encore Dinner Is Served I
The wife of an Air Force pilot keeps her silence after she inadvertently adds an extra ingredient to the meal she prepares for her husband before he reports for duty.
In 1961, the Cold War loomed as a con- stant threat to world peace. B-52 aircraft armed with nuclear weapons patrolled U.S. skies seven days a week. My husband was one of the pilots who fl ew these gi- gantic birds, and he took his turn being on alert 24 hours a day, seven days at a time. I was allowed to visit him at appointed times; the “alert shack” experience was akin to making contact with a prisoner. On one of the rare days my husband
was off duty, he received a call around noon that a pilot who was scheduled to fl y suddenly had become ill and my husband was to report for duty and fl y the mission for him. As he showered and shaved, I quickly began to prepare the liver I originally had planned to cook for dinner. I searched the kitchen for an appro- priate paper bag to shake all of the ingre- dients in but couldn’t fi nd one. Then I remembered I had seen one on the front seat of the car. While my husband was still getting ready, I quickly retrieved the bag from the car; poured in fl our, salt, and pepper; shook the liver pieces in the mixture; and fried them. I made a green salad and heated some bread, and lunch was ready. As my husband sat down and began eating his meal, I asked: “What did you do with Alan’s hair?” My husband had taken our 1-year-old son for his fi rst hair- cut the day before. “Oh, it’s in the car. I forgot to bring it upstairs,” he replied.
116 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2011 As duty-bound Air Force wives, we
were strongly cautioned never to upset our pilot husbands before important fl y- ing missions, so I kept my silence about the mistake I had made. Fortunately, my husband, being in a
hurry, did not fi nish his dinner and left for his mission without noticing the hair- laced liver I had served him. For the next 24 hours, as
always, I prayed for his safe return home. However, this time I also prayed no diges- tive problems would aff ect the split-second decisions he might have to make in case of a fl ight emergency. Years later, when I told
my husband of the inci- dent, he did not fi nd it as amusing as it eventually had become for me. Recently, as I was look-
ing through precious child- hood souvenirs and sharing memories with my now-adult children, my daughter found a yellowed envelope that con- tained the golden wisps of hair from her fi rst haircut. Not to be outdone, my son asked, “Where is mine?” I calmly an- swered, “Your father ate it.”
MO
— Marie Freeman is the widow of Air Force Lt. Col. Clayton W. Freeman. She lives in Mary Esther, Fla. For submission information, see page 20.
Tell Your Story Share your service- related adventures (or mishaps) by e-mail to
encore@moaa.org or by mail to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
ILLUSTRATION: TIN SALAMUNIC
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