The Fence

(Cont'd) As I approached the fence I looked up and an officer was coming straight at me. I froze..and hoped! He was a Lt. 1st class and he never once glanced at me; he dipped through the fence and kept walking! I did the same. When I arrived at the Beach Hotel Marion was waiting for me; we greeted each other and were interested in "catching up on the latest." It was a great feeling to see my wife again! We talked for hours while walking around; with darkness approaching we walked out in a field by a train trestle to look at the luminous night sky and the Pacific ocean while we hugged and kissed; this led to more and afterward we were getting ready to walk back to Marion's hotel when, about 150' away a match glowed and I could see the glow of a cigarette! We had been seen by a guard of the railway trestle! We laughed, hastily got ready to leave - quickly! Clearing the area we laughed as we got into Oceanside. We made plans for early tomorrow to hike into L.A. and on to see my second aunt and uncle, Alberta and Forest Allen. Then Marion told me the best news; a young woman by the hotel had offered her bedroom for the night since her military husband had overnight field maneuvers. It was a wonderfully relaxing experience; I didn't have to worry about sneaking back into Camp Scott at Farragut and I only had to get back to camp at a certain time for roll call, after which we would again be dismissed for 24 hours. Ah, heaven!, even if temporary.