Bilko

Ernest G. Bilko was a Master Sergeant in the US Army, he mostly worked in the motor pool, although he did serve in China, New Guinea, Marianas Island, Kabuchi Island, Saipan and France. His military career was occasionally blemished and as far as I can make out he could still be in the guardhouse with fellow servicemen Corporals Henshaw and Barbella as pictured above. Mostly served under Colonel John T. Hall, who occasionally went by the nickname Melonhead. More memorable parts of his career include defending a chimpanzee under court martial, managing to get the whole of his army camp moved to an old disused camp under the misguided belief that it was built on a gold mine, taking bets on how many twitches a guest speaker would make whilst giving a lecture, almost convincing the US army to make their uniforms out of potato sacks and lots of other shenanigans. Bilko's army career at Fort Baxter and Camp Fremont was documented in 142 episodes of The Phil Silver's Show which was first televised in 1955.