Author's Note

Most of these engagements happened, however, they are not exactly how I told them. Most of what I describe is completely fictional with a bit of truth mixed in there.

Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Sorry for the extra time it took to get a chapter out. Had a test coming up and such.

If you're interested in the entire battle or want to know more, here's some links for you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Gloucester
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_cape_gloucester.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsU3A7gTrHI

Please comment if you liked or disliked the story. Your criticism helps me.

With that out of the way,

Ch.3: Into the Jungle

Ch.3: Into the Jungle

The jungle had been quiet for the most part, well, as quiet as a jungle can be. Of course, the wildlife was very active, what with their homes having been leveled to the ground. Monkeys chattered to each other up above the Marines and the birds rang out their calls. Luna saw some grotesque spiders and insects crawling around on the thick shrubbery and tree trunks. For an island that was about to become a graveyard of soldiers, it sure was teeming with life.

A silence pervaded all the men of 1st Platoon which James had been assigned to. 1st Platoon primarily was responsible for the heavy machine guns of the company, though there were heavy machine guns in each one. Aside from their machine gunners and riflemen, they had a BAR, Browning Automatic Rifle, man, and a bazooka crew who, when not engaging an armored vehicle, were simple riflemen as well.

James only interpreted this to mean there would be a lot of fighting with the Japanese with all the firepower they were bringing.

The only sounds being made at the moment, aside from the animals, was the CRACK, POP, and CRINK of the dead branches, leaves, and plants the Marines were trampling over. All eyes were alert for anything out of the ordinary, that being the Japanese.

After about 400 yards inland, the pointman called for a halt, holding up his right fist in the air. All Marines behind him quickly crouched down to the side of the column and took up a position, each eye and ear alert for a rifle shot they believed would ring out at any second. The platoon commander, a spiffy young West Pointer, and the platoon Gunnery Sergeant, E.B. Salt, ran up the middle of the line towards the pointman. The young James sat on a slight incline, barely more than a few inches higher than the rest of the men, but was able to see the pointman talking with the Gunny and the commander.

Luna also strained her neck to see what the fuss was about. In front of the column lay a Massive mangrove swamp, right in the charted path that the Marines needed to take. The three men up at the front of the column began pulling out maps and rustling around with them, trying to find a correction in their course.

"Oh goody, Lieutenant's gonna get us lost. Bet my folks will love hearing that I died from exposure out in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere in the Pacific," one private grunted.

"Knock it off, Douglas," a corporal said, but his facial expression betrayed that he agreed with the private's sentiment.

The lieutenant started to put away the map and the Gunny came running back, crouched down to avoid exposure.

"1st platoon, move out across the swamp. There's some dry, elevated ground a small ways up through this swamp. We'll be taking a position there and holding it until the 1st Marines land. Move out!" the Gunny ordered.

The command was swiftly followed by the junior riflemen, although, Luna picked up no shortage of grumbling from the Marines. She looked to younger James to gauge his reaction and found a small scowl, but he too was starting to wade into the swamp, his .45 in his right hand held above his chest.

"That swamp run was not fun. Whole time I thought I was gonna get leeches on my dick," James remarked to his companion.

"Eww," Luna grimaced, imagining the ghastly sight and quickly regretting it.

"Yeah, it was just apart of life here in the lovely Pacific islands. Trust me though, leeches were the least of our problems on this island. At least I could get them to surrender their holds with a little ice or flame. The Japanese, not so much," he sarcastically quipped at Luna.

The platoon continued on through the swamp while dodging through the coarse, rough mangroves. The water had a brown, murky look to it due to the ground being turned and disturbed by the Marines stomping through it. The men seemed to have a great deal of trouble walking through the swamp, the mud impeding their ability to take another step. One man fell forward into the swampy water, the mud having held onto his foot and causing him to slip and face plant into the water. Thankfully, his buddies were nearby to help him up, not without causing a large amount of noise. If a Japanese patrol were near by, all of them would certainly meet a swift end.

"Leave it to the Lieutenant to make us sitting ducks for those slant-eyed SOBs," one man muttered to his comrade. "Not even an hour into the campaign and we're already cannon fodder for the Japs. Why aren't we just going around this damn thing?"

His friend nodded in agreement, his face grumpy and grumbling. Luna turned her attention from the two of them and focused on James wading through the water himself. He was still holding his .45 out of the water with his right hand, but had maneuvered his left hand underneath his pack where a large part of his medicines were kept. He was holding these up to prevent water damage.

To the shock of many of the Marines, all had made it across the vast swamp without so much as a peep from the Japanese. The men began to form up at the shore and resumed their walk in their formation. A few were chattering with one another, but most were quiet, not wanting to alert their enemy if he was around.

The walk for the most part was uneventful and boring. Much of the noise being made was still the various animals and birds native to the island. The only thing that would break up the monotony of the walk was stumbling across the assorted "dummy" artillery and AA positions the Japanese had set up to fool American pilots and abandoned defensive positions that showed signs of a hasty retreat, likely closer to Rabaul. The dummy men and guns reminded Luna greatly of the fake defenses the Changelings would make to fool her batpony and pegasus scouts during the hunt for Chrysalis. She certainly wasn't surprised that humanity was practicing the same tactics, given their new found ability of flight.

Finally the Lieutenant called for a halt. "1st Platoon, make camp here. We are to hold this position until the 1st Marines land and link up with us. I want machine guns covering that hill and patrols around the area," he ordered.

The position the platoon had taken was certainly an advantageous one. It was an elevated area, with a long, sloping hill descending down into more jungle towards Japanese occupied land. The jungle was a little less thick here, making a broader, easier sightline for the machine guns to take out any attackers. Behind them was the beachhead about 900 yards back which was covered with less deep swampy ground. This made it harder for the Japanese to flank around them, but at the cost of an easy resupply route and access to tanks. The land where they were standing was dry, which would prevent them from grabbing any fungal or bacterial diseases from the swamp water.

Men began to break off to follow the order. The machine gun crews began digging out a trench and assembling their Browning M1917 water-cooled heavy machine guns in the position the Lieutenant ordered, while some other men were beginning to dig foxholes for the night and prepare their defenses. Luna spied James currently doing just that.

"We dug out defensive positions for the night and prepared ourselves. Much of us tried to get some shut-eye or eat something afterwards. For the most part, my introduction to the war had definitely not been what I expected," James told her, the memory began to fade out.

"We held that position for a couple hours. Salt sent out some patrols around the area, but I stayed behind. For the most part nothing really happened, but soon, that peace was quickly killed.

The next memory began to materialize. It was now a little after midday, the sun shining through the trees still and the humid air blowing through the leaves.

Most of the men at camp were sitting around, conversing with each other quietly. A few were eating K rations while others were napping in their foxholes, their helmets over their heads while their buddies were keeping alert. Each machine gun crew manned the gun and kept watch out towards the jungle. While one might expect them to be alert, their eyes betrayed an extreme boredom natural to war, their faces reflecting this notion as well. One man was resting his head on the gun while his assistant was flicking his lighter on and off in an attempt to entertain himself. Another was drawing figures in the dirt with his finger.

Luna saw a young James crouched down, walking over to the gunners position and sitting down with them.

"So," he muttered, "How you guys holding up?"

"Oh," one of them sarcastically uttered, "Just peachy, Doc."

James laughed at the sentiment. "Yeah, I'm bored too," he smiled at them, "At least the Japs ain't bothering us, so we have that."

The man chuckled at the comment. "God, I hope they do bother us, Doc. Sooner we kill all them slant-eyed bastards, the sooner I can get out of here and back to Australia," he shook his head.

He nodded. "I suppose so,"

The men were quiet for awhile, not having too much to say while they held their position. Off in the background, they heard the BOOM and BANG of the Navy out on the sea and what sounded like plane engines far off in the distance.

"Looks like the Navy pissed off Tojo," one veteran said, "I bet them Japs are bombing the carriers right now and routing the Navy like at Guadalcanal."

"Ah, them Japs ain't doing shit. I bet the Navy is pummeling those Nips back to their islands," one man tried to keep the mood up.

As soon as he said that, they heard the distant drone of an engine. The men looked up to the sky and saw a Japanese Zero far up in the sky, but close enough to identify. The Zero was heading towards them, but took a swift 180 and hauled back out to sea, precisely where the carrier group was anchored.

"Japs ain't doing shit my ass," the veteran mumbled.

A patrol of riflemen came back, having been out for a few hours by now. They looked incredibly tired, but showed no signs of battle or combat. Most of them broke off while the lead man went to report his findings to the Lieutenant.

"Hey, what's the hot dope?" James asked of Howard, who was one of the patrolmen returning.

"Navy's being bombed. A destroyer got sunk and two more are damaged, but the Japs are losing. AA gunners knocked most of 'em down before they could reach the carrier," Howard explained. He sat down next to James, took off his helmet, and wiped his brow. The sweat gleaned on his tan, smooth skin before he shook it off onto the ground. "Otherwise, no Japs at all. Just abandoned positions. Looks like they hauled ass as soon as the Navy started their bombardment."

"Damn," James whined, "Well, least we're winning. Hope those sailors are okay."

"Ah, those squids'll be fine," The Texan responded in his usual warm drawl, "How have things been here?"

"Well in the span of waiting here, I counted that there are 134 trees in my field of view and being wet sucks," James snarked, causing a small chuckle to rise out of Howard.

"That bad huh?" he replied, taking a swig of water from his canteen.

"God, I think I'd enjoy watching grass grow," he continued, "Although, I suppose that's really what we're doing," gesturing to the vast amount of plants in their view.

Howard laughed heartily, taking another drink from his canteen before strapping it back to his belt. "Well, it is what it is , I suppose."

Something grabbed the attention of the gunner next to them. He quickly hit his assistant on the shoulder and pointed out to the bottom of the incline. James and Howard exchanged glances before quickly getting up, taking their positions at the line with the gunners. The two of them were cautiously looking out at the trees, the gunner's finger out of the trigger but very close by. His assistant had already began to grip the belt, ready to feed it on his partner's order. Howard had brought his M1 Garand rifle up, not aiming it yet and gripping it with both his hands as he scanned the thick brush. James had pulled his .45 out.

There was a rustling in the trees that didn't sound like an animal. The leaves were being moved around, disturbing it by hitting the stem connecting it to the plant. Something was definitely out there and it knew that they were there.

Luna held her breath, not daring to move. The tension of the area was palpable and Luna feared if she dared move, she'd break it open like a water balloon. Next to her, James brows furrowed and his face was that of a deep frown, which did not put her worries to rest.

"JAPS! THEY'RE COMING!" The gunner quickly yelled to their comrades behind them. Many began to frantically grab their rifles and poured over to the line, taking up positions and ready to fire.

The rustling continued for a few seconds before stopping abruptly.

"TENNOHEIKA BANZAI!"

All hell began to break loose. The machine gunners began opening fire as WAVES of Japanese poured out through the trees. Most wore leaves and brush from the jungle around their shoulders and chest, a crude form of camouflage blending slightly with their beige, brown uniforms. Many were charging straightforward, their bayonets fixed to their rifles, right at the machine guns. Others crouched and fired back at the Marines. A few had grenades in their hands and were trying to throw them into the trench or up to the foxholes. A line of Japanese knee mortarmen were spotted still concealed in the treeline, only seen because of the smoke and flash from their weapons. These men were swiftly cut down by the riflemen that had joined the line.

Mortar shells began falling on the battlefield, the 60mm mortarmen having heard the skirmish and adding their influence to the fray. Japanese 81mm and heavy mortars began to salvo back with them, battling with the Marine mortarmen for control over the battlefield.

The battlefield was so intensely loud that Luna was clutching her ears against her head fiercely, trying desperately to block the cacophony of explosions and BANGS of rifles out of her ears. Bullets flew by her with a THWANG and THWOOM, frightening her even though she was in no danger. Those that didn't fly by were stopped by dirt with a THUCK!

The gunners continued their hail of fire, cutting down the Japanese counterattackers mercilessly. Luna saw nothing but hate and anger in their eyes, the gunner gritting his teeth as he poured out lead. Most of the attackers didn't make it to the line, being shot down by the heavy fire the gunners gave. Luna spied a Japanese run out of the trees at them only to be cut in half by the BAR man's burst. His top half fell to the ground, his intestines and organs splayed out all over the dirt and bleeding heavily. It was an absolute massacre.

She nearly barfed as she saw this exchange, but held it together, tearing up slightly with a horrified expression painted across her face. She was about to turn away to spare herself the sight of bloodshed, but James came next to her and put a hand over her shoulder, trying to comfort her in his own way. Under his protection, she resumed watching the carnage as best as she could, paying attention to James.

Younger James was currently okay, but looked very afraid. He frantically was running up and down the line, checking for any wounded or dead Marines. HIs .45 was out, but he did not participate in shooting the attackers, opting to use it only if he needed to.

"CORPSMAN!" the shout came. James head whipped to where the shout came from and sprinted over, crouched down to avoid any fire.

He reached the scream to find a fallen Marine with two of his buddies standing over him . Another Marine was next to the three, firing at the Japs and covering them as best he could. The fallen Marine had a large, gaping hole in his chest cavity near the left arm pit and about 2 inches from the nipple line, the wound bleeding steadily down into the dirt. It didn't seem like a sucking chest wound from what James could see, thankfully, but he suspected some rib fractures. The Marine's two buddies had cut open his jacket with their KABARS and we're putting pressure on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"AHHHH! DOC HELP ME! IT HURTS! AHHH!" the man clearly was NOT having a good day and was thrashing in the dirt, being held down by his friends and adding more to the pain.

James quickly put his .45 in his holster and whipped out his medical pack. "Keep the pressure on that wound," he ordered the two.

With a swiftness Luna hadn't seen before, James whipped out a dressing and the Sulfa powder, quickly ripping open the package and shaking it down into the entry wound. He rubbed it into the entry, much to the dislike of the injured man, and turned the man onto his uninjured side to assess the exit point, ordering the two to hold the pressure while he did.

The exit wound was MASSIVE, approximately a half an inch in size. This was also bleeding and James quickly laid pressure down on it, the Marine giving out a scream. He spied a few bits of his bones lying on the ground, splotches of blood and flesh still on them as well as the rifle round that had pierced him. Its tip had broken off and the round itself was slightly bent from the impact. James cursed at the sight.

He quickly began to shake Sulfa powder into it, as well as a hemostatic powder to try to stop the bleeding. Immediately after, he began to wrap the battle dressing around the man's chest, only letting up on the pressure to continue wrapping it around the impact area. He gave the man a few pain meds to help him. By this time, a stretcher team had crouched their way over, a Marine having seen the commotion and called the team for Doc.

As the men began loading the man into the stretcher as best as they could, James treated the man for shock.

"Doc," the man asked him, looking up at James, "Am I gonna be ok?"

James really didn't know, not having extensively examined what the inside of the wound looked like and how much damage the bullet had done to his bones.

"Oh sure, Marine. You're gonna make a full recovery. You'll be just fine," he reassured him, putting on a smile for him. "Hey, why don't you take this? A little souvenir from your time in the war," he picked up the bullet that had hit him and softly placed it in his right hand.

"Heh," the man laughed a small bit, "Thanks Doc," the stretcher team began to carry him away, likely back onto a hospital ship or to the battalion surgeon for surgery. The war was likely over for him, whether in death or in a discharge, James didn't know.

The battle had still been going on around them, the Japanese still not giving up despite a massive amount of their numbers lying on the jungle floor. The machine guns were hot, the steam from the intense heat of their barrels steadily rising into the air. Body parts lay all around the ground, having been ripped apart by the heavy artillery that was being poured onto the battlefield. Even after everything the Marines had done, the Japanese KEPT coming.

Luna just couldn't believe how dedicated these men were, even after everything that had happened. Their blind charge into certain death, she almost admired them in a sense.

She saw James, having finished with the casualty, start to sprint crouched down back around the line looking for injured men who needed him. He stopped approximately 10 feet next to a machine gun crew and took a position there.

"Damn, they just keep coming!" the assistant shouted to his partner, "You think they wou- SCHUCK!"

A round pierced straight through the man's neck, shattering his trachea and splattering the matter all over the ground behind him. His blood splashed in James face and eyes, making him sputter and spit onto the ground, horrified at what had just happened.

"CARVER NO!" the gunner screamed. "DAMN YOU! SLANT-EYED FUCKS!" he hollered, feeding the belt himself now and angrily firing his gun in retribution.

James rushed over to the fallen man, but he was already dead. Nothing could be done.

"Damnit all...," he whispered to himself.

He began to move on down the line and looked for more wounded men or calls for him. However, the offensive finally seemed to die down and the remaining Japanese began to retreat.

"DIE YOU JAP FUCKS! FUCKING DIE!" a Marine and his squadmates were plastering the retreating Japanese with rifle and Thompson fire.
The firing from the Marines continued for awhile until no Japanese were in sight anymore.

"Cease fire on the line!" the order was given. All fighting ceased and the Marines stared at the carnage before them.

Hundreds of dead Japanese were lying in the trees, brush, and grass of the Gloucester jungle. The smell of decaying flesh was already starting to settle in, as the flies quickly began to coalesce around the dead. Many of the Japs were torn apart, cut in half in various places. Assorted body parts were lain around them all decaying and rotting in the intense heat. Luna saw a hand nestled comfortably on a tree branch, the blood that was circulating to it steadily dripping out down onto the dead below. A piece of leg was splattered onto a tree trunk, the extreme force from an artillery shell plastering it out on the bark.

The floodgates finally let out as Luna vomited on the ground.

Shrapnel and craters were present, some of the dirt still smoking from the recent detonated shells. The Browning guns were still steaming, the sizzling from the water cooling the barrel loud and hissing like a snake. Most of the Marines stared out at the scene, sharing the same 1000 yard stare that James had.

"They just wouldn't stop," cried one young replacement private softly.

"Serves 'em right for Pearl," one man spat on the ground as he shakily began to light up a smoke.

Luna spied the machine gunner from before, kneeling in front of his assistant's body crying his eyes out. A few men were next to him, trying to console the mess of a man.

"Alright," yelled the Lieutenant, "let's clean this up. Jenkins, take some men with you. You're on body patrol. I want a round through every Jap corpse no matter how shot up they are. The rest of you, restock your ammo, go see Doc if you're injured, and start burying those bodies."

The men began to carry out the order swiftly. A few minutes later, Luna picked up a few isolated rifle shots, indicating Jenkins following his orders. Soon, the memory began to fade away.

Upon the darkness reclaiming the scene, Luna collapsed into James' arms, the tension, fear, and sadness overtaking her at once. Her ears folded back as she ugly cried into the man. James put his arms around her, placing his right hand on her head and pushing it softly into his chest.

"I know, Lu. I know," he comforted.

"How can you live with this?" she whimpered to him, her head still thoroughly buried in his chest.

"I don't," he replied, "It doesn't go away. Just some days... it's easier to deal with."

He continued narrating, "The war was such self-defeating brutalized, wasteful chaos, the way it destroyed the nation's very best. Carver had wanted to be a surgeon after the war, maybe a pediatrician. Such a bright young mind wanting to alleviate human suffering had itself been sacrificed to the maelstrom of war and suffering. What a waste..."

Luna nodded her head a little, her tears starting to subside a little. " Did that man you treat survive?"

"I don't know honestly. Once they're out of my care, if they don't come back, they either were sent back home to the States or...," he paused, "Were dead. I never heard from him again. I went back to check on the rest of my patients, but he wasn't there."

She fell silent at that, not having any more questions for him, just content to stay in his arms. She couldn't believe the destructive power that she had just witnessed. If this is what James had to struggle with everyday, she understood why he was always so upset.

"How did you feel?" she asked of him.

"I was...," he paused a little, looking for the right word for it, "exhausted. Both physically and emotionally. I spent much of the rest of that day treating small wounds and bringing some men back to the aid station. Each one had something different. A broken finger, shrapnel in the face that scarred them for life, one man had burns all over his body and shrapnel in each limb from a grenade."

"I just, couldn't bear to see all the suffering that this war was causing us, causing MY Marines, and it was only my first day," he explained, "It disgusted me and made me want to cry. But, I didn't. Everyday I'd put a brave face on for my boys to give them hope. The way I thought it, if Doc was happy, then everything was going to be alright. I had no time for sadness because my men came first in my mind, ALWAYS," he emphasized the last word.

She began to hug him strongly, not to comfort herself, but to comfort him in his sadness. James returned it, resting his chin on the top of her head. The two of them stood there for awhile, content to hold each other in their sadness.

Soon, though, James broke away from the hug. "I don't know about you," he spoke, "But I am hungry. Why don't we break for a little bit and I'll cook us something nice?"

"Mmm, that sounds lovely James. I'm eager to see how the mighty James Milligan conquers his kitchen," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood more.

"Sure thing. Now, how do we get out of here?" he asked her.

"Just close your eyes and I'll take care of the rest," she explained, taking his hands in hers.

Soon, the two disappeared back into the real world.