In Washington: Missionary

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Starting this month, Yasenak will be working at his brigade headquarters near San Francisco. "I have mixed emotions," he says. He leaves proud that none of his volunteers have complained, including people the Army has booted out. His single major regret, it seems, is the gang of Palauans who got away. Palau is a Micronesian island administered by the U.S. The 20 attended college in town, and all of them were ready to join up. The Army said no. Remembering, Yasenak has a mischievous, rueful glint. He very much liked the idea of giving the Army 20 Palauan privates from Walla Walla, Wash. "That," he says, "might have deserved a medal." —By