This particular day, Hughie was waiting to see the general, and as he was "only" a LCDR, the colonel was giving him a hard time.
Hughie stood at attention while the colonel looked for something wrong with his uniform. He was holding his breath because he realized his tie was still tied in a civilian manner, not the military manner. He had not untied his tie, but had loosened it and pulled it over his head, and put it back on the morning, as is.
This is what he remembered while the colonel was giving him the evil eye.
Notice I wrote "evil eye," not "evil eyes." This particular colonel had lost his eye many years previously. He was notorious for having many different "eyes" he wore.
As Hughie was given the head-to-toe looking over, the colonel missed the tie. He didn't know why or how, but the Colonel had missed it.
Hughe was starting to sigh in relief when the Colonel looked him in the eye from inches away. What he saw made him smile, then laugh - for which he got the tongue lashing the Colonel wanted to give him. What did Hughie see? The Colonel, for his glass eye, had an American flag. That must have been quite a sight to see!
Clearing up a detail: Hughie, as you know, was in the Navy. The ranks "general" and "colonel" are NOT Navy ranks. In Vietnam, Hughie worked for General Westmoreland as the Navy liaison, so he worked with the Army very closely.
