“They’re here again.”
Private Smith eyed the gate. A dozen German girls twirled their skirts and stared back hopefully.
“C’mon Smitty. Let’s go down there.”
He shrugged. “They don’t wanna meet no ‘nobody’. They’re here to see him.”
Even Johnson couldn’t argue that. Wherever the Third Armored went, throngs of fans followed—but they were no fans of the soldiers. They were fans of Elvis Presley. Meanwhile, Elvis spent next to no time at the base. He was seven kilometers away in Bad Nauheim.
Still, it didn’t stop the girls from showing up. Elvis wasn’t even all that handsome, Smitty thought. He ran a hand over his buzz cut. He’d be handsome too, if he hadn’t had to buzz his hair to the pink of his scalp.
“Let’s go down there anyway,” Johnson said.
There were a lot of girls. “What are we going to say to them?”
“Hallo Schönheit, hallo.”
—
151 words
This has been an edition of What Pegman Saw. To read more stories inspired by the prompt, click here.
This story was inspired by my dad, who was stationed in Germany with Elvis. He never met him, but said he was always surrounded by a crowd.
k. Rawson 
Great story. There are thousands of people who claim they served with Elvis and hung around with him. Rare is the man like your dad who claim no acquaintance.
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Loved it!
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Ha! Good one.
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You always hear about celebrities having joined thewar effort, but the histories fail to mention what happens to their fans.
Nice bit about the injustice of the fact, that his crew cut hid the narrator’s own comparable good looks. i could feel those needle-like strands under my fingertips.
At least he’s making the best of the situation. I mean, how many girls can Elvis take on, anyway? Army surplus, so to speak. 😊
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Great story to do your Dad proud, karen. Nicely told. As your husband says, rare is the persons who claims not to have seen Elvis.
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Thanks for reading Kelvin! I kinda wish now my dad could read it.
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Ah, yes, how irritating must it have been for those servicemen, trying to do there bit, watching Elvis being trailed by hundreds of girls and them not getting a look in. Handsome, though, wasn’t he? Lovely tale and I loved the part about your Dad – he could have told you all sorts of things about him and his mate Presley 🙂
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Haha, since kids grow to disbelieve everything their parents tell them, I probably wouldn’t have believed him anyway. Thanks for reading!
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Ah, how sadly true that is! Though, hopefully they get an inkling we were at least right about a few things when they reach maturity themselves. My pleasure Karen
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Well told Karen. Like the POV of the non famous soldier, tough call to be in Elvis’ Shadow. The ‘pink scalp’ – suggests shyness very well I think.
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Your take gives me more credit than I deserve. Thanks for reading Francine!
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