New Frontiers for Age

At 71, Sergeant First Class Delbert Jenkins holds the unofficial title of oldest enlisted man in the U.S. Army. Last week, at an Engineer depot in Yokohama, Jenkins explained his unusual position. He saw 16 months of service in World War I, then left the Army to earn more money (as a railroad man and part-time farmer). After raising a family of nine children (he now has 15 grandchildren), Jenkins wangled his way back into the Army in 1942. "I pestered the Army until they let me in again," he said, "to free some younger man for a job where youth was needed."

At 64, Jenkins splashed ashore with the Engineers on D-day at Lingayen Gulf. He landed in Japan later in 1945--"just a few days after MacArthur," stayed there in the U.S. occupation. In 1949, having already served one extra hitch with the Eighth Army, it seemed impossible to re-enlist on a permanent peacetime basis. Army regulations normally set the maximum re-enlistment age at 35, plus the years already spent in federal service. Jenkins was 27 years short of qualifying, but he saw a way out.

He took a brief discharge, then got himself back in again under a device which waives the age restriction on enlistments for veterans. Said the sergeant: "Frankly, it's not easy for a man my age to go out and get a job. Anyway, I could do good work here, I figured."

Safe in harness, Sergeant Jenkins settled down in a U.S. Army dependent house in Yokohama with his wife Mania Etta, who is also 71, and as spry as her husband. Mrs. Jenkins helped put Yokohama orphanages back on their feet, spent most of her time working with the district Red Cross and raising funds for Japanese charities. When they learned that the Jenkinses were due for reassignment this month to the U.S., 1,400 Japanese friends signed a petition asking the Army to extend their tour. "We truly believe," they wrote, "that Mrs. Jenkins is one whom God himself has sent today to help Japan."

Barring a last-minute reversal from Washington, however, Jenkins' Army orders stand. He and his wife are planning to settle down on the Army post at Fort Ord, Calif., his new station. Said Veteran Jenkins: "With ten years and eight months of my lifetime spent in the Army, I think I'll make a career of it." He has nine years and four months to go before becoming eligible for retirement.

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