Erickson: A Short Story

Hillenbrand aims the story towards anyone with a military backgroud or someone who is fond military survival stories. Hillenbrand references many WWII figures, places, techniques, or objects that people without knowledge of WWII or wars in general may not understand. This book could also be intended for anyone who is looking to gain determination or hope of their

The readers of the article “Liberating the First Nazi Camp,” an interview with Jim Martin, WWII veteran will begin to understand the personal hardships that service members experienced through the war. In the given article the reader can begin to see just how bad the conditions where for people that opposed the Third Reich, and where thrown into these concentration camps. The interview also show the haste that the Nazis would get into when the Allied forces, leaving helpless victims in the gas chambers, hastily executing them via machine gun, and even storing the remains in warehouse to be disposed of at a later time. The article also shows a more human side of the rough and tough solider who literally had to do this depressing job every single

If you have ever been in one of the branches of services then you know that it will not be good news when people in uniform come to your house. Two people in uniform come to Justin’s house which is where most of the setting takes place (top row, middle picture). “Soldiers at the door could only mean one thing…..Kyle.” “What had happened to him? Had he been hurt (pg.9)”?

Don’t leave me here alone.’ The narrator simply shakes him off and moves on. The soldiers have been trained like beasts and they have been dehumanised; they have been taught that no life is to be spared. Death is now the norm and they have been desensitized to it. The narrator relates an incident where he volunteers for a raid on the German trenches. He experiences much trauma; he kills a soldier, Karl. Karl’s death is terrible- the bayonet is trapped in Karl and eventually the narrator has to shoot him. When he returns to the trenches with two German prisoners he tries to suppress what has happened: ‘It is better not to think’. The narrator knows that he would indubitably go insane if he thinks about his action. Karl’s death epitomizes the fact that soldiers on both sides are killed in horrific way for no discernible reason. There is definitely nothing glorious or heroic about war.

In the book,”Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10”, Marcus Luttrell recreates what happened to him and Seal Team 10 during Operation Redwing in order to help preserve the events that transpired during the mission and to aswell honor the men who lost their lives while operating within it.

It seemed like ages before he was free. He ran back towards the British line, expecting at any moment to feel a bullet rip through him. Then, out of the blue, a single shot rumbled across the dormant battlefield. Ed spun around just in time to see the German commander’s pistol smoking. The machine gunner who had spared his life was slumped over, motionless.

Colonel J.D. Magnus was the commander of Camp Edwards in Massachusetts when the event hit that Saturday night which seemed like an eternity ago. Camp Edwards is or was an Army National Guard training area, the largest in the northeast. Like many National Guard and Reserve components throughout the nation it was the time of year that they held two week drills constantly on post by various units. On the night of the event the camp was at its maximum capacity as far as units on two week drill. Some of the units had been in the field for two weeks already and were returning to garrison to clean and turn in vehicles, tents, weapons and other gear. There were also new units arriving to start their two week drill.

It was now the sunday morning of December 7, 1941, where many military personnel had a time of leisure. Many of them either were still sleeping, in halls eating breakfast, or getting ready for church. I who had been in the mess hall having breakfast sat with a group of men, enjoying a warm bowl of oatmeal and coffee. As I took a sip of coffee I felt all my muscles awaken and gain strength ready for what this day would bring me. It was just another day of work, or that is what we all thought. The hall was full of cheerful men laughing, talking, and eating. All of a sudden we heard the sounds of planes racing through the thick air, and the crowd of people grew silent. I looked around as everyones faces grew with fear and confusion, as they ran outside to see what was going on.

Erickson and Pfc Smith were both in long battles but each survived in a differnt ways. Mr. Erickson battle took place in the rice paddy on the other hand Pfc Smith's battle took place in hill 191. In stop the sun Mr. Erickson said, ”We were crossing the rice paddy and it was dark,still dark, so black you couldn’t see the end of your nose.”Pfc Smith said, “Of the 200 or more men in Item Company that occupied Hill 191 only 21 survived” Mr.Erickson had to hide trough the night but also Pfc had to hid trough the night. “Crawled to the side and found Jackson only...the were both in long battles but each survived in a different ways.top part, and i hid under him and waited and..” According to Pfc Smith “I was digging a hole to mount a machine gun when a shell landed close and showered me with dirt i was literally buried.” As a result Mr. Erickson nor Pfc both had close to death experiences but Mr. Erickson was one of fifty four men and Pfc smith was on of twenty four men. “I was the only one alive out of fifty four men to live” “Of the two hundred men or so in Item Company...only twenty four men

Inside the shelter the men women were separated. The next morning, all of the men including Michael boarded a train and they were sent to a military facility for training. After 2 months of training, Michael along with the other men were sent off to war. As they approached their base camp, Michael and the other soldiers were scared because the gunfire, the airplanes, and the bombs were very loud. Not long after arriving at base camp, the first cannon went off which was the signal for Michael and the other soldiers to charge. As thousands of enemy soldiers

On September 1, 1939, 12 year-old Jack was being slowly pulled into War World II even though he didn’t know it. One of the things he did was

In the beginning of the book Simon Sinek talks about an even that occurred in Afghanistan where a group small group of special operation forces were moving through some dense terrain with two A-10 Warthog overhead for protection. But as the forces continued through they were getting a bad feeling and they were not the only ones. One of the A-10 Warthog pilot, whose nickname was Johnny Bravo, started to sense this bad feeling as well but was blinded by the clouds behind him and had minimal communication with the other forces. So with this deep sense of bad feelings Johnny Bravo decided to head through the dense clouds in order to see what was going on and provide a sense of safety for those on the ground. As he was descending he heard the worst

A platoon is a commanded by a lieutenant either second or first lieutenant and they suppose to have forty seven marines and two navy hospital fulminator, they have to have fulminator from the navy because marines do not have any. Michael is thankful to a twenty year old hospital fulman, because thanks to him he is still here now. There is a program call R&R (rest and relaxation) were he got a five day vacation from the war, where you can go t several designated places for five days and rest and relax. Michael was married (he has been married 48 years now) and had two sons, so for his R&R he went to Hawaii with his family for the five days. The day Michael went back to Vietnam after his R&R that was the day he got wounded for the second time, the first time he got wounded it was not as serious as the second time, the second time he step on a landmine and the outcome to that miraculous because normally nobody survives such a thing like that, and if somebody survives it they generally lose some limps. Michael did not lose any limps, but he almost most one, but he was not as injured as he could have had been. The place where he got wound there was no

It is in the middle of a field, the feel is eerie and unnatural. All you can hear is the sounds of gunshots and mortar shells landing in the distance with the faint scream of wounded soldiers coming from all around. The field is a miserable place to be, it is a hog pin but it's worse than a hog pin because a hog pin doesn't have the horrid stench of death in it. There are trenches dug in the field to house the men and this is where Sgt. Jimmy Adler was sitting and waiting for another chance to be the man everyone knew he was. Adler was a miserable man; he wasn't very popular back in the states but in the battlefield he was a hero and he liked it. If it was up to him the war would’ve

Rickenbacker’s technique was to approach his intended victims carefully, closer than others went before, before sending rounds from his gun. He had several breathtaking experiences when his guns abruptly jammed. He barely managed to nurse his plane in for a safe landing with his upper wing ripped off on May 17, when the cloth ripped off its upper wing. But his luck held, he admitted he experienced fear during his encounters with the Germans but ‘only after it was all over.’