“I keep telling you. That’s your problem. You think too much.” Jack coiled up his towel and stung Em once more. “We’ll find out sooner or later, probably sooner. You heard her. ‘Boom Boom be here soon.’”
Em had to laugh. He found it ridiculous to think of Cannon as Boom Boom. He would definitely have to find out where that came from. No sooner was he thinking this, Sergeant Cannon walked through the cafeteria door.
“Find out about what, Turner?”
Jack, who had his back to the doorway, jumped vertically and horizontally simultaneously. It looked like his arms were trying to separate themselves from his torso. Quick as ever, Jack landed at attention and said, “Sorry, Sergeant Cannon, sir. But the lady told us, and well, you can imagine!”
“It’s all right, Florida. It’s time I come a little clean with you, guys. Hey, Kikimo. What you got in that pot?” He walked away as cool and calm as was his approach. He hugged his old friend. She grinned even bigger than before, revealing more of her gums.
“Well,” Jack said, and then he punched Em’s arm, “if you ever let anyone sneak up on me like that again…” Here he stammered. “Well…don’t…”
“Guess we’re finally going to get some answers.” Em heard his own lips say. Although this was what he wanted, he suddenly felt overwhelmed about what he was getting ready to hear. Both airmen continued to wipe the pans dry, but now neither of them would have seen anyone approaching from the front or rear because both of them looked deep in thought. Cannon continued to speak to his old friend. He had already begun to eat the fish stew in front of him.
When the meal was finished and the kitchen began to look worthy of inspection, the boys found themselves sitting across from the man who would become their friend. Cannon, looking as sharp as always, lay his fork on the table and wiped his mouth. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for Kiki’s stew. I had her make it special for you two. Like it?”
Jack and Em stuttered their agreement without changing the looks on their faces.
“Sorry,” Cannon said. “I know you’re a little anxious, but let’s talk a minute.” He almost demanded calmness with his tranquility. He asked them about their trip from Texas. He especially wanted to know about the trip from San Francisco to Alaska. He asked them more questions than either of them felt like answering, but both of them continued to smile and remained as calm as possible. Em was ready to scream and knew that he must look ready to scream also. Cannon finally leaned back in his chair and said, “Where do I begin?” He sighed and landed his chair back on all four legs and arose from it. He then began to pace back and forth.
The airmen looked at each other, and then they both looked up to Sergeant Cannon. Suddenly, Jack blurted, “How ’bout that scar on your back? Where’d you get that?”
Sergeant Cannon began to laugh. “Anything you could ask and that’s what you want to know about?”
Em looked at Jack, and he too wondered exactly where that question had come from.
Jack saw the look on Em’s face. “Sorry, Em, but that’s what was in my head.”
Em shook his head and laughed as he said, “Let me ask next time.”
The mood in the room instantly became warmer. Cannon told them that, indeed, that was part of his story, but he was unsure where to begin.
Kikimo emerged from behind a row of shelves and poked Sergeant Cannon’s arm. “You tell them about day you meet me.”
Sergeant Cannon looked at her and said, “That’s as good a place as any. Thanks, Mama Kiko.”
Sergeant Cannon began to speak, and the airmen settled into their chairs. “In 1922, when I was just sixteen years old, I enlisted in the United States Army.” He explained how the army was having difficulty enlisting new recruits. The economy was strong, and war had been so recent that any able-bodied young man could enter, no matter how young, even at sixteen. He left home and found himself in Biloxi, Mississippi, before he could change his mind. He spent months training as though the war had not ended. He began to wonder what in the world could he have been thinking. After basic training, he remained in the mosquito-infested South for three long hot summer months. When he saw the notice on the bulletin board while visiting the base hospital, he stopped to read the alluring words, “Are you tired of the mosquitoes?” He was instantly interested. As he read the second line, which was written in much smaller print, he became aware of the need the author must have felt was necessary to get anyone to keep reading. The notice was offering a chance of adventure. Leave the mosquito-infested coast and reach out into a new territory. “Come to Alaska,” the paper read. The army was looking for volunteers to accept duty in Alaska. Construction was underway in a remote section of the US territory. Airfields were being cleared, and a major port was establishing itself.
Young Jeffrey Cannon was sold. It sounded like adventure to him, and as long as he stayed here in Mississippi, he could not see it happening. Two short weeks later, he was on a train, headed for the Pacific Northwest. From San Francisco, he would travel by naval vessel to the islands just west of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Strait. After weeks at sea—it seemed as if the navy enjoyed tormenting their army counterparts—the small ship arrived, and young Jeffrey said to himself, “No, I guess there won’t be many mosquitoes here.” He was led into a large metal building and shown to the food preparation area—because it could hardly be called a kitchen. That was the day he ate the best fish he had ever eaten.
Kikimo looked about the same then as she did now. Whether she ever had teeth was questionable. When she smiled at young Jeffrey, he began to feel slightly homesick. She immediately put him at ease with her warmness and affectionate, motherly smile—even though it was toothless. “Oh, look. You just a baby. You have no whiskers. What this army do? Put babies up here at top of world.” She slid a plate under his nose and put her hands on his shoulders. “You eat now. Mamason take care of you. Make you fat like seal.”
So this was how Jeffrey Cannon met Mama Kiko. For the next few months, he enjoyed her cooking more than any other part of Alaska. After all, there was not much to enjoy in the barren, icy Alaskan islands. Mama Kiko became the mother he never had. She seemed to adopt him because of his youthful appearance. She called him her baby. Young Jeffrey allowed her to mother him. He was so lonely and homesick for a place that had never actually felt like a home. Back in Kentucky, his mother had died when he was only six years old. He hardly had any memory of her. For this reason, he allowed Mama Kiko to “adopt” him.
He remained excited about the adventure he was sure to have up here at the top of the world. However, after months of loneliness and watching eighteen hours of dark turn to eighteen hours of light per day, he wondered if any excitement were even possible in such a remote place. As June approached and the daylight seemed endless, he thought he might die of boredom. Then he began to hear rumors announcing that the president of the United States, Warren G. Harding, was coming to pay a visit. The president was supposed to be on a fishing holiday but had decided to check on the progress of the Aleutian Island’s ports and airfields. It was the most exciting thing to ever happen to young recruit Cannon. Little did he know just how exciting things would get.
As the day of President Harding’s arrival drew near, preparations were made, and banners were even hung. No one knew where the banners came from, but they were hung outside the one and only building on site. On the day of the arrival, all personnel were to be at attention near the airstrip. This did not please the ninety-three men who had all volunteered for this assignment. Young Jeffrey was near the front row when he saw the plane drop from the clouds and begin to descend toward the newly constructed airfield.
The plane was small. At first, Jeffrey could not believe just how small it was. With the mountain range behind it, the plane looked miniscule. As it descended even farther, it became aware that something was amiss. The plane was rocking back and forth a little too much. Having never seen such a small flying vehicle before, no one seemed to realize just what trouble the aircraft was having. Then the plane’s wheels touched the ground. It bounced directly back