A possibly apocryphal tale that was related to me from a forgotten source.

Roughly twenty-five years ago, South African men were conscripted into the army shortly after leaving school. These men mostly went to fight the communists in Namibia. Since many men did not want to fight, some tried to find ways of being discharged from the army on medical grounds. And so we have one young soldier in particular, whose name is lost in the mists of time and constant retelling of a story.

From his first arrival at camp for basics, he asked for marshmallows. Not just marshmallows from the commissary, which of course did not have, he wanted his marshmallows. It drove the drill-sergeant up the wall, of course, since it was clear that he was seeking a discharge for mental health reasons. Throughout the following weeks that the men spent training to be soldiers, our recruit asked, constantly, if anyone had seen his marshmallows, or knew where they were. It might have been funny if it wasn't so repetetive.

At breakfast, he asked for marshmallows. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would ask the drill-sergeant if he knew where his marshmallows were. Throughout the day, and throughout his training, he asked everyone for his marshmallows.

And then, one night, just near the end of his training, he managed to get hold of a few friends on the outside, and had a small truck filled with marshmallows make a delivery at the base. Not just at the base, however. This delivery went directly outside the drill-sergeants tent.

And so, first thing in the morning, the drill-sergeant stepped outside, to find our recruit sitting in a huge mound of marshmallows, gleefully eating them in handfuls. A small truck can hold a surprisingly large number of marshmallows, and all of them (save the ones that had been eaten), were sitting around our recruit, just next to the drill-sergeants tent, in a big, fluffy, pink and white pile.

The recruit turned to the sergeant, and said "Look, sarge, I found my marshmallows!"

Our recruit was discharged and on his way home less than two hours later.