This guy was trouble. I had thought he was my friend. He often sang with me at the USO. I thought he was nice back then. One night I sat in the empty seat beside him on the bus coming back to base. I think I may have put my arm on the back of the seat behind him. I don't recall actually touching him but suddenly another guy yanked me out of the seat and practically threw me into another one.
I was pissed but I was almost at my stop so I got up and walked to the front of the bus. I got off and started walking in the snow back to the bay. I think there were three blocks to go and I got off early because I didn't want to be involved in what ever the heck was going on back there.
I was close to the on base Fire Dept. when two guys came up behind me, picked me up and shoved me head first into a huge pile of snow. I was trying to get out of it. I figured it must have been the guy from the bus. I really didn't know at that point what I had done to anger them so much.
I was saved by this guy or maybe one of his buddies. It was too dark to tell.
The fire guys pulled me out of the snowbank while some of them chased after the bozos. They didn't catch them. They got me to the station where I could warm up with hot cocoa. One of them called the bay and told my SGT what happened. She sent some other guys to escort me home where I was grilled. I told her everything I knew.
After that I spent about two weeks going to the fire station to play cards with the guys. It was my way of thanking them for saving me. I was kind of afraid to go back to the USO because I didn't want to run into those bozos again. Playing cards with the guys also gave me an excuse not to go back there.
Eventually, I was told why those guys attacked me like that. Apparently Dean was gay and I didn't know it. Those guys were his buddies and probably gay, too. I didn't know and didn't care. I just didn't want to go somewhere that they might be. Sgt Petry told me they had been found and dealt with whatever that meant.
I still didn't want to go back to the USO but a lot of people wanted me there. I hadn't counted on the old lady wanting me there, either because she and Dean were close friends but one day a message came that they wanted me back there. I was told by my SGT that if I stayed away, they would "win" even if they weren't there to see it. So I went back.
Bruce was there, of course. But that wasn't why I went back. He was just a pleasant bonus. If Dean was there, I never saw him after that.