I quickly threw my arms into the air. My hands faced outwards showing I was empty handed and disarmed. Bullets whisked by my fingers and palms, but I held them high and steady. A few torturous seconds ticked by before the richoque of bullets ceased. I counted ten seconds before I moved forward leaving the wall I used for shelter. "STOP! Please... stop!" My voice shook, I wanted to cry. Right in front of me was a young boy, he mustn't have been much older than 6. Blood spilt from his nose and the corners of his mouth. It caked as as it mixed with the dirt and mud settiling over the porbably still warm body. A few tears jercked and dropped but still, I stood defiantly. "WHY?!" I half yelled, half cried, my hands still in the air "Why, …show more content…
I was expecting to be filled with rounds of lead and metal, yet I stood unscathed. I turned to my men. All looked shell shocked, I was standing up to a group of Daesh without flinching. I knew full well they couldn't understand me, but I wasn't doing this anymore. Men were trapped with no way out. To either side were skyscrapers, no doubt filled with booby-traps, and the remaining sides were filled by daesh troops. We were gone, none of these soldiers were going home and I didn't even have the heart to tell …show more content…
And so are all these men! My men!" Another translation came from the Arabic man, but this time two of my men stood, standing there defiantly. "Maybe before I die I could make you see reason!" More men stood with me "I believe in peace! We all do! Why don’t you?! I'm certain you all have or had families of your own, well so do I! I'm never going to see them again..." Tears now streamed down my face as I thought of my family, but my voice remained strong and powerful. There was one soldier left. He was curled up against a wall and looked amazingly young. Only 18. Poor sod. I thought to myself. His once green eyes were now bloodshot and bulging. He didn't want to die, not today. "Because of your meaningless killing none of these fine troops will ever see their families again. That rests on your shoulders!" I let the comment settle in " The death of hundreds rests of your heads! Now you can live with a few more!" "Fuck all of you! Every last one!" My men chimed in. All shouting insults or firing rude and inappropriate gestures. The daesh needed no translation, they knew exactly what we meant. They all looked stunned. Even the young soldier had joined in flipping off the enemy
On the first day of battle, many soldiers were sent in to the area between our land and our enemy’s land, what we call “no man’s land”. It was muddy and the tanks were unable to make it through, leaving our men vulnerable. So many men died that I began to lose hope that I could ever return back home alive.
It was 115 degrees; the platoon was walking through the middle of the desert each of them with 40 pounds of gear on and an M16A2 rifle. It was summer time in the country of Afghanistan and the temperature was rising. At this point I asked myself what the hell I am doing here and why did I join the United States Army? Right when I was thinking that I felt a tug on my leg and there stood a young boy about 7 years old with only one arm, “Candy,Candy” he asked. Upon speaking with the local villagers we found out that his arm was taken from an improvised explosive device (IED) planted
He quickly dressed, grabbed his sword, and ran outside ready for action. Then he finally heard what people were shouting about. The British captured his family. He immediately rushed to the general’s tent, burst in it, hollering, “We must save them!” He saw with shock that the general’s pistol was on him. “Oh, it’s you,” said the general setting down his gun. “Now what’s all this about saving who and doing what?” he said. “My wife! And children!” Matthew gasped trying to catch his breath. “Why? What has happened?” the general inquired. “The redcoats have taken my family captive and I need permission to lead a rescue mission,” stated Major Matthew. “Granted!” barked the general, “Matthew! Get them home.” Matthew smiled and sprinted out of the tent calling to his men to prepare for battle and on the double. Five minutes later his men were in a diamond formation awaiting orders. “Innocent people’s lives are at stake,” roared Matthew, ”As a matter of fact my family’s lives are stake and they are being held hostage by the vile lobster-backs. I would ask you to follow me to save them and I would be forever in any man’s debt if he comes and fights for me. Who is with me!” he shouted. Matthew was surprised that not only all of his men cheered, but that 300 more voices around him also bellowed out. Recovering from his shock he said, “ We
We all had a branding on our wrist with our number and the Nickname they gave us they put us through combat.. Training. Saying that they want Us to become the first kid teenager army training kids to become killers for the next combat missions.
As he maneuvers through he thinks not only of his fate, but also of how, “it should protect me, and especially as Death himself lies in it too7.” The brave soldier realized death could come at any moment, and it is practically lying right next to him. The young troop has become aware and vulnerable to death, just like the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iran. Because soldiers witness the physical traumas of other man or themselves their lives are never the same at home. The mentally struggling soldiers often rub off on their family, affecting them as a whole.
You good?” …, Fuck you Garza, on the other side of the MRAP (34). This conversation shows that within the military although a soldier that maybe of a lower ranking makes the kill the entire battalion is congratulated especially the leader which in this case is the Corporal. Rankings are extremely therefore soldiers who are higher in status are expected to behave a certain way in “Redeployment” the soldier discusses how “ it s not easy to kill people” and how killing people is “professional” (Klay 3). Therefore it surprises the soldiers when they find an insurgent whose been hit with a 7.62 and the “XO walks up palls out his KA-BAR and slits his throat.
Blind to the truth of what really happens. It’s times like this where I am forever grateful for the experience I have already been faced with gruesome events. Yet that hateful feeling of dread continues to tower over me each and every day. It’s challenging to recall what it was like for me the first I set foot on the battle field, as it seems like a lifetime ago. I suppose that I have lived a lifetime in these trenches. I wish that with every enemy I shoot it shall not say with me. A constant reminder of our sacrifices, I’m on edge as it feels like a continuous want for death. Bewildered as to when it will strike again shaken by the fact that it could be me carried away, or left in the barbarous
He shouts opening fire on the unsuspecting Germans. A silent pulse and four soldiers lie on the ground every living cell shut down dead. Headlights and more soldiers are coming up the road. A brilliant spotlight struck his face,
When the helicopter landed, I was the first out. I was greeted by a small, scrawny man holding a clipboard, one of the paper-pushers as the Sergeant in charge of leading us called them - they didn’t fight, they only made sure supplies got where they needed to be - and that nothing was missing. The moment we got off, shots began to ring out. I had no idea what to do, I didn’t know from where the bullets were coming. The tree line to the north was empty, the citizens were running for cover - my brother was already dead - and he hadn’t even exited the helicopter. I realized who was shooting now.
I had felt depressed during the parts that a lot of emotion was shown and it was clear how much pain each one of the soldiers had felt. Some parts that this could be seen was, “Cut Lemon was dead. Rat Kelly had lost his best friend in the world. Later in the week he would write a long personal letter to the guy’s sister, who would not write back, but for now it was a question of pain,”(79). This had made me depressed because his situation was almost relatable. The emotional pain that he felt was clear, and there was an imprint left from it. It was possible to feel the same pain that he had felt. The amount of sorrow and loss that he had all in one week would be too much for anyone to handle. Another part that I had felt depressed
Having arrived around noon, there were several hours to fill between when we finished making our arrangements and when we were to be transported to town. The soldiers were super personable and excited to have a diversion. As a couple of them were trying to learn English, when they figured out I was an American they were delighted to have an opportunity to practice. I spent a couple of hours sitting on rocks at the edge of the ramp and simply talking with them in order for them to practice their conversational skills. At one point during the day, two
I ran instinctively towards the enemy, without fear, without worry. I saw an enemy; he was wearing a brown shirt. Wait, wasn’t that my uniform? I looked down, it was grey. With that information it was a reasonable enough to shoot. Bang! His head had a hole bigger than my fist; it was like a glass you could see through. I felt no remorse, he wasn’t my ally. Shots were exchanged rapidly. Each bullet flew faster than a plane, ending life as we know it. Onwards we marched into the calamity, me and my squad. I looked carefully at each face; I didn’t recognise who these people are. I looked at their name tags, I couldn’t even read it. It was in a different language, was it in German? I don’t remember them... What is going on? Before me there was an ambitious beast, the M4 Sherman. My squad got demolished by a hail of bullets from the beast. My heart
the war was out of shape, hurt, dying, and remembered how this battle started and how
“‘You do not appreciate, comrade, the mighty thing that we have done. The enemy was in occupation of this very ground that we stand upon. And
Once I had regained my energy I began to get up, with the pillow covering my face. From there, I ran as fast as I could to the bed to fight the one everyone feared. When I felt the bed I jump as high as I could to leap into action. As I was in the air, I felt in winds of success hit my face. This feeling changed drastically when I felt the cushion of his