All I Did Was Salute; He Shouldn't Have Said that

He read his Bluejacket's Manual every night before he went to bed, because he was a good boy and he was in the Navy. And when he walked out on the street in his nice blue uniform of the Naval ROTC he saluted just everybody, because he loved the Navy.

But even a good thing can be carried too far, even a wonderful glorious thing like giving with snappy salutes to everybody but a theatre usher.

So one night he trips boyishly through the Common and says a Lieutenant (j.g.) lolling coeducationally on a park bench. So like it says in the book, he salutes, cheerfully, willingly, and briskly, no piker he. So the j.g. unwinds his wary arm and returns our hero's eager "good evening, sir" with a cheerful, willing, briks "?&*--!!!"