When the Poor Boys Dance
G. F. Borden
Yet another of my all-time favorite books, When the Poor Boys Dance is
based on a true story and tells of the horrifying ordeal of a nameless young
Marine (see note below) who was accidentally left in the Mojave Desert
during a training exercise.
As the Marine struggles for miles and days in the brutal, arid heat with little
water, he sustains himself through imaginary conversations with his drill
instructor, Sergeant Kline and other NCOs who helped train him to be a
Marine. These talks fade into hallucinations in which the Marine relives the
final moments of fellow leathernecks in great battles of the past . . . Belleau
Wood, Iwo Jima, Korea, Vietnam and even battles yet to be fought.
The title comes from an aphorism often voiced by Sergeant Kline, “War is
when the poor boys dance.” One could learn many things about courage
and sacrifice in the pages of this book.
======================================================
Note:
Although the young Marine is unnamed in the book, the story is based on
Lance Corporal Jason J. Rother. I apologize for leaving the impression
that the Marine was “nameless”. As was pointed out to me by Paige N.
Rother, Jason was “definitely not nameless to us!” At the end of the book
the author notes the following:
On the evening of August 30, 1988, during a training exercise conducted
in the roughly one thousand square miles of the Mojave Desert that
constitute Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, Lance Corporal Jason
J. Rother got down from a truck far out in the desert and stood his post,
alone, as a road guide.
When the road guides were picked up five hours later, Lance Corporal
Rother was left behind.
His absence was not noted for forty hours.
Investigators later estimated that the temperature in the Mojave Desert
on August 31, 1988 reached 107 degrees, and that the humidity was nil.
Lance Corporal Rother was not equipped or supplied to survive in such
conditions, and could not have expected that he would be able to reach
safety before the negligence of those responsible for him killed him.
Lance Corporal Rother ignored the terrible odds against him: he set off,
marching toward home.
The last of three extensive searches found Lance Corporal Rother’s
skeletal remains on December 4, 1988. Dehydration is thought to have
killed Lance Corporal Rother on August 31, 1988.
In January and February 1989, newspapers reported the investigation
into the abandonment of Lance Corporal Rother and described the
ensuing courts-martial of his superiors. Of those prosecutions little now
remains except old paper, forgotten argument and ruined careers.
Indeed, only a few words reported during the investigations and the
subsequent prosecutions still ring like iron beaten against stone. Those
few words were written by the then Commandant of the United States
Marine Corps, General Alfred M. Gray. Addressing his officers and
noncommissioned officers – and more generally anyone in authority
over others – General Gray wrote: "The American people . . . will not – nor
should they – accept our maiming and killing of their sons and daughters
. . . Neither will I."
Newspaper reports stated that Lance Corporal Rother died after
marching seventeen of the nineteen miles that lay between his post and
safety. This is factual, but the verb ‘die’ is inaccurate. Lance Corporal
Rother did not die: he fought against the terrible circumstances he faced
until those circumstances killed him. So he displayed those
characteristics that the author, who has never served in the military,
senses are the finest that any Marine – or anyone at all – can display
when faced with fearsome adversity.
It would be fitting were the location of Lance Corporal Rother’s
abandonment marked with a warning to those responsible for others.
General Gray’s words, quoted above, would constitute a suitable
inscription. So would that sentence known to every Roman soldier:
"What is permitted to others is not permitted to you."
To demonstrate what character can accomplish, it would also be fitting
were a monument describing Lance Corporal Rother’s march erected at
the place where his remains were found.
That no such warning and no such monument are likely to be erected is
part of the price we pay to rent the place in which we live.
This novel is not about Lance Corporal Jason J. Rother; the author knows
nothing about him except the few details that appeared in the
newspapers. Nor is this novel about the conduct of Lance Corporal
Rother’s officers and noncommissioned officers.
It is, however, true that the fortitude and courage with which Lance
Corporal Rother confronted his ordeal and faced his death encouraged
the author to imagine, and to write.”
Courage and fortitude . . .
Semper Fi Lance Corporal Rother
*********************************************************************************
Borden also wrote Seven Six One, a powerfully written, masterful work of
fiction, based on the true record of the 761st Tank Battalion during World
War II in Europe. The 761st advanced from France across Germany and
ended the war in Austria, serving from November, 1944 to May, 1945 in
Patton’s Third Army. During those six months, the men of the 761st
displayed uncommon valor and dedication.
For these Americans, however, their service in the Second World War had
special meaning since the 761st was, as the Presidential Unit Citation
awarded years later stated, “the first United States Army tank battalion
committed to battle comprised of black soldiers…”
Seven Six One is a riveting and triumphant portrayal of men at war.
Borden’s writing is captivating.
*********************************************************************************
/tdw/
G. F. Borden
Yet another of my all-time favorite books, When the Poor Boys Dance is
based on a true story and tells of the horrifying ordeal of a nameless young
Marine (see note below) who was accidentally left in the Mojave Desert
during a training exercise.
As the Marine struggles for miles and days in the brutal, arid heat with little
water, he sustains himself through imaginary conversations with his drill
instructor, Sergeant Kline and other NCOs who helped train him to be a
Marine. These talks fade into hallucinations in which the Marine relives the
final moments of fellow leathernecks in great battles of the past . . . Belleau
Wood, Iwo Jima, Korea, Vietnam and even battles yet to be fought.
The title comes from an aphorism often voiced by Sergeant Kline, “War is
when the poor boys dance.” One could learn many things about courage
and sacrifice in the pages of this book.
======================================================
Note:
Although the young Marine is unnamed in the book, the story is based on
Lance Corporal Jason J. Rother. I apologize for leaving the impression
that the Marine was “nameless”. As was pointed out to me by Paige N.
Rother, Jason was “definitely not nameless to us!” At the end of the book
the author notes the following:
On the evening of August 30, 1988, during a training exercise conducted
in the roughly one thousand square miles of the Mojave Desert that
constitute Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, Lance Corporal Jason
J. Rother got down from a truck far out in the desert and stood his post,
alone, as a road guide.
When the road guides were picked up five hours later, Lance Corporal
Rother was left behind.
His absence was not noted for forty hours.
Investigators later estimated that the temperature in the Mojave Desert
on August 31, 1988 reached 107 degrees, and that the humidity was nil.
Lance Corporal Rother was not equipped or supplied to survive in such
conditions, and could not have expected that he would be able to reach
safety before the negligence of those responsible for him killed him.
Lance Corporal Rother ignored the terrible odds against him: he set off,
marching toward home.
The last of three extensive searches found Lance Corporal Rother’s
skeletal remains on December 4, 1988. Dehydration is thought to have
killed Lance Corporal Rother on August 31, 1988.
In January and February 1989, newspapers reported the investigation
into the abandonment of Lance Corporal Rother and described the
ensuing courts-martial of his superiors. Of those prosecutions little now
remains except old paper, forgotten argument and ruined careers.
Indeed, only a few words reported during the investigations and the
subsequent prosecutions still ring like iron beaten against stone. Those
few words were written by the then Commandant of the United States
Marine Corps, General Alfred M. Gray. Addressing his officers and
noncommissioned officers – and more generally anyone in authority
over others – General Gray wrote: "The American people . . . will not – nor
should they – accept our maiming and killing of their sons and daughters
. . . Neither will I."
Newspaper reports stated that Lance Corporal Rother died after
marching seventeen of the nineteen miles that lay between his post and
safety. This is factual, but the verb ‘die’ is inaccurate. Lance Corporal
Rother did not die: he fought against the terrible circumstances he faced
until those circumstances killed him. So he displayed those
characteristics that the author, who has never served in the military,
senses are the finest that any Marine – or anyone at all – can display
when faced with fearsome adversity.
It would be fitting were the location of Lance Corporal Rother’s
abandonment marked with a warning to those responsible for others.
General Gray’s words, quoted above, would constitute a suitable
inscription. So would that sentence known to every Roman soldier:
"What is permitted to others is not permitted to you."
To demonstrate what character can accomplish, it would also be fitting
were a monument describing Lance Corporal Rother’s march erected at
the place where his remains were found.
That no such warning and no such monument are likely to be erected is
part of the price we pay to rent the place in which we live.
This novel is not about Lance Corporal Jason J. Rother; the author knows
nothing about him except the few details that appeared in the
newspapers. Nor is this novel about the conduct of Lance Corporal
Rother’s officers and noncommissioned officers.
It is, however, true that the fortitude and courage with which Lance
Corporal Rother confronted his ordeal and faced his death encouraged
the author to imagine, and to write.”
Courage and fortitude . . .
Semper Fi Lance Corporal Rother
*********************************************************************************
Borden also wrote Seven Six One, a powerfully written, masterful work of
fiction, based on the true record of the 761st Tank Battalion during World
War II in Europe. The 761st advanced from France across Germany and
ended the war in Austria, serving from November, 1944 to May, 1945 in
Patton’s Third Army. During those six months, the men of the 761st
displayed uncommon valor and dedication.
For these Americans, however, their service in the Second World War had
special meaning since the 761st was, as the Presidential Unit Citation
awarded years later stated, “the first United States Army tank battalion
committed to battle comprised of black soldiers…”
Seven Six One is a riveting and triumphant portrayal of men at war.
Borden’s writing is captivating.
*********************************************************************************
/tdw/
| Thom's Review When the Poor Boys Dance |
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