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because she used to tell me how she really cared for you a lot of times,
enough times to convince me. And when it comes to that, it takes a lot
to convince me, like with Betty, for instance.
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 87
Jimi wrote that army life hadn t changed his personality much, but
he had learned how to clean up the barracks. He said he looked forward
to seeing Al s new stereo, and that on his visit home he would plan on
bringing photographs he d taken on base. He promised to arrive on
Saturday night if he was able to catch a plane. He ended with words
about his father as sweet as he ever wrote: As long as you re around,
things are perfect for me, because you are my Dear Dad and I ll always
love you . . . always. . . . So with all the love in the world, to Dear Old
Dad, from your loving son, James.
Jimi ended this letter, as he ended most of his correspondence
during the next fewyears, with a small illustration of his Danelectro
guitar. In his letter he referred to an upcoming one-week leave he was
due; he had hoped to be able to fly back to Seattle. The leave was de-
layed and a week later he wrote another letter to say he was still waiting
for official orders. Some people wait two, three, or four days, he ob-
served, others weeks or maybe even months. . . . It gives you a feeling
of time being wasted although it does count. By count, Jimi meant
that each day that passed meant one less day of his three-year commit-
ment. He d been in the service for two months, and he was already
tracking the days until he got out. He did end the letter with some
good news: I qualified as sharpshooter. That s the second highest to
qualify with an M-1 rifle. HowJimi managed this feat is unknown; he
was terribly nearsighted. An army physician had already singled out his
bad vision on his record and had ordered him to get glasses, which Jimi
refused to wear.
On September 1, Jimi finally got permission for his one-week
leave. He took his guitar with him, wanting it in Seattle until he knew
his next assignment. Jimi was unable, however, to afford a plane ticket,
so he took a bus, which meant four of his seven days of leave would be
taken up with travel. When he got off the bus in Seattle, he was freshly
shaved and wearing his dress uniform, including, he was quick to point
out, a blue cord around his sleeve for extra training. He looked so
handsome in that uniform, recalled his cousin Dee Hall. He was
proud to show it off to everyone.
88 C H A R L E S R . C R O S S
His reunions with Al and Leon were both emotional. Al was
proud of Jimi in his uniform, and he noticed that the time in the service
had matured his son. The uniform dazzled Leon, who was also amazed
that his older brother had five dollars to give him. Jimi visited Aunt De-
lores, Dorothy Harding, and a number of old friends from the neigh-
borhood, but the reunion he had most looked forward to was with
Betty Jean. He spent the bulk of his leave with her, or, put less roman-
tically, with her and her parents. He told my parents he was going to
marry me as soon as I got out of school and that I d be an army bride,
Betty Jean recalled. On his last day in Seattle, Jimi gave Betty Jean a silk
pillowcase he had brought her from California. He told her it was the
pillowcase he slept on every night thinking of her, though it was unlikely
any soldier with a silk pillowcase would have been allowed such an in-
dulgence. He wrote on the pillowcase, Love forever, always yours,
James Hendrix, September 7, 1961.
During September, Jimi and Betty Jean exchanged letters almost
every other day. When he missed a few letters in their regular cycle, she
accused him of stepping out on her. You re fooling with someone else
down there. . . . You better write and leave those sapphires alone, or
you just better not come up here to see me. After a couple of fuming
letters like this, Jimi wrote to Al to complain that his girlfriend s emo-
tions change about two or three, sometimes four, times as she writes.
Jimi didn t help his case with Betty Jean when he wrote to tell her he
was so poor her birthday gift would be coming late.
On Halloween, Jimi s long-delayed orders arrived: He had been
assigned as a supply clerk for the 101st Airborne Division in Fort
Campbell, Kentucky. He immediately broadcast this glorious news to
all his correspondents. Al had his own good news: He wrote to say
that Leon was back from foster care, and the two were together. Jimi s
reply noted that he was so glad to hear that his brother and father
were reunited and that he understood what it meant to be lonesome:
That s the way I feel when I start thinking about you, and the rest,
and Betty. Jimi s letter ended with a pledge to try my very best to
make this Airborne for the sake of our name. . . . I ll fix it so the whole
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 89
family of Hendrixes will have the right to wear the Screaming Eagle
patch.
He arrived at Fort Campbell on November 8 and immediately
wrote his father. At the end of the letter, he included his guitar mono-
gram illustration, but added a little parachutist, too. He wrote:
Well, here I am, exactly where I wanted to go. I m in
the 101st Airborne. . . . It s pretty rough, but I can t com-
plain, and I don t regret it . . . so far. We jumped out of
the 34-foot tower the third day. It was almost fun. . . .
When I was walking up the stairs to the top of the tower,
I was walking nice and slow, just taking it easy. There
were three guys that quit when they got to the top of the
tower. You can quit anytime, and they took one look out-
side, and just quit. And that got me thinking as I was
walking up those steps. But I have it made in my mind
that whatever happens, I m not quitting on my own.
Once he was at the top of the tower, the jump-master strapped Jimi
into a harness and pushed him off the tower. Jimi wrote that the cable
snapped like a bullwhip, and he landed on a sand dune.
It was a new experience. There s nothing but physical
training and harassment here for two weeks, then when
you go to jump school, that s when you get hell. They
work you to DEATH, fussing and fighting. . . . They re-
ally make the sparks fly, and half the people quit then too.
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