Later that day, Trevor found building 1249 and entered with his sea bag, full of new uniforms for his journey, slung over his shoulder.
He looked around the barracks and saw numerous other Marine officers. Some of the officers slept in their bunks, some of the officers read letters or books, and other officers played poker.
Trevor also saw that each bunk had a stand-up locker.
Trevor walked down the aisle and picked out an empty bunk and dropped his new seabag on it.
"Hello, I'm Henry Foley," Henry said from behind Trevor.
Trevor turned around and saw Henry Foley, who was now a twenty-two-year-old 2nd Lieutenant and looked so young and full of life with a head full of black hair.
Henry walked over to Trevor.
No limp. No cane. Trevor thought to himself while he stared in disbelief at a younger Henry.
Trevor shook Henry's hand. "I'm Trevor Walker."
"Welcome to El Toro, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Trevor," Henry said then looked at Trevor's uniform and saw his wings. "Ah, you're a pilot also," Henry added.
"Yes I am," Trevor said.
"Good, maybe we'll be stationed in the same squadron after here," Henry added then he walked over and lay on his bunk.
Trevor looked a little nervous while he lay on his cot. He stared at the ceiling while he waited.
A few minutes passed, and he dozed off as time-traveling exhausted him.
It was 5:00 p.m. The barracks were quiet, and Trevor was the only one inside, and he still napped on his bunk.
Henry entered the building and walked down the row of cots. He saw Trevor asleep in his bunk.
He walked up and shook Trevor.
Trevor woke up in a daze and sat up. For a split second, Trevor thought he had a dream and was back home in 1995 Santa Barbara. Then he saw young Henry and realized he was still in 1944.
"Hey Trevor, let's get some food before they close down the chow hall," Henry said.
Trevor's stomach growled.
"I thought you might be hungry," Henry said with a light chuckle.
Trevor got off his bunk and followed Henry out of the barracks.
Trevor and Henry walked down the streets of El Toro.
"Where are you from Trevor?" Henry asked.
This caught Trevor off guard, as he didn't think about that detail. He thought for a few seconds for a viable answer. "Spokane, Washington," he replied when he thought about Carl's conference.
"Ah, I'm from Phoenix," Henry replied. "You married? I'm not."
"Yes, her name is Teri," Trevor replied.
"Kids?"
"Not yet."
"I see," Henry said while they walked to the entrance of the mess hall.
They went inside.
After they went through the chow line, they walked with their trays of fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, and a dinner roll with a glass of milk through the dining areas.
"Follow me," Henry told Trevor when he saw a bunch of officers that sat at a long table.
They walked over to the table where there were five other officers; half were 1st Lieutenants, and the other half was 2nd Lieutenants.
"Hey guys, this is Trevor Walker. He just arrived a few hours ago," Henry said to the officers.
"Oh yeah. The guy sleeping, I'm Bill Jetty."
"I'm George Redgrave."
"I'm Harry Santis."
"I'm Stuart Barkin."
"And I'm Carl Eastman."
Trevor looked in shock at the sight of Grandpa Carl, as he looked so young. Carl was only twenty-three-years-old, and for some reason, Trevor found it challenging to think of his grandfather as a viral young man with a head full of black hair. Trevor was speechless.
He sat down in the empty next to Carl.
"Harry is also from Spokane, Trevor," Henry told him.
Trevor almost choked while he placed a mouthful of corn in his mouth. Crap! He thought to himself.
"Where in Spokane do you live? I live off North Washington," Harry asked.
"Ah," Trevor stuttered while he was caught off guard. "I live a few streets over," Trevor said then took a drink of milk.
"You live on North Stevens?" Harry asked.
Trevor felt like he was caught when he stared at Harry. "Ah yeah. North Stevens," he replied, then started eating his chicken.
"I'm surprised we never meet before," Harry said.
"Well, actually, I moved there from Seattle after I graduated from high school. I only lived in Spokane for four months before I left for the Marines," Trevor told Harry and silently prayed he would buy his lie.
"I see," Harry said and believed his story.
Trevor sighed a sigh of relief when he said then bit into a drumstick.
"Anyway, Carl, if my daddy was rich like your daddy, I'll be paying Sewickley for prime stateside duty. We heard he'll do just about anything for a few bucks," Harry said.
All the other guys at the table nodded in agreement.
Trevor looked at Carl and remembered the day when he had to attend Great Grandpa Ernie's funeral. Trevor was only six-years-old, and he wasn't born when his real Great Grandpa Jack passed away.
"Daddy insisted I experience war. He said it would make a man out of me," Carl told Henry.
Trevor smiled as he knew the story Henry told him so many years in the future was true about Sewickley.
After chow, Trevor went back to the barracks to relax. He didn't want to spend too much time around the base to avoid bringing too much attention upon him, so he decided to lay low in the barracks.
It was later that night, and Trevor was in his bunk and Stuart, Harry and Henry were the only officers inside.
Henry walked up to Trevor's bunk. "We're going to the officers club. Want to tag along?"
"Not tonight. I'm exhausted from traveling all day on the train," Trevor replied.
"Okay," Henry said.
Stuart and Harry soon greeted him, and they all left the barracks.
Trevor was alone in the barracks.
An hour passed, and Trevor got out of his bunk and left the barracks.
It took him fifteen minutes, but he finally found the NCO Club. He hung around twenty feet from the front entrance to the club.
An hour later, Sewickley exited the NCO club with a cigarette that dangled from his mouth.
He staggered away, drunk.
"Sergeant Sewickley," Trevor called out while he rushed over to Sewickley.
Sewickley turned around and saw Trevor. He saluted.
Trevor saluted back. "Ah Sergeant, can we talk in private," Trevor said while he removed a wad full of cash from his pants pocket.
Sewickley's eyes lit up when he saw an opportunity being presented. He dropped his cigarette out in the ground and smashed it with his shoe.
"Sure thing, Lieutenant. Step in my office," he replied, then escorted Trevor over between the NCO club and another building.
"Now, how may I be of service?" Sewickley asked with a greedy grin.
"Lieutenants Ben Grayson and Carl Eastman. You must make sure they get orders for a cushy flight instructor's duty in the states. I'm thinking Pensacola, Florida," Trevor offered and showed Sewickley two hundred dollars.
Sewickley looked at the cash. He thought about Trevor's offer for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but stateside orders cost more. There are more channels I have to work with since there's a war going on," he said.
Trevor thought about his counteroffer for a few seconds then he removed an additional $200 from his pocket and showed it to Sewickley.
Sewickley's eyes widened with joy. "You bring joy to my family's heart," Sewickley said then snatched the cash from Trevor's hand.
"If you don't do this, I'll make sure you spend time in prison," Trevor threatened.
"You can trust me."
Sewickley and Trevor went their separate ways.
Trevor clicked his heels while he walked away, as his plan was becoming a success.
He went back to the barracks, and he slept like a baby knowing that Ben and Carl would remain stateside during the war. But he would miss having Carl as a grandfather, but deep down in his heart, he wanted Ben to have his chance.
It was the next morning, April 13, 1944, and Trevor woke up excited.
After he ate some chow with Henry, Trevor returned to his bunk and waited.
Then ten minutes later, one of the officer's in the barracks got his orders for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He watched while the other officers said their goodbyes.
Then twenty minutes passed, and the door to the barracks opened.
Trevor looked and then his eyes widened with a smile.
Ben Grayson entered the barracks in his 1st Lieutenants uniform. He walked down the aisles between the bunks with a seabag in hand.
Trevor watched Ben in awe, as he couldn't believe he was seeing his real grandfather. It felt weird for Trevor to see Ben alive and in the flesh as all he has seen was photographs of Ben. Then it dawned on him. I'm older than Grandpa Ben and Carl. Trevor said to himself.
Ben walked over to an empty bunk next to Carl's bunk and dropped his seabag on it.
Trevor watched while Ben removed his uniform from his seabag and hung them in his locker.
Trevor got up and walked over. He stopped five feet from Ben and stared at him in admiration.
Ben sensed someone was behind him and turned around. He saw Trevor and gave him a warm smile. Then a strange feeling overcame Ben that he knew Trevor.
"Hi. I'm Ben Grayson," he said and stuck out his hand.
Trevor looked nervous and just stared at Ben in disbelief that his grandfather was standing in front of him.
Ben looked at Trevor for a response.
"Ah, ah, I'm Trevor Walker," he stuttered a little.
The door to the barracks opened and closed.
"Ben. It's about time you arrived," Carl yelled out from the door.
Ben and Trevor looked and saw Carl walk down the aisle.
"Hey, Carl, I decided to spend some extra time with Diana," Ben replied.
"How's she taking all this?" Carl asked.
"As to be expected," Ben said then he hung up his flight suit in his locker.
Ben looked at Trevor. "Carl, this is Trevor Walker. Trevor, meet Carl Eastman," Ben said
"I met him during chow last night," Carl said with little interest.
Trevor could sense Carl didn't show an interest, and that hurt his feelings.
Carl walked over to his locker and removed some cash from his locker and shoved it in his pocket.
"Ben, I have to go take care of some business. I'll catch up with you later," Carl said.
Ben and Trevor watched while Carl rushed out of the barracks.
"What's his rush?" Trevor asked.
"Who knows," Ben replied then looked at Trevor.
"Why don't we walk around so I can get familiar with the base," Ben offered.
"I would like that," Trevor replied.
They walked out of the barracks.
The base was busy with vehicles driving around and other Marines going about their business while Trevor and Ben walked.
"Where are you from?" Ben asked.
"Spokane. Where you from"?" he asked while he played dumb.
"I'm from Santa Barbara. I thought you might be from up around there," Ben replied.
A pair of Corsair's flew over-head.
"Why do you say that?"
"I have this weird feeling. A feeling that I know you," Ben replied.
Trevor smiled and felt warm inside. "Who knows, maybe we met from a previous life. Some people believe in that type of stuff," he said.
"That could happen."
Another pair of Corsair's flew over-head.
"I take it you and Carl know each other?" Trevor asked while he played dumb again.
"We've been best friends since grade school. Our fathers are business partners and own a construction company." Ben replied.
"That's nice," Trevor replied.
"I think Carl's father wants me to take over the business when our father's retire. That will probably upset Carl. So I'll have to make him an equal partner," Ben said.
"That's interesting," Trevor said.
"So Trevor, are you married?"
"Yes. My wife's name is Teri."
Ben removed his wallet and showed Trevor a picture of Diana and him in Pensacola. "My wife's name is Diana, and she's my childhood sweetheart."
"She's beautiful," Trevor said.
Ben placed his wallet back in his pants. "Thanks. Do you have a picture of Teri?"
Trevor reached for his wallet then stopped "No. I had my seabag stolen on the train from Spokane. My wallet was inside."
"That's a shame. Here you are fighting the war so creeps like that can have their freedom. That pisses me off."
"Do you have a kid?" Trevor asked.
Ben got a huge smile. "Diana is expecting our first child."
"Must be rough not being with her."
A C47 took off from one of the runways in the background while they walked close to the flightline.
"You don't know how rough. But, I wanted to make sure my kid will be safe from the Japanese," Ben said.
Trevor and Ben walked to the airfield.
"Ben," Carl called out from behind them.
They turned around and saw Carl while he ran up to them. "I've been looking all over for you. Some of the guys said they saw you walking toward the flightline," Carl called out.
"Finished with your business?"
"All taken care of. By the way, I chatted with Gunnery Sergeant Sewickley, we should be getting our orders tomorrow," Carl told Ben.
Trevor looked happy while they all walked to the airfield.