Looking back, the only reason I had for joining was because I felt like I should. The reasons don't matter now; I'm going to Vietnam, possibly to die for my beliefs, my country, and for people I don't even know
This is it. I pushed open the door to the barracks and walked inside. My sea bag was in my left hand, my rifle in my right. Looking around, I saw a variety of things. Most of the squad had their rifles hanging on makeshift racks or leaning against their bedposts. There appeared to be an assortment of weapons including an M79 "Blooper", the M60, also known as the "pig", an M14 with the Starlight Scope, and a Winchester 12. There were also a couple AK's laying around and a tub of parts.
I walked in quietly, so nobody seemed to have noticed me, so I made my way to an empty bunk between a girl with rainbow hair and another girl wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots. I looked over and the rainbow haired girl was sleeping and the cowgirl was carving something. I set down my bag and rifle and close my eyes, but begin to sense a presence. A very close presence. After a few seconds, it went past sensing: I could feel breath on my face. I slowly opened my eyes and in front of me is a very bubbly looking, pink haired girl. She was staring right at me and I try to get a look of how the others were reacting. They just kept doing what they were doing.
"Hey," I manage to get out, "What's up?"
"Oh! Hey! IjustnoticedyoucomeintandI'veneverseenyoubeforebutthatsgood'causenowIcanmeetyouandIthinkIlllikeyouandeveryonelikesme."
"Uh, yeah. Hey, could you please get off me?"
"Okie dokie lokie!"
Well, I'm not sure if I'd trust her with my life but, the others looked better. It looked like I had some country folk, but I wasn't sure if I could trust anyone here.
My thoughts were broken as I heard the doors open. I shifted my attention to the person walking into the hooch. She had purple hair with a fuchsia stripe. She had 3 chevrons on her sleeve, plus 2 dips, making her a Gunnery Sergeant. I knew her as Gunnery Sergeant Twilight Sparkle, the squad leader. When she took notice to me, she checked something off on her clipboard and walked towards me. When she got to my bunk, I immediately got up and fired off a crisp salute.
"Lance Corporal Silverado, reporting, ma'am," I said as strongly as I could, listening for voice cracks.
She returned my salute, "Gunnery Sergeant Twilight Sparkle," she said strongly, yet calmly.
The 2 girls next to me lazily got out of their bunks, stretching and yawning. As I looked past Twilight and the 2 others, I saw that the whole squad was looking at me. A whole 12 sets of eyes staring straight at me. I was still ramrod straight and looking around, looking at each person individually. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.
"It looks like you all noticed our new replacement. This is Lance Corporal Silverado."
There was a collection of "hey's" and "hello's" from the group. Twilight put a hand on my shoulder and pointed to each person individually. She started with the girl to my left: the cowgirl.
"She's Applejack, she came right off of an apple farm. Do you see the big guy over there," she gestured towards a man with blonde hair and freckles and a Stetson, "That's her brother, Macintosh. We call him Big Mac. He works the pig"
"I see."
She continued going around the room, pointing out each person. I learned that the rainbow haired girl had the fitting name of Rainbow Dash, the girl with blue hair and sunglasses was called Vinyl "8-ball" Scratch, 8-ball, as in 8 ball scratch. The corpsman's name was Redheart, the hyper, pink haired girl was Pinkie Pie; she used the Blooper, the girl with the styled, purple hair and the M14 was Rarity. The girl with light pink hair was Fluttershy, a name that suited her seemingly shy personality. Lastly, was Thunderlane, a smaller-framed guy with a blue-silver Mohawk.
Then, it finally hit me after Twilight went through the squad; A Marine Corps squad should have 13 members. We were short 2 men. I was told by a captain that there were no recent casualties in 2nd squad. So that meant that this squad, and probably all of Charlie Company was undermanned. I was thinking of this and I just remembered to unpack my stuff. As I started unpacking my bag, I heard a sweet, thick Southern draw.
"Hey there sugarcube. Ah'm Applejack. Ah've been here for a few months and nothin' too bad's happened. No need ta be nervous."
"Yeah, I think I'm good," I said reaching into my bag for a bag of jerky, "How often do we go out?"
"'bout, Ah'd say, every other day. Not today, luckly for ya. Ya do have to pull night watch, though."
"Night watch?"
"S'easy. All ya gotta do is sit out at your post an' watch the wire. Y'all have a partner with'ya 'swell."
"Okay... Whose my partner?"
"Dash."
"What's she like?"
"Purdy nice, a bit stubborn at times, but so am I. She's athletic, loves challenges, but hates losing. Brash, confident, cocky, a tad lazy.
She's real loyal, though. Once, she ran through a totally open field, no cover at all, to get 8-ball out of a thorn bush."
"Hey, Applejack, you telling 'em how awesome I am?"
"Nah, he asked 'bout ya so, ah'm tellin' 'im."
"Why you asking about me? Huh? Huh?," she said back with a playful smirk and chuckle.
Maybe this place won't be that bad.
The rest of the day went pretty well, I pretty much just talked to the other squad members, trying to pick out who I liked. I found that my 2 favorites were Dash and Applejack, followed by Twilight and Big Mac and Vinyl. The others just weren't my type. Rarity was a bit too snobby, too clean for my tastes. Pinkie was simply too much, and Fluttershy was a bit too quiet for my tastes.
I liked Dash the most, and actually was looking forward to having night watch with her. *Almost* like a date, but from talking to Dash, she wouldn't call it that, and neither would I. Dash was just a good mix to me, a little bit of recklessness and a pinch of mischievousness, but still loyal.
The day turned to dusk and it was time for the watch. I took my M16, a few flares, ammo, and a box of C-Rations. I saw that Dash was in the pit already. She had her rifle, Pinkie's launcher, and a Starlight Scope. I made my way across the field and into the hole, where Dash was expecting me.
After hellos were said, the day went from twilight to night. Spotlights from the sentry towers illuminated the maze of mines and barbed wire that stood before us. I gazed out across the field, an awkward silence encompassing the foxhole. Dash just gazed out, although I was sure she was either stealing looks at me or pondering something.
"Hey," she began, "You see that? About 75 yards, 11 o'clock."
"Yeah."
"You take 'em."
I nodded, knowing that I would be killing a man for the first time. He ducked down, probably trying to cut some barbed wire to plant a mine. I knew I had to react quickly, so as soon as he put his head back up, I'd drop the hammer on him. I pulled my rifle from beside me and pointed it down range. I flipped the safety to semiautomatic and slowed my breathing. As I exhaled, he put his head back up. My training came back to me in a split second. "Don't think, react. As soon as you finish your exhale, squeeze the trigger, don't pull it. Pulling it will disrupt your shot." I finished my breath and hardened my heart. I squeezed the trigger.
I didn't hear a bang, but I saw him fall. There was no squirming at all. Boom. Down. I kept looking out, knowing I killed him. Dash looked at me, and I looked at her. I could tell that she was trying to read me, trying to find out if she broke me by telling me to take the shot.
She didn't. There was no shame in killing him, he was trying to plant a mine and kill one of us, but there was very little pride, and no joy at all. I tried to imagine what anyone I knew would think if I told them what just happened. Anyone from home would call me a savage, a killer. They wouldn't understand that I had to kill him to save others. If I told anyone that, they'd call me a coward. They wouldn't understand that the enemy had no shame, that the enemy had a passion for killing us. They wanted us out and they would gladly die if it would make us leave.
Dash looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. I looked back at her, with an expression between "I forgive you" and "I had to". It was right then and there that we heard a small thunk and we looked at each other, confused. Then, we heard the whistle.
"Mortars. We gotta get to the bunker," she said with urgency in her voice. BOOM
I grabbed my rifle and flares, leaving my C-Rats. Dash grabbed her rifle and launcher as we made our way to our assigned bunker. It wasn't to far, but as we approached the haven, I felt a burning in my arm. I ignored it and kept moving, closely behind Dash. We got to the bunker as another mortar fell, the explosion shook the ground, and the alarm finally armed. We heard shouting as men and women rushed out to the concrete and sandbag havens. We entered and the pain in my arm got worse, and I finally put 2 and 2 together. I called for Dash who saw my arm and immediately went to the medical crate, looking for Sulfa. I took a look at my arm and began to calm down a bit after seeing that the bullet only grazed it. I used my other arm and got the sheer bandage from my helmet strap. I got some Sulfa on my arm and with Dash's help, managed to get the bandage taped on. At this time, the other squad members began to file into the bunker.
Twilight called for an ACE check. We were good on ammunition, only had 1 casualty, and had enough equipment. The radio crackled to life, with Lt. Shining Armor asking for the ACE. Redheart checked my would and deemed it a flesh wound, so I could still fight. After some morphine, the pain died down and I looked out the window. I heard some gunfire and was a few figures in the distance. I pulled 1 of my flares out from my gear and stepped outside with my rifle. I fired the flare upwards and waited until the field was illuminated more fully. I raised my rifle and disengaged the safety. I pointed it at one of the figures and squeezed the trigger. The figure fell, but apparently wasn't dead, because the body was being dragged off by someone else. I took a shot at the other guy and squeezed. He fell. I put the safety back on and reentered the bunker because the light from the flare began to die down. By now, the snipers in the tower were busy picking targets. I heard the staccato beat of M60's and the occasional beat of .50 cal M2's, the pop of M16's and the occasional scream of pain. This was the sound of conflict. The sound of terror.
The attack seemed to die down because the gunshots seemed to grow less common. It was SOP to stay in the bunker for 30 minutes after an attack. Those minutes were the longest half hour of my life. I just went from an adrenalin rush to an adrenalin crush. I still held my rifle. I saw Rarity looking out with the Starlight Scope on her M14. Big Mac was also looking out with one hand on his gun, the other holding a cigarette. Just seeing the smoking paper began to make me want one. I took off my helmet and looked inside the lining and sure enough, the cigar that I planted was still there. I pulled the cigar out and put it to my mouth, clenching it in my mouth. With the cigarillo between my lips, I searched for a lighter in my pockets, but found nothing. Noticing my dilemma, Applejack found her lighter, and passed it to me. I nodded to her and opened the cover and rolled the striker wheel. I put it to the end of the cigarillo and pulled. After it lit, I extinguished the flame and passed it back. I pulled and a cloud of cool, sweet smoke filled my mouth. I blew a thick cloud of smoke and lowered the burning roll.
The radio crackled to life and the clear signal was sent.
"Well, its about damn time!" Dash said, picking up her belongings and walking out. I watched as the others collected their things and left. Everyone but Fluttershy. I asked her if she was coming, but she explained to me that she felt safer sleeping in the bunker. I decided not to question her and went back to the hooch. I took another pull and tossed the cigar away. As I walked in, I saw Twilight and Dash walk out, I called for Dash and asked her where they were going.
All she said was, "To get Fluttershy."
I decided to follow them. When we got back to the bunker, we found Fluttershy sitting against the wall. I watched in silence as Twilight gently picked her up and carried her out. Dash got Fluttershy's rifle and other things and walked out. I simply followed them back to the barracks.
The next morning, everyone woke up at around the same time. We had a full day ahead of us. We were going out on a patrol and there were rumors of a visit from the President.