[dekeguy]

The "please...don't" was so chilling.[/QUOTE]

The "please...don't" comment reminded me of an incident that one of my Dad's troops who was at the same Post where we lived and who had served with him in Viet Nam told us about. Much to Dad's embarassment the Sergeant told us about a guy from another outfit who wandered into Dad's Company Area waving a .45 around and yelling that he was "gonna get him an officer". Dad stepped out of the Company Orderly Room and confronted the guy. The guy pointed his .45 at him and said something about how he hated officers and he was going to 'off' one. The Sergeant said "your Dad looked him straight in the eye with a stare that was hard enough to chill a blast furnace and said, 'go ahead and take your shot - but dont miss, I won't!'
The guy turned pale, dropped the .45, and started shakeing. Then your Dad took him into the Orderly Room, fed him a big cup of black coffee and told him to sleep it off on the cot in the Day Room (company lounge and reading room). He told one of the NCOs to let him sleep it off, chew his ass, and then let him go as nothing had really happened and he didn't want to screw up the guy's record. Next day a very contrite guy came in to apologise to Dad and ask if he could transfer to Dad's outfit. Dad told him to go think through his problems and if he still wanted to transfer he should come back in a week or so and they would talk.
As it turned out the guy did come back, volunteered to extend his tour, got his head screwed on straight, stayed in the Army, and made it to Master Sergeant before he retired a few years later after we heard this story.
We were all a bit surprised when we asked Dad if he knew where that guy had ended up. He said, 'You all met him, he was the Sergeant who told you the story'.