I was in a bunker, taliban at my front, bullets whizzing by my head and hitting the sand bags. There are so many explosions, they are throwing grenades at us, if they get close enough we throw them back. I looked to the side, I could possibly take a shot or two. The adrenalin is pumping through me, while all of this is happening. This is real life, this isn’t a video game, where you die and then you respond to a checkpoint, this is it, this is the real deal. These are the exact people we are trying to get rid of, I’ve estimated that there are about 25 of them out there, with 16 of us. This is the job I’ve been set to do, I pull my gun up to my left, I take a few shots at a guy hiding behind a rock. When I see another guy to his left pull up and shoot at me! I duck and cover, stay low. I take a quick peek up, then go to take another shot, but a friendly from behind wants to move up and come beside me. So I tell him “On three I’ll cover you!” I count to three, and I pull up and unload a clip into any foe I see. The soldier made it to me and slid in. I reload, I hit 1 enemy down, and ...
We all know that from the beginning, Marines are engrained with the mindset to “never back down” regardless of circumstances and regardless of all odds. This is one of the many reasons Marines have become known as the most elite fighting force today. However, imagine this: in your unit there are eighty-nine wounded, twenty-six dead and three are missing. Everywhere you turn there are the bodies of Chinese casualties; later you find out it was over two-thousand confirmed casualties to be exact. To any normal person, this would probably be quite a shocking sight, but as the book “The Last Stand of Fox Company” by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin expresses, to the 10,000 Marines in Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, this grew to be the usual for them.
Boom, Bang, Crack! The sounds of muskets being fired, its ammunition ricocheting off rocks and splintering trees are heard all around. The pungent smell of gun powder stings the nose, and its taste makes the mouth dry and sticky. The battle is still young, but blood soaked uniforms and dead or dying men can already be seen, causing the fear of death to enter many of the soldiers' minds. It is remembered that freedom is what the fight is for, so we must continue to gain independence. The battle has been going on for a short time now, although vision is already obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It is becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, with all of these air borne substances entering my lungs. People are still being struck by musket balls for the cries of agony rise above the many guns' explosions. This is how the battle to be known as Bunker Hill began.
Quickly, I make my way to the waiting Blackhawk helicopter. Even with my full combat load strapped to my back the rotor wash threatens to push me over. My face is pelted with grass and other debris; motivation and determination makes me run harder. As I reach the Blackhawk the Black-shirt directs me to one of four repel lines anchored to the aircraft. I wrap the line through my d-ring and climb into the cabin. I wait, crouched in the doorway, for my three other comrades to finish their hookup. The Black-shirt completes his check of our hookups and gives the pilot the thumbs-up. Abruptly, the helicopter lifts into the air leaving my stomach somewhere below.
Corporal Keighran and the rest of the troops were on a hill on the outskirts of the town when they were ambushed. As the enemies kept firing at our troops, Dan took his own initiative by running up to the hill, exposing a full view of himself to the enemy to get a better view of their position. Realising that he’d gone too far, his thoughts inside were, “This is it. I’ve gone too far. I’m gonna die.” Even though he had negative thoughts, Corporal Keighran did not give up and still kept
After being in the war for the first day and having to witness death of a person and holding a fully loaded
I wasn’t scared of the unknown or leaving Earth. I was scared because I would die with dishonor because I haven’t captured Quebec. Suddenly things start falling into place. I order 4500 men to scale steep cliffs to get a better view of where to make an attack. They then assembled the army inside of Quebec and were ready to fight. But I did make sure to carefully position my men to make the most damage during this attack. Maybe I wouldn’t die with dishonor after all! Positioned and ready to shoot, the French come. Those bloody French soldiers began firing out of range! My men did not flinch for a second and none of them are shot! Strategically, I ordered them to pull out their guns as soon as those idiot soldiers got into range and then fired. One by one, those French soldiers went down like dominoes! As exciting and exhilarating as this all was, the attack was overwhelming! Nonetheless, it didn’t last long. Ten minutes was all it took for those weak French soldiers to be taken down by my men who have been through hell and back for this one attack. They did this for me, I tell you! In the midst of it all, I was shot in the chest and wrist. I did not want a doctor or anyone to try and save me. It was my time to leave this place with honor. My soldiers and I won this battle! After I pass, the French surrender 4 days later, I am hailed a hero for not giving up on capturing Quebec, and people said that I ended the war. But
In 2004, a soldier by the name of Michael Monsoor graduated from BUD/S school (A Navy Seal training facility) effortlessly. Almost two years later, he was fighting on a roof in Ramadi, Iraq. While producing cover fire for his SEAL team mates, an enemy insurgent managed to toss a grenade through a window where the SEALs were positioned. The grenade struck Monsoor and rolled in front of him. Without even the slightest hesitation, he threw himself over the explosive and absorbed the blast. Thirty minutes later, Monsoor died because of the explosion. Doing what he did allowed the other SEALs in the room to live (Klaidman 3). Michael Monsoor is a prime example of what it means to be courageous and to have valor in its highest form. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States of America’s highest military honor. When hearing this story, it is safe to say that Americans have an extreme animosity towards the enemy insurgents. This illustration of patriotism is one of the reasons why Americans believe that they are endowed the right to discriminate or assimilate people who may be affiliated with these enemies. One way these emotions can be amplified is through the use of one of America’s favorite pastimes.
A natural response to such a violent environment is to simply behave in a way that portrays no weakness. If the soldier does not show any signs of weakness, he finds it much easier to convince himself that he can survive by his strength. In asserting his control over himself by hiding all of his weaknesses, h...
Friendship. Halley, from “Someone Like You” by Sarah Dessen, is Friendship. Halley is brave. Halley is strong and helpful for her friend Scarlett. Halley is friendship because she helps her friend Scarlett when she is sad, sick or just needs it. I think that Halley is very respectful to Scarlett and I hope to be as caring to my friends as Halley is to hers.
As I stood there exhausted holding a blank stare with my arms to my sides and the sound of mumbling in the background, I only heard three words of the entire training brief my supervisor gave us, “time for chow!” I immediately snapped back to it and walked in the same direction as my teammates. As I walked, I looked ahead of the group for the best place to get out of the 103-degree hot Texas sun. I seen a tree and a stump that would be great to rest my back on and it had plenty of shade. When I arrived at the stump, I set my rifle down and quickly took off my training gear that felt like an extra body hanging on my shoulders. At the same moment that I felt like I could take a break from the training day and let my guard down, I heard one of
“I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy...That was my job on that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children” (William Calley 1970). Lieutenant William Calley was explaining to his audience as he testified at Court-Martial in defense of his actions during the war. Calley explains that its not an easy duty, and that they must do what was ordered each day without questioning why they were going to go destroy the enemy. In the short story, Ambush, by Tim O’Brien, the lieutenant has to make a huge decision on weather or not he should throw a grenade and take a life or allow the enemy to kill him and his war buddy. When trying to not overthink the situation and proceeding through
Bullets flying through the air right over me, my knees are shaking, and my feet are numb. I see familiar faces all around me dodging the explosives illuminating the air like lightning. Unfortunately, numerous familiar faces seem to disappear into the trenches. I try to run from the noise, but my mind keeps causing me to re-illustrate the painful memories left behind.
“We are under attack!” Jimmy, our patrol man, yells leaping for the trench. A bullet pierces his skull before hits the ground leaving his body lifeless and bloody at my feet.
kill one man, but if fired from more than one soldier in the heat of
The Politician and the soldier have a common goal; to win the war. But there is a difference in their mindsets. The politician, safe behind his desk, has never experienced the fear and terror of being in battle. He has not seen the blood or heard the screams of suffering soldiers. He has not watched his best friend die in his arms after being hit my enemy fire. He is an onlooker, free to analyze and critique every aspect of the war from the safety of his office. He is free and safe to talk of ethics and proper war etiquette. The soldier, immersed in battle, fighting for his life, can think of only one thing. Kill or be killed. When bullets are flying past his face and mortar shells are exploding all around him, he is not mindful of fighting ethically. Nor is he even mindful of fighting for his country. He is fighting for his life. To stay alive, he must kill the enemy, destroy the enemy. The longer the war persists, the more likely he will not go home alive.