Reply #6: When I was in the Army.. [View All]

When I was in the Army (ours) I was a platoon leader in an Armor company. There were two guys assigned to my platoon at different times, one of whom was married to a 13 year old. The other was married to a 14 year old, but he had married her when she was 11!! Eleven!!

The second guy had come to me to ask for time off to get his wife out of jail. Being a "veteran" by this time, I called the Sheriff to confirm. He told me they had her, but transferred her to juvenile detention.

Me: "Why the heck would you do that"?
Him: "Well, she's a minor. She's 14."

Then I told him about the guy in my platoon that claimed he was married to her. He said that's what she had said, but they didn't believe her.

(As I recall, both of them were from the Ozarks, for whatever that means. Parents approved of the marriage.)

During Officer Basic they told me to expect the unexpected, and boy, were they right! Anyone who thinks that the GI is like Johnny next door, or the guys you went to high school with, has no clue as to the "other America" out there.