The Night - Original Writing

Following the aircraft and shells came the Marines, fighting anyone that stood in their way, taking back the city. The people they spoke with told them not to get them wrong, they were happy with the actions of the Marines, they cleared out most of the gangs or ran them off. Life had been easier and safer since they came. They also told the three Soldiers that several hundred Marines remained in the city and were securing the port and refineries. That the Marines were being supplemented by the Army, they thought they heard the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Mortars and rockets came down from dusk to dawn in an attempt to take over the base. Back home, newspaper headlines addressed President Johnson’s focused desire to win the war. Meanwhile, back on the base, the only desire Penn and his men held was for food, water, and ammunition to keep them going until the siege was under control.

but this time, they finished at dawn, due to the higher caution. It was still dark and there was not any daylight, when they were returning somebody suddenly heard a clack from the minefield. He alarmed the others. Fear had left everyone breathless. There was a strange reticence. Everyone was expecting a horrible thing. The longer the silent moments of waiting, the bigger the people's panic and fear. They were sticking to the rocks and sandbags more and more, like they were rooting into the soil. The clack repeated in the field. The troops got on standby in prone position. The critical circumstance had taken our breath away. An urgent call was made to the division headquarters which was on a high alert. The mortars and artillery groups were

Rion calmed from his night terror easily, and he and Percival went back to sleep. When morning arrived, Rion shot out of bed with a grin, full of his typical energy. He had no memory of his tears and screaming the previous night, which was just as well; the boy deserved peace after all the heartache he had weathered.

The Marine flank on the right would attack and turn and head north and the other Marine’s would attack and turn south and eventually meet up with 3rd ID, then they both would mope up the rest. It was a kill, kill, kill plan, but with a bit more finesse. The Marines would move out at zero two-hundred the next morning, to be able to hit the 3rd Army Division’s flanks at the same time the 3rd ID started their Artillery bombardment. It had been a long day, after they had solidified their plans MG Romney returned to the 3rd ID, they had a lot to get ready for. It was going to be a busy morning, as far as they could tell the 3rd Army Division was still in the dark about what was getting ready to happen.

As they started down at the ground they could see much of the surrounding area, they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. At their altimeters hit a thousand feet they deployed their parachutes and glided them down to the small opening in the forest. It had overgrown a bit which was also good news it demonstrated no one had been in the area for some time. They pulled on the risers landing standing up which wasn’t the normal practice, but everything looked clear. They hurriedly gathered their chutes and headed into the woods then buried them. The A-Team quickly took positions to secure their perimeter, they listened for anything out of the unusual, finding nothing, they moved out in single file with the General and Sergeant Major in the middle.

The squad loaded into their three Humvees with PFC Coleman in the lead vehicle, his memory was good and they found Storage Plus. The squad unloaded from the vehicles, there were eight men in the squad. Sergeant Torres set up security around the entrance to the facility while he and PFC Coleman checked everything out. The office was closed and the doors locked and there didn’t seem to be a living soul around. They decided to climb the

By 0530, they were prepared to execute the second plan, the two companies were well hidden in the woods, once the artillery stopped they would charge the line as quickly as they could, trying to overcome the Soldiers that were there with speed and aggressiveness. The Marines received word via radio that the artillery would half in five minutes, they were ready to go, the clock ticked by slowly, tick-tock. On the radio the RTO was listening to the countdown, he repeated

When they got Humpty onto the stretcher,the Marines came around him and started talking to Humpty, even though he couldn’t hear them. Next at the hospital all the Marines crowded around him, but there was no room.

It was a fight all the way back up till about a mile from FOB Loyalty. As we pulled in the gate yet again, I saw that the other teams where still there along with others that I have never seen before. As we parked the Bradley, is when we found out that the trail Bradley that got hit lost one of the dismounts and they were taking him to the Hospital. The teams were there to help with our wounded and KIA. At the end they asked us to meet them outside at their trucks. The Platoon was at their trucks when the teams came from around a building from where we were all standing around. And one of the guys started talking, we all got

The boats landed, The sound of steel grazing against the wet sand broke the silence. The locks on the boats broke, and within seconds a once calm, and quiet setting was transformed into an all out war zone. The first shots were fired, we were commanded to bare down on the beach head, and dig, until we were safe. We lost a great

When I reached the casualty collection point, I was updated on what occurred. The truck hit a landmine as they were backing onto the road, injuring everyone near the vehicle. Most of the passengers got out, but one was unconscious and trapped inside. Much to my dismay, the Marine was my team leader. I fought

event. The fact of the matter was, the men that knew about the site had been killed earlier on by the Mexicans. No one knew about it until, than one US Army Colonel Clayton arrived and asked them why they didn’t use any of the gear in the bunker. Of course, the Marines response to that question was, ‘What bunker?’

SSG Arroa sent Corporal Reyes to his Platoon Sergeant and told him to send more men to help clear the barricade. There was no way he could provide security for him and his men as well as move everything out of the way. SFC Dittmyer was the Platoon Sergeant; the man was not a great thinker and a very poor leader. He had decided to send one more squad to help SSG Arroa; why the entire platoon didn’t move was lost on SSG Arroa. Once they had cleared the gate everyone was supposed to move through it so why wait. However, SSG Arroa knew it wasn’t his job to wonder why the Army did things. His job was to execute his orders to the best of his ability.

The Mattara force hiding in the valley should’ve waited longer for more of the troops to come in. Instead, the opened fire, just after the fourth row came in.