Mule or a Donkey?

By Tom Remington

Back during WWII, Virgil and Howard of Andover were both stationed together at the Naval Base in Pearl Harbor. As one might imagine, neither one of the two men had too many smarts and at times it was difficult for their superiors to find them something they could do. When they did, it was almost always done together.

One day while Virgil and Howard were sitting around waiting for something to do, a call came into the First Class Petty Officer in charge of the two men. The caller was looking for someone to help in the disposal of one of the base mules that had taken sick and died. Virgil and Howard were perfect for the job.

The two men loaded the dead mule into a cart and hauled it down to the far end of a field. It was a hot day and Virgil and Howard worked slowly but steadily at digging a hole in the ground big enough to bury the mule in. As they dug, they began to argue with each other about whether or not the animal they were going to bury was a mule or a donkey. The more they argued the louder they got until a passing military officer overheard their yelling. The military office happened to be the base Chaplin and he quickly approached the two men to break up the fighting. The Chaplin asked Virgil and Howard what they were arguing about and when they told him, the Chaplin replied, "Well, you see, gentlemen, there is a very simple answer to your problem. If you read your Bible you will discover that the Lord calls these animals an ass!"

Satisfied, that the two simple men had resolved their disagreement, the Chaplin went on his way. About a half hour later the two men were nearly finished digging a big enough hole to bury the "ass" in, when along came the base Commander who quickly asked them, "Good morning gentlemen! What are you digging there a "fox hole"?"  Virgil came right back to the Commander, "Not according to the Chaplin"!