Back when I was growing up and in school, I never knew any twins.
There weren’t any in our school. Today I see a set of twins
almost every time I go to Wal-Mart or school function. I contacted
the Superintendent’s office in Oak Grove and asked how many sets of twins there
were and was told they did not keep a record. However, one teacher
told me there were three sets of twins in one class that he knew of.
This could be because of fertility drugs or just the fact the population
has increased so much.
When I
got drafted in the Army, identical twins, Ken and Keith Matchell, from
Grandview
were drafted the same day. They were handsome with dark hair and
no one could tell them apart. They would sit around in the
barracks and tell us stories about how they would double-date a couple of girls,
go into the restroom at a filling station, come out and switch girls without the
girls knowing it.
When we
headed overseas, our Company was comprised of four-man buddy teams who were not
to be separated. The Army hoped this would increase the morale of
the troops. The Matchell twins, myself, and a guy from my home
town, Gary Reagin, were a four-man team. However, when we were
assigned to an Infantry Company, the Battalion Commander spotted the Matchells
and wanted them in his Headquarters Company. We saw each other
frequently and after being discharged remained lifelong friends.
When we
were coming back home on a troop ship, Keith got K.P. for three days.
The second day, Keith begged Ken to substitute for him since the smell of
food made him more seasick. When Ken went in the kitchen, the guy
in charge told him to make coffee. When Ken asked him how to do
it, the cook replied, “The same way I showed you yesterday, dummy.”
Jack can be reached at
PO Box 40,
Oak Grove, MO 64075 or jackremembers@aol.com.
Visit www.jackremembers.com
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