair next to the front row on stage right so she could be next to Olivia and Ryan or he would never hear the end of it. The VFW folks had already heard about what went on that afternoon and were prepared to make that concession anyway. Graciously, she let Marci go to the opposite side of the civic center to be with her friends.
Twenty seven United States flags spread across the stage. One for each of the citizens of Elmhurst who had given their lives while serving their country. Three chairs graced the middle of the stage. The one in the middle was for Tom Dandridge. Someone had an Army Ranger uniform pretty close to his size. They put the sergeant stripes on the sleeves and made a name tag to go on it.
To the left of Tom sat Ret. Major General Ronald Fitzhugh, the commander of the post. The third chair on the rostrum was for Master Arthur Hollis. He was all dressed up in his boy scout uniform, of course.
Olivia had kept him in the dressing room until two minutes 'til six. She fussed and fussed over his uniform and his hair until Arthur intimidated her by saying, "Aw, Mom, you're making me so nervous I'm about to forget my lines."
Arthur was supposed to announce the pledge to the flag, lead in the pledge to the flag and then introduce his grandfather. Big job, but he had it down pat.
When he came scooting out on the stage to take his place, his friends hooted and whistled at him. His face turned so red that you could see it from as far back as the tenth row.
At precisely 6 o'clock, General Fitzhugh stepped up to the podium and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's all rise to sing our National Anthem and remain standing to repeat the pledge to the flag." Everyone stood and Sam Bonner, the worship leader from Elmhurst Christian Church, led everyone in singing the National Anthem.
When they finished, Arthur stepped up beside the podium and Sam handed him the microphone. He cleared his throat and said in his best commanding voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to say the pledge of allegiance by either saluting or placing your hand over your heart and repeat with me....." He did an outstanding job and his mother and father were extremely proud.
When the pledge was finished, Arthur, with microphone in hand said, "Ladies and gentlemen before you sit down, will you give a 'Thank You' hand of appreciation for his service to our country, to my Tom, Sgt. Grandpa Dandridge."
His mouth dropped open, his eyes opened wide and his face turned red. AND, for once in his life, he was speechless. Arthur could not believe that he could have ever made a mistake like that.
Tom quickly stepped to his side and took the microphone from him and gave him a big hug just as if he had done it perfectly. However, the audience did not let him off the hook. Amid the applause and the laughter, there were whistles and hoots that all added to his pure embarrassment. He just laughed right along with everybody else and hastily took his seat. When the noise began to lull, Tom spoke into the microphone and said, "I believe y'all must have misunderstood my grandson's intentions. He MEANT to say that just to see if you were paying attention or had already fallen asleep."
As the crowd quieted, a voice was heard to say, "We can't be asleep yet, you haven't started talking, you old goat." Yep, it was good old Sis. Maybelle. That nap must have done her some good 'cause she was real perky tonight. Of course, that brought another round of applause and some good laughter to boot.
When it quieted down, Tom spoke into the microphone, "I thought when I was invited to speak that I would be the only speaker for the evening, not third in line." A little polite laughter rippled through the crowd. "And, after hearing the profound wisdom of the previous two speakers, I believe that I am seriously outclassed."
Tom spent the next twenty minutes talking about the historical data of the war. He talked about the price that many men paid for freedom. He talked about the ravages of a war-torn country side and how the United States had stepped in to rebuild it.
Then his talk took on a different tone. "You can rebuild a country side within a couple of years. You could probably guess that after five or ten years a war-torn area like the Philippines would almost look like nothing had ever happened. However, the damage done to the inside of some of the people torn apart by war cannot be repaired by money, doctors, psychiatrists or the Corps of Engineers. Some scars can only be healed by the love of Jesus Christ.
"When I had amnesia and was trying to heal from my horrific injuries, for a while, all I could do was sit and watch a bunch of helpless orphans. One or both of their parents had been killed or taken as slaves. Some did not have any relatives to live with. All of them had seen atrocities of some sort. They would cry during the day. They would cry during the night. Some refused to eat and died. Some walked around not talking. Some walked around and talked constantly. But, all were hurting. The adults hurt more than some of the children."
Tom paused for a moment as he searched for the right words to say. "Friends, you can read about it in your history books." Then he thumped his chest with his fist as he finished, "But, I was there. And I can tell you FIRST hand. Money and machines can rebuild a country side, but only Jesus can rebuild lives that are ravaged by the wars they go through. Thank you."
As Tom turned to take his seat, Arthur saw the anguish on his face from recounting all the things that he had seen in the Philippines. Something in Arthur grew up a little. Something stirred within him. It was something that he could not explain. And it certainly was something that he could not get away from.
A sense of destiny that Arthur couldn't quite put into words began to form in the eleven-year-old. Somewhat like a lump of clay being formed into--something. Arthur was not quite sure what it was that he was feeling but he wasn't afraid of it. As a matter of fact, he was being drawn to it.
As the audience stood and gave Tom a standing ovation, Gen. Fitzhugh got up and embraced him as Tom handed him the microphone. After the applause died down and the people took their seats, Gen. Fitzhugh took a deep breath, smiled and said, "Folks, I hope I can maintain a little Marine Corps dignity but I seriously doubt it. And, I don't care right now."
He turned to look at Tom and barked his order, "Sgt. Dandridge. Front and center." Tom got a wondering look on his face as he, again, rose from his seat and stepped up beside the Commander.
Gen. Fitzhugh put his arm around Tom's shoulder and looked out into the audience until he found Maybelle before he continued, "We all have skeletons in our closet, don't we?" Then, he looked at Tom and continued in a quiet and shaky voice, "Sorry, Sergeant, but we found one of yours and we have to expose you for who you really are."
His voice cleared and took on a commanding tone as he said, "Will our next speaker come to the stage and introduce yourself any way you want to."
The audience saw the curtains in the back open and a Filipino in a Marine Corps uniform stepped out. He raised a microphone to his mouth and shouted out, "Malaki Tata-a-a-a-a-y-y!"
Tom's eyes widened with amazement as he recognized the voice. He turned and beheld his beloved Pedro. They virtually ran to each other, embraced and unashamedly held on to each other. Gen. Fitzhugh announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Retired First Sergeant and Top Kick-------Pedronan Abayan."
As people rose in their applause, Pedro said to his old friend, "Tatay, I would love to hold on to you for days but I have to catch a plane in three hours. Pentagon business, you know."
As Tom released his greatest friend he said through his tears, "I understand. But I have got to have your number."
Pedro reached into his pocket and pulled out a card and said with a chuckle, "Tatay, I am way ahead of you.......and my mailing address.....and my street address in the Philippines." Then as he playfully touched Tom's nose w
ith his finger he said, "You and your Arthur must come and let my family love on you like nobody's business. You hear me?"
He pulled his arm around to show him the stripes on his sleeve and said with a broad smile, "See, soldier, I am Top Kick. And you know what Top Kicks do? Right?" With a broad smile he looked out at the audience. Hoots and applause went up from a lot of the men in uniform.
Tom snapped to attention and popped a salute with a chuckle, "Oh, indeed I do, First Sergeant, sir. Top Kicks give orders and demand they be obeyed."
Pedro threw his arm around Tom's neck and pulled him to him for a quick kiss on the cheek, "I love you, Tatay. I love you more today than ever before. But, I must talk now."
Before Tom could answer, he turned and walked to the podium and Tom quickly took his seat. He said as he tried to clear his throat, "A-a-a-hem. You are so right General. It's hard to remain a dignified Marine at a time like this."
Then, he regained his composure and continued, "Malaki Tatay. That means ‘big daddy’ in Tagalog. That's what he became to several of us orphans. My sister and I, along with the other children, could only watch in horror as the soldiers came into our village, kidnapped our dads and killed our moms. The pastor and the old folks that were left tried their best to take care of us but it didn't do much good. A part of our insides had been ripped right out of us. Life no longer had any meaning. I can remember my sister and I going to the edge of the jungle to go to sleep for the night. Our earnest desire was that some animal would come along and kill us so we didn't have to live with the painful memories anymore."
He pointed toward Tom as he continued in jest, “And then, we get invaded by ONE American……..him.” The crowd rippled with a little laughter. “His entire torso had to be wrapped so tightly that it was hard for him to breathe. His leg was wrapped as well and was healing all crooked like. And, every other day when the pastor and the women had to change the wrappings, whe-e-e-e-e-w, the smell,” he quipped as he waived one of his hands in front of his face.
"But, I will never forget the day that this crippled American got up from where he had been sitting and hobbled over to a group of us orphans. On his way over, he picked up a coconut and started playing catch with us."
Then with a big grin on his face he continued, "There was only one problem. Malaki Tatay was so stiff from his wounds he couldn't bend over to catch the ball. And, walking around with that make shift crutch, it was hard for us to even watch. We didn’t know if he was going to fall on one of us or not.
“Well……..somebody had to help this guy before he made a real spectacle out of himself. Me being the oldest, I figured that it may as well be me. So, I appointed myself to be his personal helper. Yeah, I was going to help HIM, right? I needed more help than anybody else in the village.”
His voice changed a little, “You see, I don’t know if Tom knew it or not, but those first few weeks, almost every woman would huddle around him when they changed his wrappings and cleaned his wounds. Even though he was surrounded by the women cleaning him, we could hear him moaning in pain. Every now and then, when the women would move one way or the other, we could get a glimpse of his wounds. Those cuts should have had stitches. There are no stitches in the jungle. It was just unwrap, clean, rub the poultice and wrap him back up as fast as they could. Then they would give him a tea that would help him sleep.
“But his first day outside by himself, he put all of his pain aside and did everything in his power to make life easier for us. And, he did. Believe you me, he did. We would play until he could hardly stand anymore. Then, we would find a tree to sit under and he would teach us English and try to learn Tagalog. He would get us to do chores by making a game of it. I think the highlight of those first few weeks was when he got the pastor to ask the ladies if they would let the children learn how to change his dressings. It was a little dangerous because he was a long way from being healed. But, boy oh boy, what it did to the inside of every one of us kids. We felt needed. We felt important. We felt like we were loved.”
Pedro looked out over the audience to try to find the words to what he wanted to say next. "I could tell you story after story about Sgt. Tom Dandridge, but I don't have the time. However, I believe I can sum them all up with this. I heard the village pastor say, time and time again, that Jesus loved us. But, as I remembered the past, there was no way that I could believe it. Then, God brought Tom Dandridge into our lives. Everything he did for us preached the love of Jesus to us. He didn't have to say Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you. The look in his eyes when he talked to you shouted it to you. The touch of his hand when he took care of your cuts and bruises said it again and again. The way he held some of the smaller children in his arms and sang them to sleep made you think he was Jesus wrapped up in a sergeant's uniform."
As his voice broke ever so slightly he finished by saying, “I know that the Marines say that they can build men, but only God could make a Tom Dandridge.”
The crowd, many of them in tears themselves, rose to their feet and applauded his last statement. General Fitzhugh stood up and turned to Tom and saluted. Pedro and many of those in uniform did the same. Poor little Arthur was crying his eyes out. Well, so were Olivia and Maybelle.
Pedro got this weird little smile on his face as his voice picked back up and continued, "I remember when the village pastor died. It was a shock to all of us. It was so much of a shock that it brought Tatay's memory back. He remembered who he was and he remembered his wife and son that he left behind. All of it came flooding into him like a Philippine monsoon. He cried like a little baby.
"During the day, he busied himself taking care of the day-to-day business of the village, just like he always did. However, at night, after the day's work had ended, he would slip away into his bedroom and cry and pray and cry and pray. He could be heard all over the village. When we asked him about going back to America, he just said that he felt he was needed in the village. He was a hard-headed man."
Pedro looked at the audience with a big smile, raised his hand and said, "How many of you know that it takes another hard-headed Filipino to take care of a hard-headed American?"
There were a few whistles among the applause. "Well, this hard-headed Filipino made it his business to take care of his Tatay. I told old 'Bone-brain' that I was going to help the villagers take some stuff to market about ten miles away. When the group got out of eye sight of the village, two other guys and myself ran to the nearest Army post in Cabanatuan some twenty five miles away. We told them to come get that crazy cry-baby of an American out of our village."
Maybelle was the first to react, "That's telling 'em, Pedro."
The rest of the crowd laughed and applauded again.
Pedro continued, "I'm glad the Army invested in trucks 'cause me and the two others were more than glad to ride back to the village instead of run. But, let me tell you something, those trucks made so much noise coming up that mountain that villagers had lined up and down the road to watch them arrive. They cheered because everyone but Tatay knew why they were coming.
"Tatay was surprised, too. The look on his face was not necessarily a happy one but he knew he had to go. This hard-headed Filipino hopped down out of the truck before it even stopped. I ran up to Tatay and pointed him out to the captain.
"There were tearful hugs as everyone lined up to say good-bye. The villagers cried and applauded the entire time Tatay was saying his good-byes. Finally, it came my turn to face Tatay. I held out my chest in my best military fashion and told him, 'Tatay, you have healed us. Now it is your turn to go and be healed. I, Pedro, will take care of your duties. You have trained me to be a man, and a man I will be.'
"We all watched as the EMT's as they gently lifted him into one of the trucks. Every one watched until the convoy was out of sight. Then, I went into Tatay's shack and did the only thing I thought was the manly thing to do." Pedro bent over toward the audience and with a big smile he said, "I went into his bedroom and cried my ever-loving
eyes out."
The laughter and applause was enough to almost raise the roof. As the applause died down, Pedro made his way to the edge of the platform and looked out into the audience, "Where is Olivia Hollis?"
On the front row, a stunned Olivia raised her hand and shyly replied, "Right here,........Sir."
Pedro laughed and looked over at Tom and said, "She called me Sir. She treats me better than you ever did." After a few giggles from the audience, he looked at her and said in a gentle and grateful tone, "Mrs. Olivia Hollis, I would like to thank you for sharing your grandfather with me. If it hadn't been for him, I would be just a drunk in the gutter of life. I probably would have died before the age of thirty and gone to a devil's hell. Because of him sharing Jesus Christ with me, I grew up a strong man on the inside. God blessed me with a Christian wife. We raised Christian children and now we are enjoying Christian grandchildren. My family and I owe you a very deep debt of gratitude."
With an embarrassed smile, Olivia said, “You are so very welcome, Pedro.”
From the opposite side of the stage, a Marine stepped out and announced, "Sir, we have to leave in five minutes."
Pedro pointed to his stripes and tried to act huffy, "Hey, do you see how many stripes I have on this uniform, Bub?"
The Marine looked at his watch and replied with a big smile, "I certainly do, Sir, and we now have four and a half minutes before we need to leave."
Pedro stomped and tried to act disgusted but a laugh got in his way, "Man, I hate it when you're right. I'll be right there."
"I'll wait for you………right here,......Sir," was his reply. His smile was still in place.
That drew an applause some whistles and several shouts of OOHRAH from the crowd.
Pedro looked at the crowd and cracked, "I can't get ANY respect anymore."
The Marine looked at the crowd and mouthed with a wide-eyed smile, "Oh, yes he does." The school crowd and the Rangers applauded him.
Pedro placed the microphone into its holder and said, "Thanks, folks, and take care of my malaki tatay."
As everyone gave him a rousing applause, Pedro made his way over to Tom and Arthur. He snatched up the shocked Arthur in his arms and gave him a bear hug. When he put him down, he shook his hand and said, "Master Arthur, it is so-o-o good to meet you. And, can you take a guess at what kind of business my son is in?"
A perplexed Arthur just mumbled a, "Uh....uh....donut shop?"
"Oh, my gosh," Pedro exclaimed, "the first guess out of his mouth and he's absolutely............WRONG." Then he stooped down until he could look Arthur straight in the eyes as he continued, "My son owns the biggest and the best................martial arts studio in Manila."
The only words that would make their way out of Arthur's mouth were, "No way."
Pedro replied, "Yes! Way! And guess who's got free lessons when he and his grandfather come to spend the summer with us in Manila?"
Arthur got a good case of the stammers this time, "I'ma....umma..I, I, you can't mean......but you could...but I don't......Grandpa, he doesn't mean...." But before he could make any sense, he ran to the opposite side of the stage where his friends were and ran around and around in circles, "Guys, you'll never guess, you'll never guess in a hundred gazillion years."
They all looked up at him in utter amazement. In all of his Arthur "fits" he had never acted like this. Ramon ran up to the edge of the stage and yelled at him, "Arthur, cool down, man or run out of gas one. We can't understand a word you're trying to say."
Arthur finally stopped and was virtually out of breath. However, he was so excited that he practically yelled out where everyone in the civic center could here. "I'm going to the Philippines and study the martial arts for free this summer. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I‘m gonna be a NINJA!"
Did I say that he yelled loud enough for everyone to hear it? Well, one of those every ones was his darling mother who was shocked, to say the least. Obviously, she was the last one to find out. Frantically, she tried to push her way through the crowd to get to Arthur to find out what he was talking about. But, before she could get there, he was off the stage and out the side door with his excited friends.
"Arthur. Arthur Hollis you come back here and tell me what you said," she cried after him in vain.
It’s too late, Olivia. They were already two blocks down the street.
Pedro and Tom watched the drama unfold and just laughed. Tom was about to question Pedro but Pedro interrupted him. "Tatay, when I was asked to come, God dropped that into my spirit. I really feel that it is of the Lord. I called the wife. She, the children and the grandchildren are so excited. We will pay all the expenses for you and Arthur to come and spend the summer with us."
As he walked away toward the exit he shouted back, "Call me at the number on the card in two weeks. I'll be back by then and we can talk more about it."
Was this just a coincidence, or a turning point? No, it was going to be more like destiny.