The Good Soldier Frenchy

Eight weeks ago, during U.S. Army maneuvers on the Rhine, Private Raymond L. Cote, 21, of Saco, Me., was ordered, in the classic instruction for sentries, to guard two small open boats. Four days later, when the maneuvers ended, the rest of the troops marched back to barracks. But not Private "Frenchy" Cote. In the 60,000-man V Corps, Frenchy had been forgotten.

He ate C rations, smoked up his cigarettes and bedded down at night in the bottom of one of his boats. He considered his General Orders, especially No. 5: "To quit my post only when properly relieved." Germans in the nearby village of Ginsheim discovered him, and fed him Wurst, sauerkraut, sandwiches and beer. It began to rain; he moved into an abandoned shack near his boats.

Nearly two weeks after V Corps had marched away, his newfound friends in Ginsheim finally told Army authorities about the abandoned sentry. Frenchy's platoon leader scurried over in a jeep. " 'Get your stuff, Frenchy,' he told me. 'We're going back.' I says, 'What about the boats?' He said: The hell with the goddamn boats.' "

Reunited with his buddies, Frenchy found himself something of a hero. His name was taken off the AWOL list, and he was promoted to pfc. for his devotion to duty. His own explanation was not so singleminded, or so simpleminded, as all that. "I got no kicks," said Frenchy. "I had it pretty good. Those guys were bringing me chow, and I didn't stand no reveille."

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