Hysterical Journey to Historic Places

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DEDICATION



The Hysterical Journey to Historic Places is dedicated to the fond remembrance of Alan Dail Markum.



I only knew him for a short while many years ago in the army. We were in the same platoon in D-4-4 during Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lenard Wood, MO between November of 1967 and January of 1968. Alan had just graduated with honors from law school and had joined the Oklahoma Army Reserve in order to avoid the draft and a tour of duty in Vietnam. That sort of thing normally enraged those of us in the regular army, but Alan had such a wonderful personality that he was forgiven and actually became a sort of beloved mascot among us. He had a peculiar gait, and it was painfully difficult sometimes for him to walk far so we began calling him Chicken Legs. Some of us kids needed a little nurturing that Alan was happy to supply being a few years older and much wiser. He was sometimes called Mutha Markum for doing so.



After training none of us ever saw him again. He returned to Oklahoma and married a girl named Janice that he fondly called ”Little Bird” and they raised two children together; Seth and Sara. Alan eventually became a judge in the Indian Court.



He passed away in 2001 and it seems likely that Saint Peter, while thumbing through Alan’s dossier at the Portal of Heaven, would have been surprised to learn that he was a soldier and a fully certified heavy equipment operator.



Through the intervening decades Alan has remained the smartest, funniest and most engaging man I ever met. God bless you Alan, you were a joyful friend.

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Photos

CHICKEN LEGS
Alan is at rest in Section E of the Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Section E is on the west side of Hwy 54.

AIT
Alan is on the left in the front row. I am on Alan's left in the front row. Those guys in the back are Jimmy Wallace and Mark Thobe. Jimmy was our platoon guide.