Ex-PFC Wintergreen

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Ex-Private First Class Wintergreen is a character from Joseph Heller's classic novel, Catch-22.

He is an "ex-P.F.C." because of his constant urge to go AWOL and his constantly getting caught and demoted, at one point reaching the rank of ex-sergeant, he has hopes of one day attaining the rank of ex-General. Every time he went AWOL he would be caught and sentenced to dig and fill holes six feet deep and across in Colorado. He accepts this job, knowing that it's better than being deported abroad, and proclaims that he wishes everyone works as hard as he does for the war effort. Ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen wields a great deal of power in the novel, being responsible for mail distribution. By forging documents and destroying mail, he becomes more powerful than the generals:

Wintergreen determined the outcome by throwing all communications from General Peckem into the waste-basket. He found them too prolix...General Dreedle was victorious by default.

He also competes with Milo's syndicate by selling, among other supplies, stolen Zippo lighters for a penny less. Milo and Wintergreen form a partnership at the end of the book.

In the sequel to Catch-22, Closing Time, Wintergreen is a major character, and it is revealed that his name is Eugene, called Gene for short. This is in keeping with Heller's penchant for rhyming and alliterative names.