Post by Remnant on Jan 25, 2015 15:02:00 GMT -6
Scorched Earth (Personal Narrative)
The sky was dark, the large canopy of the Forest shadowing the ground to make it even darker. Yet the troops continued marching on, blindly at that. But they remained alert. Some were afraid, some fearless, some just incredibly cautious.
They were all in their own right. It wasn't like them to just take a walk in the woods, into the unknown. But they had to remain alert. At any point of time they could be ambushed by the Vietnamese.
They were on one mission; they had to to eliminate a Vietnamese camp, about five klicks away. The mission was decided to be done at the darkest of night to surprise the Vietnamese, as they figured they'd be asleep.
The U.S. had sent troops over to fight in the Vietnam War, and this group happened to be one of the many platoons sent out to fight them. They were known as 3rd Platoon, and they were led by First Lieutenant Jackson Greene. He was recently promoted to First Lieutenant, and so he still felt overwhelmed about his new authority.
At the back of the march were three soldiers, Private Anthoney Daniels, Private First Class Hunter Lake, and Private First Class David "Joker" Sorelston. They were fresh recruits, and they had became close friends during their training. Lake and Joker had already been childhood friends, and they went into military together. Because of this, they got a free promotion to Private First Class after graduation.
Behind the trio, tailing the platoon from above, was three Helicopters. One was the Bell AH-1 Cobra, which was to be used for air support in case an ambushed happened, and two UH-1 Iroquois', which were to be used for medevacs, in case any soldiers were injured.
Daniels was equipped with a XM177 Assault Carbine/Submachine Gun, which was developed just last year, 1966. Lake had an M16, a standard-issue rifle, and Joker had an M2 Flamethrower. Daniels and Lake called Sorelston "Joker" because he usually spray painted his weapons with a yellow smiley face, a sign of sarcasm towards the enemy. In this case, the smiley face was spray painted on the back of fuel tank of the flamethrower, holstered on his back.
It seemed like the bushes were beginning to move, and cracks of broken sticks could be heard. Suddenly a loud gunshot rang out. A soldier fell to the ground, and some troops were starting to panic. But they held their ground and began to return fire.
But the platoon soldiers were beginning to drop like flies. Though, the Vietnamese were obtaining casualties as well. Daniels and Lake took cover behind a massive Boulder, poking out the sides of it to fire their weapons.
"So much for surprising them in their sleep." Daniels said, remarking on the ambush.
"How'd they know we'd be out here?" Lake asked, as he took out a charging Vietnamese soldier.
"Heck if I know. Maybe they got tipped off?"
"Who in the right mind would tip these guys off?"
"You'd be surprised by the amount of idiots in this world."
Daniels and Lake continued to hold their ground at the Boulder, firing at the Vietnamese. Suddenly the Cobra's chain gun began firing at the Vietnamese in the forest. It also began firing Incendiary Missiles to flush them out.
"Even with the air support, these Vietnamese are starting to overwhelm us." Daniels said.
"We'll prevail, don't worry." Lake replied.
"As long as we're not arrogant about it, I suppose."
"Uh, Daniels. Problem." Lake said, showing Daniels his M16, which had just jammed.
"That's EXACTLY why I don't like that gun. Jams too frequently." Daniels said.
"Cover me." Lake said, running away from the Boulder and to a Vietnamese corpse, trying to salvage a weapon.
"Lake! Get back here, you're going to get killed out there!"
But it was too late. Lake got up with a weapon in hand, but his chest suddenly filled with holes as his blood splattered the air. A Vietnamese soldier nearby was shooting him to death.
"NO!"
Lake stood there, in so much shock, and then fell backwards as he took his last breath.
Daniels tried to run out to Lake, but Joker knocked him aside as he roasted a Vietnamese soldier planning to kill Daniels.
"Daniels! Don't be reckless! Now c'mon, get up, we need you back in the fight."
Daniels got back up, picked up his gun, and began firing at the Vietnamese soldiers, fueled by his sudden rage. He was ready to kill them all.
Three Vietnamese soldiers charge out from the underbrush, but were quickly burned alive by Joker's flamethrower.
"Mm, Barbeque, my favorite." Joker said sarcastically.
"Even in battle you always find some way to joke around."
"Of course! Otherwise I wouldn't be called Joker, now, would I?" Joker said.
"Touché" Daniels said.
The two kept putting pressure on the ambushing Vietnamese. A little too much, actually. Due to the Incendiary missiles from the Cobra, and because of Joker's flamethrower, a wildfire was beginning to spread through the forest. Vietnamese and Americans alike were being consumed by the endless flames.
"The battle's lost, all remaining soldiers are to retreat to the Iroquois' for medevacs!" Greene yelled out over radio for all to hear.
"Best we better get going." Daniels said.
Suddenly a bullet pierced Joker's fuel tank as he turned around, and fire began spewing out.
"DANIELS, RUN!" Joker said, running into the underbrush to keep as far away from any Americans as possible.
Daniels turned tail and ran as he heard an explosion behind him. Joker's fuel tank exploded, killing five Vietnamese in the explosion. They were all consumed by the massive fireball the explosion made.
Daniels kept running for the landing zone of the Iroquois, but he was running out of breath. His lungs burned from all the ash in the air, his legs were beginning to ache from the running. But before he could stop to catch his breath, the familiar sound of a rocket was heard. A rocket came out the canopy of the forest and hit the Cobra's tail rotor.
The Cobra went into a spin and crashed about 10-15 feet from Daniels. The Cobra exploded launching Daniels onto his back. A second explosion sent shrapnel everywhere. A piece of shrapnel spun in the air before slicing into Daniels' left shoulder.
Daniels rolled onto his stomach, and tried to lift himself up, but he couldn't feel his left arm, as if it were numb. He looked to his right to see a severed arm with shrapnel stuck in the shoulder blade. Shocked, he slowly looked back at his left. His arm had been severed by the shrapnel.
But before Daniels could react, a second explosion was heard from the Cobra, and a piece of Shrapnel hit Daniels in the back of the head, this time with it's blunt side. The impact was so hard and quick, he was knocked unconscious. Unbeknownst to him, he fell into a Coma.
Luckily, Greene found him and dragged by the back of his shirt's collar and onto an Iroquois for medevac.
"Radio the Captain, mission failure." Greene said to a pilot as the Helicopter took off into the night sky.
3 Weeks later, Daniels woke from his Coma, and found himself in a hospital bed. He looked at his left side, where he was missing an arm, and began to panic.
"Calm down Mr. Daniels, you'll be alright. We don't need you having a heart attack." A doctor nearby said.
"Where's Lake? And Joker?" Daniels asked.
"Dead. Funeral service was held for them just last week. We're sorry you missed it, but this Coma was a bad one. You're lucky to be alive." The doctor said.
Daniels was disappointed and was starting to become severely depressed. He lost his two best friends, and he missed their funeral service. But he knew he shouldn't mourn of their loss. He should be proud of them, rather, as they died fighting for their country, and that, to Daniels, was the greatest honor anyone could achieve.
He was let go from the hospital two days later. The gravesite of Joker and Lake was just down the road, thankfully. Joker's body was unable to be recovered and put in a coffin, but Lake's was. Daniels visited the graveyard they were buried in, and approached Joker's and Lake's tombstones, which were beside each other. He gave a small prayer.
You two did well. You went down fighting for your country, fighting so that others could live. I couldn't be more proud. Now you both may finally rest in peace, you two deserve as much. I've been told that I've been honorably discharged from military service due to loosing my arm. Well, I've gotta get home, see the family. They're worried sick. See you guys on the other side.
And with that, Daniels left the graveyard and set off for home. He was in a mixture of emotions, from happy to sad. But he was glad to be alive, glad that he got the chance to serve. He was glad to finally be able to go somewhere filled with happiness...home.
The sky was dark, the large canopy of the Forest shadowing the ground to make it even darker. Yet the troops continued marching on, blindly at that. But they remained alert. Some were afraid, some fearless, some just incredibly cautious.
They were all in their own right. It wasn't like them to just take a walk in the woods, into the unknown. But they had to remain alert. At any point of time they could be ambushed by the Vietnamese.
They were on one mission; they had to to eliminate a Vietnamese camp, about five klicks away. The mission was decided to be done at the darkest of night to surprise the Vietnamese, as they figured they'd be asleep.
The U.S. had sent troops over to fight in the Vietnam War, and this group happened to be one of the many platoons sent out to fight them. They were known as 3rd Platoon, and they were led by First Lieutenant Jackson Greene. He was recently promoted to First Lieutenant, and so he still felt overwhelmed about his new authority.
At the back of the march were three soldiers, Private Anthoney Daniels, Private First Class Hunter Lake, and Private First Class David "Joker" Sorelston. They were fresh recruits, and they had became close friends during their training. Lake and Joker had already been childhood friends, and they went into military together. Because of this, they got a free promotion to Private First Class after graduation.
Behind the trio, tailing the platoon from above, was three Helicopters. One was the Bell AH-1 Cobra, which was to be used for air support in case an ambushed happened, and two UH-1 Iroquois', which were to be used for medevacs, in case any soldiers were injured.
Daniels was equipped with a XM177 Assault Carbine/Submachine Gun, which was developed just last year, 1966. Lake had an M16, a standard-issue rifle, and Joker had an M2 Flamethrower. Daniels and Lake called Sorelston "Joker" because he usually spray painted his weapons with a yellow smiley face, a sign of sarcasm towards the enemy. In this case, the smiley face was spray painted on the back of fuel tank of the flamethrower, holstered on his back.
It seemed like the bushes were beginning to move, and cracks of broken sticks could be heard. Suddenly a loud gunshot rang out. A soldier fell to the ground, and some troops were starting to panic. But they held their ground and began to return fire.
But the platoon soldiers were beginning to drop like flies. Though, the Vietnamese were obtaining casualties as well. Daniels and Lake took cover behind a massive Boulder, poking out the sides of it to fire their weapons.
"So much for surprising them in their sleep." Daniels said, remarking on the ambush.
"How'd they know we'd be out here?" Lake asked, as he took out a charging Vietnamese soldier.
"Heck if I know. Maybe they got tipped off?"
"Who in the right mind would tip these guys off?"
"You'd be surprised by the amount of idiots in this world."
Daniels and Lake continued to hold their ground at the Boulder, firing at the Vietnamese. Suddenly the Cobra's chain gun began firing at the Vietnamese in the forest. It also began firing Incendiary Missiles to flush them out.
"Even with the air support, these Vietnamese are starting to overwhelm us." Daniels said.
"We'll prevail, don't worry." Lake replied.
"As long as we're not arrogant about it, I suppose."
"Uh, Daniels. Problem." Lake said, showing Daniels his M16, which had just jammed.
"That's EXACTLY why I don't like that gun. Jams too frequently." Daniels said.
"Cover me." Lake said, running away from the Boulder and to a Vietnamese corpse, trying to salvage a weapon.
"Lake! Get back here, you're going to get killed out there!"
But it was too late. Lake got up with a weapon in hand, but his chest suddenly filled with holes as his blood splattered the air. A Vietnamese soldier nearby was shooting him to death.
"NO!"
Lake stood there, in so much shock, and then fell backwards as he took his last breath.
Daniels tried to run out to Lake, but Joker knocked him aside as he roasted a Vietnamese soldier planning to kill Daniels.
"Daniels! Don't be reckless! Now c'mon, get up, we need you back in the fight."
Daniels got back up, picked up his gun, and began firing at the Vietnamese soldiers, fueled by his sudden rage. He was ready to kill them all.
Three Vietnamese soldiers charge out from the underbrush, but were quickly burned alive by Joker's flamethrower.
"Mm, Barbeque, my favorite." Joker said sarcastically.
"Even in battle you always find some way to joke around."
"Of course! Otherwise I wouldn't be called Joker, now, would I?" Joker said.
"Touché" Daniels said.
The two kept putting pressure on the ambushing Vietnamese. A little too much, actually. Due to the Incendiary missiles from the Cobra, and because of Joker's flamethrower, a wildfire was beginning to spread through the forest. Vietnamese and Americans alike were being consumed by the endless flames.
"The battle's lost, all remaining soldiers are to retreat to the Iroquois' for medevacs!" Greene yelled out over radio for all to hear.
"Best we better get going." Daniels said.
Suddenly a bullet pierced Joker's fuel tank as he turned around, and fire began spewing out.
"DANIELS, RUN!" Joker said, running into the underbrush to keep as far away from any Americans as possible.
Daniels turned tail and ran as he heard an explosion behind him. Joker's fuel tank exploded, killing five Vietnamese in the explosion. They were all consumed by the massive fireball the explosion made.
Daniels kept running for the landing zone of the Iroquois, but he was running out of breath. His lungs burned from all the ash in the air, his legs were beginning to ache from the running. But before he could stop to catch his breath, the familiar sound of a rocket was heard. A rocket came out the canopy of the forest and hit the Cobra's tail rotor.
The Cobra went into a spin and crashed about 10-15 feet from Daniels. The Cobra exploded launching Daniels onto his back. A second explosion sent shrapnel everywhere. A piece of shrapnel spun in the air before slicing into Daniels' left shoulder.
Daniels rolled onto his stomach, and tried to lift himself up, but he couldn't feel his left arm, as if it were numb. He looked to his right to see a severed arm with shrapnel stuck in the shoulder blade. Shocked, he slowly looked back at his left. His arm had been severed by the shrapnel.
But before Daniels could react, a second explosion was heard from the Cobra, and a piece of Shrapnel hit Daniels in the back of the head, this time with it's blunt side. The impact was so hard and quick, he was knocked unconscious. Unbeknownst to him, he fell into a Coma.
Luckily, Greene found him and dragged by the back of his shirt's collar and onto an Iroquois for medevac.
"Radio the Captain, mission failure." Greene said to a pilot as the Helicopter took off into the night sky.
3 Weeks later, Daniels woke from his Coma, and found himself in a hospital bed. He looked at his left side, where he was missing an arm, and began to panic.
"Calm down Mr. Daniels, you'll be alright. We don't need you having a heart attack." A doctor nearby said.
"Where's Lake? And Joker?" Daniels asked.
"Dead. Funeral service was held for them just last week. We're sorry you missed it, but this Coma was a bad one. You're lucky to be alive." The doctor said.
Daniels was disappointed and was starting to become severely depressed. He lost his two best friends, and he missed their funeral service. But he knew he shouldn't mourn of their loss. He should be proud of them, rather, as they died fighting for their country, and that, to Daniels, was the greatest honor anyone could achieve.
He was let go from the hospital two days later. The gravesite of Joker and Lake was just down the road, thankfully. Joker's body was unable to be recovered and put in a coffin, but Lake's was. Daniels visited the graveyard they were buried in, and approached Joker's and Lake's tombstones, which were beside each other. He gave a small prayer.
You two did well. You went down fighting for your country, fighting so that others could live. I couldn't be more proud. Now you both may finally rest in peace, you two deserve as much. I've been told that I've been honorably discharged from military service due to loosing my arm. Well, I've gotta get home, see the family. They're worried sick. See you guys on the other side.
And with that, Daniels left the graveyard and set off for home. He was in a mixture of emotions, from happy to sad. But he was glad to be alive, glad that he got the chance to serve. He was glad to finally be able to go somewhere filled with happiness...home.
