Pearl Harbor dramatically changed everything at the Penitentiary.
It was Amos who told him about it, running into the woodwork shop where Charlie was fashioning a toy figurine for William’s son.
‘We can volunteer, Charlie! We can get out of here!’ Amos waved a poster in Charlie’s face. ‘There’s not enough manpower in the services, especially after Pearl Harbor with America joining in the war completely. The Government’s agreed that prisoners who volunteer for the armed forces can have their sentences commuted or be granted parole early.’
‘Oh, my Lord, Amos. That’s our way out. That’s our way out!’
Clutching each other’s arms, they bounced up and down among the woodwork benches, hearing the cheers as the news spread around the prison.
‘What do we do? How do we volunteer?’ said Amos breathlessly.
Charlie knew instantly. ‘I’m going to straight to the Warden. And you’re coming with me.’
They joined the queue that had formed at the Warden’s office door, made up mostly of younger men like themselves. The guards shepherded them half-heartedly along the corridor, clearly wondering how much easier their life was going to be with all the young bloods fighting for their country. Maybe they were even thinking of signing up themselves.
Charlie pushed Amos through the Warden’s door first and waited until he emerged, grinning, before allowing himself a little rush of anticipation. He hadn’t been looking for a way out of prison, of course, but if there was a route that allowed him to be paroled and to serve his country, then he wanted to be one of the first to volunteer.
Finally, he stood before the warden’s desk, only realizing then that he was still clutching the half-chiselled figurine. He shoved it behind him.
‘Warden Kelly, sir, I’d like to volunteer to serve in the armed forces.’
Kelly stared at him bleakly, and Charlie faltered a little.
‘I … I’m in excellent physical condition, sir. I have numerous skills both from my time in the penitentiary and my life on the farm before I came here, especially with engines. I believe I could help out a lot with planes and service vehicles, Warden Kelly. I’m also exceptionally well-educated, all thanks to the many opportunities that I’ve taken here in prison, sir. Just like you said I should. I—?
He stopped short, because the Warden wasn’t responding. He looked pained, with that sad, wearied expression clouding his eyes once more.
‘I’m sorry, son,’ he said eventually. ‘I don’t disagree with a single thing you’ve just said. If it was up to me, I’d say you were the best qualified volunteer of all. The most likely to do his country proud. A young man in the prime of life. But it’s out of my hands, I’m afraid.’
‘What do you mean, sir?’
The warden picked up a circular from his desk, and read it aloud. ‘We are not allowing early release of any prisoners who are serving a life sentence, particularly if their crimes involved murder and especially the murder of law-enforcement officers, regardless of the amount of time already served and irrespective of how good their prison records are.’ Kelly shook his head regretfully. ‘I’m afraid that means you, Charlie.’
‘But Warden Kelly, there must be something you can do.’
Again, the man shook his head. ‘I can’t fight the Federal Government – even when I think they’re wrong.’
And that was how it was to be. Amos left within a few days, along with several of the younger inmates. They shook hands warmly, and promised to write whatever happened to Amos and wherever he may find himself – because Charlie was going nowhere. From then until the end of the war, every time a call went out for volunteers from the prisons, he put himself forward - to no avail.
This became a source of great frustration to him, because all six of his brothers, two brothers-in-law, and many of his fellow prisoners were serving in the various theaters of war. His next youngest brother, who was already in the service when the war started, was serving with Patton in North Africa and Europe; his three oldest brothers volunteered in early 1942, with two serving with the Marines in the South Pacific (where Amos had found himself too) and the other serving with the Army in the European theater. His two youngest brothers volunteered toward the end of the war, after they turned eighteen, and joined the Army in the North Pacific.