The Private War of Major Benson

Tough Major Bernard R. Barney Benson works his troops mercilessly, repeating often that Army men are weak and must be pounded into shape. When his words are printed in Newsweek magazine, Major General Wilton Jim Ramsey informs Barney that, despite his heroic record, he cannot save him from severe punishment for publicly maligning the troops. In order to escape a dishonorable discharge, Barney is forced to accept a commission as commandant of the failing Sheraton Military Academy in Santa Barbara, California. There, Barney is discomfitted first to learn that the school is a Catholic institution, and then to discover that the cadets range in age from only six to fourteen years. During his first morning at the school, Barney finds himself attracted to resident doctor Kay Lambert. Kay and Mother Redempta, however, assume he is a drunkard when groundskeeper John finds in his room an empty bottle of Scotch, which Barney had actually poured out so that he would not drink it in a place of God. The next morning, Barney watches as Cadet Colonel Sylvester Dusik leads the students in a slipshod procession, after which Mother Redempta gives Barney a tour and urges him to use his "fatherly influence" to shape the boys's souls. Although Barney later parrots these words to Kay in order to impress her, she rebuffs him after noting his rough treatment of six-year-old Cadet Thomas "Tiger" Flaherty. Within days, Barney has introduced the same strict training methods he has used with adult ...

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