Re: Sgt. Bilko

Jay Soule (Jay.Soule@ncal.kaiperm.org)
Fri, 03 Apr 1998 11:33:27 -0800

Wed, 01 Apr 1998 07:23:47 -0500 (EST) Jim aka AntiUtopia wrote:

> Now, the story was told by an American soldier in the first person,
> Holdenesque.  He's telling us about a Sgt. Bilko, an American Army 
> version of the Great Spiritual Leader that we see in other characters 
> like Teddy and Seymour. Now remember, the mag is dated around the time 
> of the apex of WW2.  

Uh-huh.  I see that date header, so should I assume that you're teasing, 
and Salinger did not in fact create a character with the same name as 
Phil Silvers's immortal rascal?  Although I've personally always 
regarded Ernie Bilko as a spiritual leader . . .

   - Jay Soule