Boys of the 1950s - 27. Chapter 27 Ralph’s Story, Part I - Life’s Lesson at Fort Knox

The final eight weeks of Tom’s training was BUT – Basic Unit Tactics. The second eight week session: AIT – Advanced Infantry Training had included advanced training and the introduction to various weapons including automatic rifles, bazookas, hand grenades and flame throwers as well as additional training with gas masks. While AIT focused on the individual BUT stressed team work. The recruits were divided into various teams and participated in maneuvers and war games. Some maneuvers required long hikes and multi-night overnight bivouac (camping).

One evening after a long hike Tom was sharing a tent with Ralph. He was a small boy about 19 years old. His slight body was obviously strong as he carried his combat equipment with ease and never complained as some of the big macho guys did. He always appeared cheerful but rarely joined in guy conversations. Tom thought he was cute and was happy to be tenting with him. Soon after Taps (the bugle call for lights out sounded in the evening) Tom whispered to Ralph who was laying just inches from him in their small army issue pup tent. He quietly told Ralph that he really needed to jerk off and to just ignore him. Ralph replied “No problem.”

When Tom started to stroke in the dark Ralph quietly asked him: “Tom, I noticed in the showers that you are one of the only men with skin over your dick, How does it feel?”

This caught Tom’s interest as he now realized that Ralph enjoyed checking out other guys. He was not surprised that Ralph was checking him out. Actually Tom checked out all the guys in his unit and could probably visualize their dicks better than most of their faces. He was surprised that Ralph would admit to being interested in dicks. Tom leaned into Ralph and replied in a whisper, “I don’t know since I have always been this way. I’ve done some research (actually Peter the scholar had done the research) and discovered my protected head is more sensitive and gives a better feeling during sex than cut dicks. So, how does your cut dick feel.”

Ralph replied, “My cut dick feels good, but this talk is getting me hard. Tom, I want to ask a favor. If you say “No” I will understand and we can forget that I ever asked. May I touch your skin?”

“You may on one condition. That I can touch yours and find out what a cut dick feels like.” If he only knew how many cut dicks I have felt, sucked and been fucked by thought Tom.

In the dark Ralph reached for Tom’s dick and gently played with the skin, rolling it back and forth over the head. Ralph was a very gentle boy and his soft touch sent sparks of ecstasy through Tom’s body. Tom leaned into Ralph and with his mouth touching and licking his ear asked Ralph to stop or he would shoot his load before he had an opportunity to check out Ralph’s. He then warned Ralph that his dick needed daily cleaning and that since he had not had a shower after their long hike sweat would have accumulated under the skin on his head. This sweat could cause a foul cheesy smell. Ralph whispered, “I’m holding my finger to my nose. The smell is strong and manly, nothing like anything I have ever smelled. It seems like the odor is going from my nose to my cock and making it really hard. It is so hard and sensitive that I think that if you touch it, it will explode.”

Tom then reached for his boot that was at the foot of the tent and pulled out a sweaty sock he had worn that day. He put it in Ralph’s hand and said, “Put this sweaty sock over the head of my dick and finish me off.” Ralph gently opened the sock and slid it down about a third of Tom’s dick. He then gently stroked Tom and in seconds Tom was blasting into the sock. He had to hold his fist to his mouth and bite hard on one of his fingers to stop from screaming in joy. Ralph may be inexperienced but he sure had a natural instinct for handling a dick.

Tom then reached for the other sock and slid it over Ralph’s dick head. He then placed one hand tightly over Ralph’s mouth and gently stroked him. Within seconds Ralph was convulsing with pleasure while shooting his load. If Tom had not gagged him he would have woken the entire platoon with his cry of passion. Tom wiped oozing juice from Ralph’s and then his cock. He leaned over and tenderly kissed Ralph on the cheek whispered, “Good night buddy, have sweet dreams.” Luckily troops were required to carry extra sox on marches. Tom’s final thought as he easily fell asleep was that even if he forgot to bring extra sox his feet would enjoy marching in cum infused sox.

The next morning Tom was not surprised at Ralph’s aloofness as most recruits just went through the motions zombie like as they got up prior to dawn to “shave” (their training sergeant required his boys to be clean shaven), “shit”, and have breakfast prior to breaking down the tents and beginning their hike back to the base. The breakfast that day was SOS and coffee. (SOS or “Shit On a Shingle” is ground beef in a white sauce served on toasted bread). While most troops disliked SOS Tom enjoyed it as he did almost all Army food.

By midmorning it was apparent to Tom that Ralph was ignoring him. He assumed that virginal Ralph was conflicted about the event in the tent and assumed Tom thought he was some kind of pervert. Tom also assumed that Ralph was thinking he would expose Ralph’s desire to touch cock to the other recruits. If this happened Ralph at best would be tormented by his fellow soldiers and at worse declared unfit to serve and given an undesirable discharge.

The troops returned to the barracks late in the afternoon and after cleaning their equipment the recruits were able to shower. Tom realized that Ralph was continuing to avoid him and purposely waited for Tom to finish his shower prior to showering himself. In the mess hall (army dining room) Tom sat next to Ralph and said in a normal voice that might be, but probably not heard by others “Hey Buddy, How about joining me for a beer at the PX after dinner. I could sure drink something to relax after those maneuvers in the field the past two days.”

Ralph was trapped. Since there was a possibility that others had heard Tom’s request he could not ignore it. Also he could not say NO without sounding like a wimp (which is what he considered himself) so he just quietly said, “Sure, OK.”

As they walked to the PX Ralph was quiet and sullen. Tom decided he needed a pep talk and lecture. Tom began, “Ralph, I enjoyed what we did last night. It was just two guys doing what comes naturally. I do not regret it. My only concern is that you feel bothered by it. If you want to pretend that it never happened, I can live with that. If you want to experiment some more I can gladly live with that. No matter what I still want you as a friend. I realize outwardly we are very different men. But inside I feel we are very similar. You don’t see me ever hanging out with the loud mouthed, foul mouthed macho jocks. That isn’t me. I like a quiet sincere guy I can talk to. Remember I started our episode last night by stating I was going to jerk off and at the end of our happening I was the one that kissed you goodnight. What happened, happened because I wanted it to. When it comes to sex I do what I want and never do what I do not want. So I’m making it clear that from my viewpoint there is no problem. Now if I encouraged you to do something that you wished you did not do and now regret I apologize. It’s your call: we forget the incident happened or we look back on it as an enjoyable time with a friend. Either way I want to have you as a friend.”

Ralph finally spoke, “You don’t understand. I really enjoyed it. It is all I have been able to think about since you kissed me. I want to grab you right now and hold you, kiss you and play with your beautiful dick. I know I cannot have that. You are married. To you it was just fun with a buddy. For me it was much more. In a way I wish it had not happened because now I know what I am missing. When training is over I will probably go back to the stupid little town in Pennsylvania where I grew up and marry one of the two girls that write me long letters. If I do, I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to be a good husband and father while thinking about what life with a man would be like. I am so fucking confused right now I feel sick.”

“Take it easy friend, as they say: ‘Take this one day at a time.’ What you need are friends who think like you. It is terrible to keep all those emotions bottled up inside you. I am a friend. Unfortunately, we will only be together for five more weeks. However, you may consider me a friend for life and contact me anytime in the future. You do realize you are most likely a “gay” man. Someone who likes their own sex better than the opposite sex. Nothing wrong with that. I have gay friends. They have to keep their gayness a secret from family, neighbors, and their employer. I have one gay friend who is a school teacher. He would lose his job immediately if he were suspected. That is wrong, but that is the way the world turns in 1961. The first step, if you are gay, is to accept yourself as being a gay man. If you cannot accept yourself then how can you expect others to accept you. Once you accept yourself then you can concentrate on finding likeminded friends. Is there anyone in your small town that you think is gay and might be a friend and possibly more?”

Ralph became animated and replied, “Actually there is. His name is Tim and he is 24 , five years older than me. He goes to my church and sings in the choir. His family owns a plumbing supply business where he works, I think in the office. I cannot picture him in a warehouse or advising plumbers. He is tall and handsome with dark hair and big brown eyes. When he wears Levis you can see a definite bulge. I don’t think he dates anyone as I never see him with a girl after church. In our small town anyone in a serious relationship would take his girl to church. He served in the army right after high school and then returned home. I think he lives with his parents.”

“Well” Tom replied. “Seems like this guy is a possible friend. First, let’s consider the worst case scenario. You meet him. You and he go to the movies and out drinking a couple of times. You make a physical pass or verbal suggestion that he finds repulsive. He screams, ‘Get out of my life you fucking, sucking queer fagot.’ He then tells everyone in town you are queer and made a pass at him. So what do you do? Easy, come to Columbus and live with us until you get settled in a new place and find a job. Remember, I am your friend. Or I also have friends in Cleveland who would help you. I am 99.99% sure that will not happen, but if it does, ‘so be it.’ Now that you know you can handle the worst case scenario let’s discuss how to create a possible friendship. Offhand I see two possible routes you could take. One would be to talk to him after church the first Sunday after you return home and tell him you would like to join the choir but am not sure about your voice. Ask him if he would be willing to access your singing ability. This should be an ego builder for him as you are in effect telling him you believe he is a musical expert by making the request. A second approach would be for you to write him a letter now asking his thoughts on returning home after serving in the army. I would be willing to help you write the letter. Give us some time and I am sure we can think of other ways for you to have a meaningful meeting with Tim.”

“Wow” Tom exclaimed, “We walked a long way past the PX. Do you want to go back and have that beer?”

Ralph replied, “Actually, I don’t really drink beer. I would be happy to walk back to the barracks with you my friend (with an emphasis on friend). As they turned around to walk back to the barracks Ralph gave Tom a big grin and bumped shoulders.

Friday afternoon weekend duties were posted and it appeared both Tom and Ralph had no assignments and would be eligible for overnight passes since neither had requested one recently. Actually Ralph had never gone off base since his arrival over 20 weeks earlier. Tom suggested they get passes and get the army out of their systems for at least 24 hours and go to Elizabethtown overnight. When Ralph hesitated Tom told him if it was the cost not to worry. Tom was going with or without a companion and since the cost of the room would be the same for one or two Ralph wouldn’t have to pay. Since they got plenty of food on the base Tom would be happy with snacks and/or cheap hamburgers from White Castle

Saturday they were free to go from noon to 6pm Sunday. They walked to the base gate and found two other guys going to town who agreed to share the cost of a taxi. Tom and Ralph were dropped off at the same cheap motel where he had stayed with Peter. As soon as they entered the room Tom said “I’m going to shower and get the army smell off of me. He stripped naked and went into the bathroom. Coming back into the room after the shower he wore nothing but a towel around his shoulders. He walked over to Ralph who was lying on one of the twin beds. Tom then announced, “It’s your choice, you may check out my dick or we’ll take a walk and see what is playing at the movies.”

With a big grin on his face Ralph replied, “Oh well, since I don’t have enough money for the movies I guess I have no choice but to play with ‘Little Tommy’.” He sat up and reached for Tom’s half hard dick. By the time he had pulled back the skin to check out the moist head Tom was at full mast sticking straight up and very hard. Ralph leaned in and sniffed the moist head. “This smells like soap. I think I prefer the foul smelling cheesy dick head.”

“Give it a couple of hours and you will get the ‘man smell’ although it won’t be rank and cheesy, just macho.” Tom then got on his knees and opened Ralph’s fly and pulled out his hardening dick. He leaned in and sniffed it and then to Ralph’s surprise opened his mouth and swallowed it to the base. “Tastes like a man should. Please, get naked, don’t shower and let’s just explore and play.” With Tom’s help Ralph was naked in seconds. Tom then pushed Ralph onto the bed on his back. He then pushed Ralphs legs apart and kneeled between. Then taking Ralph’s arms he pushed them over his head so that Ralph was spread eagle on the bed with Tom holding his arms. Ralph showed no resistance, just laid back and grinned. Tom then moved Ralph’s left hand to his mouth and gently sucked on each finger. He moved his mouth down Ralph’s arm licking the elbow and then nestled into his sweaty armpit. Knowing how Peter reacted to armpit sucking Tom licked and lightly bit the pit. Ticklish Ralph wiggled and asked Tom to stop. Tom told Ralph to man up and shut up and continued to torment the pit. Tom then moved to the right hand fingers and repeated the licking stopping again at the pit for more torture. Ralph pleaded again telling Tom he would cum if he didn’t stop. This only encouraged Tom. He spit on his finger and began to caress Ralph’s frenulum (the piece of loose skin on circumcised dicks under the head – this area is one of the most sensitive areas of the penis). While caressing Ralphs arm pit with his tongue and stroking the frenulum with his moist finger Tom put his free hand over Ralph’s mouth as he knew the young man would have an intense shooting in seconds. Without having his penis touched other than the special place under the head Ralph began shooting spurt after spurt. Most landed on Tom’s chest as he was leaning over Ralph. A few globs shot as far as Ralph’s chin. Luckily Tom had his hand tightly over Ralph’s mouth as the gagged screams of ecstasy from the recent virgin (other than jacking off alone) would have alerted the neighborhood of his joy. Tom then moved into a kneeling position between Ralph’s legs and slowly stroked himself as a panting Ralph watched. Tom shot his load from the young man’s chest to his nose with a few spurts landing on his lips. Tom then rested on Ralph as their melded bodies oozed with the cum between them. Tom put most of his weight on his elbows and knees so as not to squash the smaller man. He licked his cum from Ralph’s lips. Still holding Ralph he rolled to his side and the two embraced men fell asleep with dick to dick, and chest to chest.

When Tom woke he heard the shower running. He entered the bathroom and stepped into the bathtub. Ralph who was holding a soapy washcloth turned toward Tom and began gently washing him. Tom reciprocated. Soon the boys were clean and both hard. Tom turned off the shower and while still in the bathtub kneeled in front of Ralph. He took Ralph’s dick in his mouth and slowly deep throated to the base. He reached up and put Ralph’s hands on his shoulders as he knew the young man would have another intense cuming and did not want him to lose his balance as he shot his load. Ralph told Tom he should stop as he was cuming soon. Tom reached around Ralph’s ass, held him tight to his mouth and kept on sucking. Soon he felt the throbbing dick blasting a load down his throat. It had been an excellent idea to make sure Ralph had a good grip on Tom’s shoulders as he almost fell from light headiness as he shot his second intense load of the day. Tom stood and kissed Ralph with his cum covered lips. Ralph was at first repulsed and then kissed back shoving his tongue into Tom so as to savor his own cum. Tom then said to his friend, “Please finish me off, I don’t expect a blow job, just a quick hand for total relief”. Ralph got on his knees and with his eyes just inches from the dick began to very slowly stroke Tom pulling the foreskin completely over the head and then pushing it back all the way. Tom moaned, “Please not so slow, you are torturing me, I need to cum.”

Ralph replied, “Shut your mouth you raunchy fagot. If you move or say another word I will squeeze your balls so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week.” He then gently grabbed the balls with his free hand. Ralph’s newfound assertiveness shocked Tom while at the same time excited him.

He replied, “Yes master do as you must, I will obey.” Ralph continued to stroke at a very slow pace. Tom was at the edge but needed just a little more to finish. Ralph, a fast learner, knew exactly what he was doing. Tom then pleaded and Ralph began to squeeze the balls as threatened. Tom stopped his pleading although he was in pain and in a state of pleasure at a level he had never expected with this recent virgin. Ralph, with an intent look continued to very slowly stroke with his eyes and nose almost touching Tom’s shaft. Finally Tom erupted. He became so light headed that he fell while grabbing his tormentor for support. Both landed on the floor of the tub with Ralph covered in Tom’s cum.

As they sat tangled together on the bathtub floor Tom looked in Ralph’s eyes and said, “You bastard, you fucking bastard, you fucking fucking bastard, you fucking fucking fucking bastard.” As Ralph recoiled in terror afraid the bigger and stronger Tom was going to lash out him Tom continued, “You are incredible. You told me you had never had sex with a man until our encounter in the tent last week. Yet what you just did to me no man has ever done, not even my boyfriend Peter or any of the other men and boys I have played with.” Much to Ralph’s relief Tom leaned forward and hugged him not slugged him as he was afraid might happen. “We need to clean up again. Then I am going to take you out and buy us the best steak dinner available in this town. You took care of me. Now I’m going to take care of you. We need all the protein we get from a steak with all the fixings. We need to replenish our bodies for all the energy we have expended in the past hour and all that I hope we use overnight.” The boys once again showered together and washed each other. This time with only semihardons they were able to get dressed and go out.

Meanwhile Ralph was thinking, I wonder what he meant by the comment about his boyfriend Peter and all the other men and boys I have played with.

With an inquiry at the motel office Tom found out the best restaurant in town was about a 30 minute walk to the town center from their motel at the edge of town. This was fine by Tom as he felt he needed to tell Ralph more about his background and sex life. The boy deserved an explanation. The walk back would help with the digestion of the large meal he was hoping to have. Besides a 30 minute walk was easy for these boys who took much longer hikes carrying full army gear and their weapon.

As they began their walk Tom began, “I have never lied to you about my background. However, I did omit significant details that you will agree I would never tell anyone unless I had their total trust. Yes, it is true that I am married to Ann, a beautiful woman. But there is a lot more to the story. This is for your ears only.”

He then proceeded to tell about meeting Peter in his senior year of high school, the discovery that Louise and Ann shared similar interests and the agreement to publically date to hide their secrets. He continued with the years at Kent State and their marriage ceremonies a few months earlier. Their current living arrangements and plans to have children were stated. He told about his friend and confessor, Father McFadden “Sean” as well as his mentor Keith. He withheld details of sexual contacts with these men and other men. By the time they arrived at the restaurant Ralph had heard a true but somewhat edited version of Tom’s life since that fateful day on the band bus in 1955.

“Thank you for sharing your life adventure. You certainly are a lucky guy, as well as handsome, hot and possessing the nicest dick I have ever tasted. You were only two years younger than I am now when all this started. That means it’s not too late for me. Hopefully I will have an equally interesting and meaningful story to tell.” With that Ralph leaned into Tom then kept on walking with a smile on his face.

As soon as they were seated Tom said, “We have two big events to celebrate tonight. First there is your coming out to yourself and second there is the fantastic cuming you help me achieve this afternoon. After the steak dinner topped off with the house specialty, pecan bourbon pie the boys walked back to the motel.

As soon as they entered the room Ralph said, “I want to see your soft dick. I know I will have only a few moments before it gets hard but I would like to play with the skin.” Tom dropped his pants. Unfortunately with just the hint of sex his dick had already started to raise. Ralph did have a brief moment inspecting the half hard dick prior to it standing at attention. The evening started with sex play followed by watching TV. By 9pm they were tired and ready for sleep, or they thought. Naked, they both got into the same narrow twin bed. Twice during the night their sleep was interrupted by Ralph waking and playing with Tom’s dick. Both times they quickly shot their loads with Tom swallowing and Ralph using his hand to get Tom off.

Tom woke in the morning with a warm feeling in his dick. When he opened his eyes he realized Ralph was attempting to suck him off. “That feels good my friend.”

Ralph replied that he wanted to learn to give a great blow job. Tom warned him that he had chosen the wrong guy to practice on. With his larger than average dick Ralph’s learning experience might be difficult. Ralph was persistent and Tom willing. Within an hour with coaching by Tom Ralph had mastered deep throating the entire dick to the base. Tom suggested they take a break. He had noticed a Catholic Church a few blocks away during their walk to the restaurant. He told Ralph he would like to attend the 10:00 mass. He promised the horny neophyte a tasty load after Church. Ralph said he would attend with Tom, his first Catholic mass. Ralph was not attending out of any curiosity about the church but because of his desire to be with Tom, even if it was to a church that his mother would have considered a heathen place.

After mass they quickly returned to the motel for additional blow job practice prior to their noon checkout time.

They were back in the barracks by early afternoon and discussed the wording of a letter that Ralph might send to Tim. The wording of the final draft was agreed on and the following letter was sent to Tim at his place of employment since Ralph did not know his home address. In the small town of Breslau, Pennsylvania the post office would easily find Snodgrass Plumbing Supply, the firm owned by Tim’s family.

Dear Tim: You may not remember me, I am a few years younger than you. Next month I complete my US Army Reserve training at Fort Knox and will be returning to Breslau. I know you completed your reserve training a few years ago and I hoped you might be able to give me some insight on coming back to the community after the army. I feel like I am a different person now and would like to talk to someone who has had the same experience as I. You sing in the Church choir. I thought I might try out for it. It would be helpful if you coached me prior to my audition. If it is OK with you I will call you when I return. Maybe we could go to Smilie’s Bar and share a beer or pop (soft drink). Sincerely, Ralph Woods

Within a week Ralph received a reply.

Dear Ralph: I certainly remember you and your always happy face. Please call me (home phone 555-4321 or work phone 555-8765). Life seemed very different than the life I had before the army. I wish I had had someone to talk to. Nothing major and I am sure nothing that you cannot handle but it is always good to talk about these things with a friend. The world is much bigger than Breslau, Pennsylvania and you realize that more after living elsewhere. Enjoy the last few weeks of the army – ha, ha. If you want to join the church choir, no problem. Just show up. While there are a couple of good voices most have no great singing talent. I go to choir practice Thursday evening since there is not much else to do in this town. Staying home watching TV with my parents is not the high point of my life. Please call me. I’ll take you up on the bottle of pop at Smilie’s I am not much of a beer drinker. Your Friend, Tim

Ralph was ecstatic when he received the letter. Tim remembered him. Tim wanted to talk to him. Tim called him ‘your friend’. He showed the letter to Tom who shared his exhilaration. Tom said, “Wow, you have yourself a friend. And since he is 25 and lives with his parents and to your knowledge has never been seen with a girl you might have a man friend that can make you happy. Take it easy on that. You do not want to scare him away. I’m so happy for you. I would like to give you a big hug but instead will just smile. Let’s go have a beer or pop to celebrate.”

Unfortunately, the boys were unable to get an off base pass at the same time during their final weeks of training. However, most Sundays they were free and took long walks around the base searching for a secluded spot. They found a ‘spot’ and Ralph practiced his blow job technique that really needed no improvement as he was a very willing and quick learner. Tom would pull out his slightly sweaty dick with the aroma that Ralph cherished. Just the thought of Ralph’s sweet mouth usually had him hard before they arrived at the ‘spot’. Ralph would get on his knees and would swallow Tom’s dick to the base. He would roll the skin with his tongue, move up and down the shaft and sooner than he wanted swallow Tom’s cum. While sucking Tom he would jack his own dick and blast his load simultaneously with or immediately after Tom’s cuming. They completed the event in about three minutes. The consequences of being caught were grave so they just did it fast. One Sunday as they approached their ‘spot’ they heard a commotion in the bushes. Peering around a tree they saw one of their barracks mates fucking a girl. Both were full dressed. She was on her knees and he was pumping her doggie style from behind. Her dress was pushed up and he had his pants on with his dick sticking out of the fly. The boys crept away and cautiously returned about 30 minutes later. The couple was gone. They had left a cum filled rubber on the ground.

Their last day at Fort Knox was very emotional. Both boys were anxious to get home to his love one in Pete’s case and new friend in Ralph’s case. They gave each other ‘manly’ hugs as they separated on their last day together in the army.