Loma Parda was nothing more than a dance hall, a bar, and a few small buildings that each held one bed and one prostitute. Apparently the village's temptations were too strong for many of the 7th Infantrymen to ignore. "I went to Loma Parda for my overcoat, which I had left there," wrote Michael Patton. "A few of my friends asked if I would like to have something to drink. I said yes. I
got into a house where I thought my overcoat was and got a drink. I didn't know anything for ten hours. When I woke up, my money was gone. Then I started home." Patrick McKenney was convicted of being absent without leave for five days. As an excuse, he offered, "I had the D.T.s." Jeremiah Nolan, Patrick O'Brien, Edward O'Brien, Michael Smith, and John Marks were convicted of being AWOL for two days. James Lloyd, tried for the same offense, explained, "I went to Loma Parda on Sunday and intended to come right back, but met some of the boys and got drunk. When I got sober,I came back." Corporal Robert Walsh got drunk and released several men imprisoned athe fort. Each of the convicted visitors to Loma Parda were sentenced to three months of hard labor while wearing a 12-pound iron ball attached to the left ankle by a four-foot chain. |
