I Was The Richest Private

This is a tough story to write because of my beliefs and my patriotism. However, it is one I feel I need to write. I hope I am not judged too harshly, but I understand if you do. Sometimes we read things and say that isn’t true, or they made that up. This is a true story.

I have lived a very active, action-packed and adventurous life. I have done a lot of stupid things because I was young, dumb or just plain stupid at the time. As you will read in this story you will know that I was young and made a mistake.

After I had reported to Fort Hood, Texas in 1978, I was getting into a routine with my army life. I would get up at 4 a.m. every morning and do a five-mile platoon run. Then come back to my room and take a shower and go to work. After work I would come back to the room and do 200 push-ups then take a shower and go to the mess hall to get something to eat.

My life was boring. I was 19, single and did not have a car. If I wanted to go off base I had to ask someone to give me a ride or catch a bus. I was at the mercy of public transportation.

I only made $600 a month as a private E-1 in the army. However, I got free food, free medical, free dental and a room with two other men. Each man had a bed, 1 wall locker, 1 desk with a chair and that was it. There was a round table with three chairs in the middle of the room which was our common area. There was no television or radio in the room. One of my roommates had a stereo and he would play music, and this kept us all sane.

My roommates were Richard Schmelz from Lake City, Florida, and Jose Sanchez from Juarez, Mexico. They didn’t pay much attention to me during that first month in the room. We just stayed out of each other’s way. Both men had been in the army for more than three years and were still privates because they had been in trouble and got demoted more than once. I found this out later.

I was all gung-ho, wanted to work hard, get promoted, make sergeant, and become a squad leader. I was very passionate about the army and enjoyed the army life. Apparently, Schmelz and Sanchez were not so gung-ho and hated the army and could not wait to get out. I knew the military was not for everyone and it was a different kind of life and could be hard at times. Especially during the holidays when you are away from your family and you want to be home.

So, I was gliding through army life as a poor private and felt like I was doing my patriotic duty for God, Country and Family. I was naïve about some things in life. I didn’t drink alcohol, or do drugs, or even say a cuss word.

However, my boring mundane life was about to take a different course. As I came in from work one day I noticed Schmelz and Sanchez were already in the room and they both just stared at me. Then there was a knock on our door. Sanchez rushed to the door and received a package that was wrapped in white paper and looked like a square cake. He sat the package on the table in the common area. He looked at Schmelz and they both turned and looked at me.

Suddenly, Schmelz came near my wall locker and asked me, “Do you smoke pot?”

I said, “No.”

He looked at Sanchez, then looked at me again and said, “Do you care if we do?”

I said, “No.” I noticed they both kept looking at the package but neither one of them would touch it. Then they both sat down at the table and just looked at the package and then looked at me.

Sanchez said, “Do you know what is in this package?”

I said, “No.” Then they both looked at me again.

Then Schmelz said, “It’s a pound of pot.” I said, “Okay.”

They were being cautious because in the army there are undercover personnel that work for the Criminal Investigation Command (CID). This agency is responsible for conducting felony-level criminal investigations involving army personnel and assets worldwide.

They thought I might be a CID investigator. They both asked me if I worked for CID and I said, “No.” At the time I did not even know what that was or what it meant.

So, Sanchez asked me if I cared if they opened the package and I said, “No, I don’t care.” As I was changing my clothes I noticed they both opened the package, and it was a pound of red-haired sinsemilla. This was known as “Creeper Weed” and gave a slow high that lasted a while longer than some marijuana.

It was developed in the 1970’s by a Mexican Drug Lord. Most pots had a THC index of 1.6 percent, but this weed had a 6 percent content of THC and became very popular because of the effects it had on people.

I learned all of this from Sanchez. He was from Mexico and apparently had dealt with this before joining the army.

This all took me by surprise that two men would receive a pound of pot in an army barracks. However, this had been going on for a while and Sanchez would pull out a small scale and a box of baggies. He would then weigh a quarter ounce and put it in a baggie and continue until he had 64 baggies, each one a quarter ounce.

I asked them what they were going to do with the pot, and they said, “We are going to sell it.

I said, “Where?”

Sanchez said, “Right here in the room.”

I said, “What?”

Then Schmelz said, “Yes, we are going to sell it tonight from the room.”

I did not know what to think of this because if they got caught people would think I was in on this too. I started getting nervous. Then they both said, “Don’t worry, it will be alright.”

Well, around 5:30 that evening there was a knock at the door. Sanchez answered it and I heard him say yes. Then he got a quarter ounce of pot and handed it to the soldier, and he gave Sanchez $25 and left. This went on for about four hours and all the pot was gone! I could not believe my eyes. These guys were selling pot right out of the barracks! They made $1600 in four hours! That was more than I made in two months.

I was devastated. This is not why I joined the army. I didn’t know what to do. I sure was not going to be a rat though and report them. However, I was afraid I would get caught and lose my career with them.

This went on for the next four weeks and they made a total of $6400 in one month. Sanchez had a supplier in Mexico who would transport the pot to Northern Texas and then he would meet them and bring one or two pounds to the barracks and sell it! I could not believe this was happening, but it was!

I came in from work and I was trying to save enough money to buy a car. Sanchez and Schmelz both just stared at me and did not say anything for a while. I could not figure out what was going on.

Then Sanchez said, “Would you like to make extra money?”

I said, “What do I have to do?”

He said, “Well, if you sit here and sell two pounds for me on a Friday night, I will give you $1200.

I said, “Well, how do I know who to sell to?”

He said, “Don’t worry, the only people coming to the door will be my regular customers.”

I thought oh my God! That is two months pay for just sitting here handing someone a baggie and taking money. Now you see, here is where the stupid comes in. I said, “Yes.” So, that Friday night I sold two pounds of pot right out of my barracks while Sanchez went to Austin to the disco and Schmelz did his thing.

Sanchez was a player! He would go to the discos in Austin every weekend and come back with a naked photo of the woman he had slept with that weekend. He had about 30 photos of naked women hanging in his wall locker and these were polaroid photos, so they were actual women he had slept with that weekend.

Well, like a sucker, I did this for several weeks until I had enough money to buy a car. Then I went to Killeen, Texas, the town right off the base and I bought a used 1977 Plymouth Volare with 12,000 miles on it. It was a six cylinder 225 with a three speed on the floor. It was a car a grandmother would drive, but it was my car. My payments were $119 a month. It was the first car I ever bought on my own without any credit.

I was buying clothes and started going to the 440 Light Club, a disco right outside the base in Killeen. I really liked the disco, and I would go and dance every weekend. I had a friend that would go with me, but he was all rock and hated disco. I bought myself a purple crushed velvet suit with a lime green big-collared shirt to impress all the women at the disco. Man, I was living large.

Then one day, I came home from work and there was Sanchez. He looked at me kind of weird for a moment and said, “I have a proposal for you.” I thought to myself, oh no what is this going to be. He asked me if he could borrow my car and take it to Mexico and bring back some pot. He told me that I would drive it there across the border, but I could not go with him to load the car.

That stupid alarm should be going off right now! So, I said, “Yes.” He told me about how this whole thing would go down and he was exactly right. I knew he had done this before, so I thought it must be safe. He told me they were going to take the inside back panels off my car and put 17 pounds of pot behind the panels. He told me if I were to do this, he would give me $8,000!

I had not made that much money in a year! So, off we went to Mexico. He said, “You will be taken by some men, and they will blindfold you and you will have to wait until the car is loaded, then they will take you to the car. Don’t take off the blindfold.”

Sanchez sat down with me and told me the border patrol will stop you at Falfurrias, Texas, but they will not search the car. However, once you go through the checkpoint, they will let you get about three miles down the road and they will come running up beside you. They will look over at you. Do not sweat! You look right back at them, and don’t turn your head until they do. You must be very cool. If they see one drop of sweat on your forehead, they will stop and tear your car apart.

So, I bought me some mirrored shades to wear coming back across the border. We went across the border to Mexico, and they loaded my car. I sat with a blindfold on not knowing if I was going to be shot or killed at any moment. I could only hope Sanchez would not do me wrong or it would turn out very bad for me.

I was young, stupid and a risk-taker, so, here I was. They brought the car back, and I drove it across the border. Sanchez was in his car following about five miles back until we got past the checkpoint. Then he would come up and get behind me and follow me back to Fort Hood.

Everything went as planned and just like Sanchez said. The border patrol came up to me, and I just stared back at him until he went on. I was as cool as a cucumber.

Sanchez and I sold the 17 pounds of pot, and I got my money. After it was all done, I made approximately $10,000! I was the richest private at Fort Hood!

After that, I decided I did not want to sell pot any longer because I knew my days would be numbered. Schmelz would still help Sanchez sell occasionally, but they cut back on what they were selling.

However, Sanchez made a trip to Mexico and brought back five pounds of pot in his car. He had gotten drunk and forgot about the pot in the car. That night, the military police brought German Sheperd dogs into the parking lot to see if they could pick up the scent of any drugs. They would do this sometimes. After all that Sanchez had done, he only had three months left in the army, and that night the dogs alerted the military police to his car. They made Sanchez open the trunk, and they found the pot.

When I heard this news, I was scared that Sanchez would rat me out. However, he did not. Even Schmelz was worried, but Sanchez did not rat him out either.

Sanchez was arrested and taken to the stockade until his trial came up. He was busted to private E-1, given a Dishonorable Discharge, and was sentenced to five years in prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, hard labor.

A few weeks later, Schmelz got drunk and got into some kind of trouble. He was busted to a private E-1 and given a Dishonorable Discharge from the army.

And in the end, I was promoted to sergeant and made a squad leader over third squad. I was very discombobulated over what I had done in the army. That was not why I joined the army. I was very disillusioned for a long time. I was very patriotic about what I was doing, and then I met these guys.

I was 19 years old, young, and stupid. And yet, had been the richest and luckiest private at Fort Hood, Texas.