The Boo (26 page)

The Boo
made a real haul this particular Christmas. Old shoes the Salvation Army rejected for the feet of indigents,
The Boo
threw in the trashcan. Hotplates, televisions, popcorn-makers, barbecues, and other illegal gadgets found their way to
The Boo’s
office. When the cadets returned from furlough they asked each other what
The Boo
had taken from their room. My roommate lost his pair of raggedy loafers, while I was missing the peppermint-striped, multi-ripped bathrobe that gave me such a rakish, barber-shop look on my jaunts to the shower room. Everything was the way it always was, except with Winken and Blinken. Word emanated from their offices and sifted down through the ranks of the Corps:
The Boo
is a thief. The regimental commander and the regimental exec, the two top ranked cadets, under the influence of the two Captains, went to General Harris to express their disapproval. The cadets then presented Courvoisie with a list of items he had stolen from the barracks. The thief was branded. Now it was his move.

The Boo
got a list of all the items he had supposedly taken, this list included items that had been missing since the start of the college year. He called each cadet who claimed a loss of property to his office and paid him for his loss. Many cadets refused the money outright. Others took the money gladly. When the final tally was made,
The Boo
had paid out over three hundred dollars. No ultimatum emanated from the President’s Office for
The Boo
to reimburse the cadets. He did it to vindicate himself from the charge of thievery. It was the first time he had taken illicit articles from the barracks and walked out with a criminal record.
The Boo
also knew that the battle lines were drawn and that the enemy was not above playing dirty as hell.

Through the remainder of 1967 and 1968,
The Boo
was marked for elimination. His position as an Assistant Commandant was doomed. He had to be removed quietly. It had to be done with patience and subtlety. A power struggle ensued with
The Boo
carrying a hand of deuces. His formidable enemies held all the trump cards.
Boo’s
power rested with cadets, and in the world of Citadel politics, the cadets and their wishes counted for very little. The anti-Courvoisie contingent grew in power and influence. The powers who resided in Bond Hall whittled away at Courvoisie’s job until the position of Assistant Commandant meant little more than a glorified pencil-pusher.
The Boo
was not allowed to give weekends, check confinements, or go into the barracks. Finally,
The Boo
was not allowed to have any cadets come to him with problems. The end was in sight.

Soon
The Boo
received word that he would no longer be Assistant Commandant. The Citadel offered him a choice of three jobs. None of them would bring him into contact with cadets. None of them would entail the prestige or status of Assistant Commandant. And even though most people felt
The Boo
would retire and move away from The Citadel, he had invested too many years into the college. The love he felt for The Citadel was profound. To the surprise of many he took the job as Transportation and Baggage Officer. His office was in the warehouse, a bland structure at the furthest extremity of the campus. Here, he would have no opportunity to meet and talk with cadets; his presence would hardly be noticed on campus. This self-imposed exile pleased everyone.

The Boo
caused no ripples; he bitched to no one. He called the Regimental Commander, Tommy Harper, and the President of The Class of ’68 to his office. He wanted no demonstrations on his behalf. He faded out quietly, without fanfare or a last raging malediction against The Citadel.

Betsy Petit was not fired or dismissed. The Tac Officers hounded her out of the Commandant’s Department. They insulted her, embarrassed her, and one of them cursed her. The only woman ever to have a military college yearbook dedicated to her wrote a farewell letter to the Corps and quit outright. With Miss Betsy gone, a Citadel era was over.

So the stories end and the legend of
The Boo
comes to an abrupt and sudden halt. He still works in the warehouse. He has almost no contact with cadets. On big weekends his house is filled with old cadets who knew him as Assistant Commandant. Last Corps Day over a hundred graduates dropped by to say hello. Every Christmas he receives three or four hundred Christmas cards from former cadets all over the world. He still gets telephone calls from guys in trouble or from guys who still know where to go when they need help. Often a young cadet whose brother carried the legend of
The Boo
into his home will wander into the warehouse to talk of the old days. And that is what they are becoming. The old days. The forgotten days.

Yet there are those who remember. There are those who think of
The Boo
as the personification of what is good and valuable at The Citadel, there are those who remember the laughter which followed
The Boo
wherever he went. The whole tone of this book is sentimental and unashamedly nostalgic. It is difficult to be otherwise. I cannot help but wonder why a man so gifted in dealing with people and so understanding of young men and their problems should be exiled to a job of shuffling baggage and ordering toilet paper. In the process of writing this book I asked several people who work for The Citadel to tell me what they thought about Colonel Courvoisie. “He’s Mr. Citadel,” one of them said. “He’s the greatest man on this campus,” said another. Then both of them looked around and whispered with obvious paranoia, “If you quote me, I’ll deny every word of it.” So let the final message of the book also stand as an epitaph to
The Boo’s
career in Jenkins Hall. And may he know, no matter how small the satisfaction, that many of us look to the past and see him as a great generative, motivating force in our youth. If this is too sentimental, then let it be so. For some of us remember.

BOO’S HEROES

Because of actions above and beyond the call of duty, the following cadets earned places of special honor in
The Boo’s
heart.

H. B. Limehouse, Jr. ’60

H. J. Taylor, Jr. ’60

R. S. Verrastro ’60

E. W. Weekley, Jr. ’60

J. W. Blankenship ’61

C. Crenshaw ’61

R. H. Hughes ’61

K. J. Justice ’61

D. L. Lubotsky ’61

D. R. Neck ’61

F. W. St. Laurent ’61

G. G. Strickland ’61

J. E. Villafranca ’61

W. Bowden ’62

G. A. Dixon ’62

W. W. Elliott ’62

S. G. Green ’62

F. C. Hearn ’62

W. J. Odle ’62

W. T. Petersen ’62

A. H. Reeves ’62

W. D. Swift ’62

M. Abbett ’63

L. C. Bruton ’63

C. C. Burgess III ’63

L. P. Carpinelli ’63

E. C. Carter ’63

R. T. Devens ’63

F. G. Ducker ’63

M. L. Eliades ’63

M. A. Forman ’63

B. Giullian ’63

J. H. Helms ’63

J. Heyman II ’63

C. V. Marcolini ’63

J. E. Misskelly ’63

M. L. Rausenberger ’63

J. M. Sellers ’63

L. L. Smart, Jr. ’63

L. B. Stittsworth ’63

J. T. Vincent ’63

A. R. Weldon, Jr. ’63

M. H. Welsh ’63

C. A. Boccia ’64

S. C. Brown ’64

D. J. Cooper ’64

C. P. Corcoran ’64

D. G. Davis ’64

R. H. Fletcher, Jr. ’64

J. W. Holt, Jr. ’64

T. B. Huguenin ’64

G. L. Jones ’64

J. T. Marcello ’64

C. W. Martin ’64

D. C. Miller ’64

T. A. Mins ’64

H. M. Mueller, Jr. ’64

L. H. Neville ’64

G. R. Palmer, Jr. ’64

W. R. Penland ’64

E. J. Rabin ’64

A. J. Raffo ’64

W. J. Simchick ’64

J. Simons III ’64

J. W. Spencer ’64

F. M. Warlick ’64

M. A. West ’64

J. S. Comar ’65

H. T. Combs ’65

B. D. Dargan ’65

C. M. Davis ’65

M. B. Foster ’65

J. B. Grimball ’65

T. C. Hellman ’65

W. C. Kurtz ’65

G. M. Lohmer ’65

T. H. Maybank ’65

J. Maybank ’65

W. C. McKinzie ’65

B. A. Miller ’65

G. P. Montes ’65

R. H. Moore ’65

A. M. Nixon ’65

W. L. Noe III ’65

C. H. Phillips, Jr. ’65

R. E. Pinson ’65

T. T. Prichard ’65

J. D. Rivera ’65

R. M. Siarr ’65

E. N. Stevens ’65

L. B. Strauss ’65

J. P. Thomas ’65

M. C. Traywick ’65

J. P. Tucker, Jr. ’65

J. C. Ventras ’65

C. E. Vickery ’65

S. M. Wasserman ’65

A. W. Wilcox, Jr. ’65

P. R. Yaconelli ’65

H. G. Adkins, Jr. ’66

P. R. Andersen ’66

J. D. Basto ’66

H. M. Boyd ’66

D. T. Brailsford ’66

D. W. Brown ’66

W. H. Cox, Jr. ’66

T. D. Dodd ’66

E. S. Douglas ’66

W. J. Eskew ’66

M. F. Glass III ’66

W. U. Gunn ’66

S. C. Hall, Jr. ’66

E. S. Holland ’66

H. W. Krauss, Jr. ’66

J. L. Law, Jr. ’66

D. L. Maguire ’66

R. C. May ’66

G. F. McClelland ’66

J. W. McCoy ’66

C. B. McDonald ’66

C. W. McDow, Jr. ’66

L. R. Perella ’66

J. A. Sadler ’66

W. S. Smith III ’66

C. J. Stanton ’66

R. K. Wenhold ’66

H. C. Wheeler ’66

P. E. William ’66

T. J. Anderson II ’67

C. A. Barron, Jr. ’67

J. W. Bowditch ’67

R. C. Boyd ’67

C. E. Cole ’67

K. M. Darby ’67

J. S. DeBerry ’67

J. M. Devito ’67

G. S. Dewey III ’67

T. L. Dorton ’67

P. G. W. Fetscher ’67

R. C. Fulmer ’67

R. E. George ’67

R. N. Gleason ’67

P. R. Green ’67

A. E. Jones ’67

H. E. Keller ’67

J. L. Kelly III ’67

W. A. Leffler III ’67

W. H. Lovett ’67

N. P. Mellen ’67

J. H. Messervy ’67

R. A. Miller ’67

W. M. Milner ’67

L. R. Moody ’67

T. D. Nelken ’67

W. M. Newell, Jr. ’67

R. W. O‘Keefe ’67

R. C. Patterson, Jr. ’67

G. D. Reddick III ’67

R. A. Roberts ’67

J. C. Roland ’67

R. R. Rossell III ’67

D. A. Simon, Jr. ’67

A. J. Sitton, Jr. ’67

M. R. Smith ’67

M. W. Smith ’67

N. J. Stogner ’67

P. F. Them ’67

A. C. Verner, Jr. ’67

D. J. Walker ’67

C. R. Whitlock, Jr. ’67

B. D. Wynn ’67

M. B. Armstrong ’68

C. E. Ashley ’68

J. M. Bacon III ’68

T. H. Bair ’68

J. W. Blackwell ’68

D. H. Butz II ’68

R. E. Chandler ’68

H. K. Clubb ’68

E. C. Cooper ’68

G. W. Dekle, Jr. ’68

G. S. Eckhardt ’68

J. P. Gaillard III ’68

J. H. Grayson, Jr. ’68

A. R. Heyward III ’68

R. J. Jones, Jr. ’68

D. A. Kerchmar ’68

J. A. Kerchmar ’68

L. L. Korda ’68

L. R. Latini ’68

L. J. Linder ’68

S. D. Kerlin ’68

R. M. Lovelace, Jr. ’68