“The silence of war is most loudest.”
The loudness stopped all thoughts except those of survival. Those of killing. Those of kill or be killed. Machine guns and rifle shots filled the empty spaces between artillery rounds. They came and came. They killed and killed. They died and died. The Marines lost count of the numbers. They just knew there were less Chinese than a moment ago and would be even less in the forthcoming seconds. The loudness of battle seemed as if it would continue forever. The Marines did know the night would end. Each prayed he would not end with the night.
Allen’s finger pulled and pulled the trigger. He shot at the flashes knowing someone on the other side was firing. Through the coldness of the darkness and the unseen snow which ran with blood, he kept firing. Reload, fire, fire, and fire some more. Reload, fire, fire, and fire some more. As the edge of twilight rose, he quit firing. He had survived the night.
Looking down the slope of the mountain, his eyes saw bodies and bodies of dead enemy soldiers. His mind saw his new baby boy laying in his soft crib. He held his wife next to him as they stood guard over the little angel.
“I have done so many terrible things in my life, Lord. Please, let me get home to my family. I do not want to die.” This tough young man, this tough young boy who never feared anything but his wife, now felt the fear of dying.
Falling onto the embankment of his frozen foxhole after his mind finally saw those who no longer feared dying, icy tears tried running down his face. “How did this night happen. How did I get here. What am I doing here,” Allen stated to himself.
“Allen, please, let it go, my love. It is OK to let go. Quit fighting. There is nothing to fear. Please, let it go,” Ella cried as she rubbed his hand with both of hers. She prayed to the One for the first time in many years.
Allen could hear his wife, yet, he did not hear. For two weeks, he had been in a nightly coma. His lung cancer finally got the better of him. He has been firing his rifle throughout this nightly affair.
“Allen, try piling it up some more. Can’t get too deep into this frigid crap. Every little bit helps,” the Sarge commanded when scurrying by.
“Bastard,” Allen thought to himself. Him and the Sarge had their differences. The Italian in Allen seem to have a natural dislike for the French in the Sarge. “And I had to fall in love with a Cajun girl.” Allen smiled to himself as pushing up some more dirt, pebbles, and stones.
“Ella, go to the show with me?”
“No. How many times do I have to tell you, no!”
Allen gave a fiery stare to Jeff who stood behind Ella. Jeff knew Allen and knew standing behind Ella would save him. Ella was the only one that could stand up to Allen.
The madness in Allen made him bubble inside. “Can’t wait to get you by yourself, Jeff,” Allen thought to himself. He turned and walked into the darkness.
With the rising of the sun, strange eerie noises sounded in the distance. Even in the freezing daylight, the Marines sweated. They knew another night would come when the sun went down in the western horizon.
Allen raised his head from the hole in the ground to see some other fellow Marines pulling Chinese bodies up the hill to the front of their foxholes. Dragging dead bodies made for less work than trying to dig into the frozen rocks. Allen could not bring himself to do this. He turned his face away from the sight and all turned to silence.
Jeff and his two buddies laughed as they came down the hall of the school. Jeff’s retelling of the night before with Ella and what a good time they had made his friends so envious of him. The buddies had to pick on him.
As they turned to enter the stairwell, a hand came from around the wall and smashed Jeff in the face. Blood flew from his broken nose. And before his shocked friends knew what had happened, another hand grabbed one and a foot kicked another. They went flying to behind the stairs. Jeff followed right behind. Allen had them behind the stairs and whipping them to pieces. He smiled his evil smile of revenge, “Ella, see what you have done.”
From behind Allen, a chilly laughter echoed out and came running towards him. Allen shook his fearful head as he turned to face the Chinese only to see his buddy Andrew hurriedly approaching him waving his right arm in the air.
“Smokey, look what I found,” Andrew yelled to break the frozen air.
Allen became excited, too. Not so much because he knew what was going on, but to heat his thoughts and body with the warmth from the fiery and percolating glow Andrew had on his face and in his voice. “What is it?”
“I found this on the hill down below. It is a Chink’s pouch. Boy, it has some funny stuff in it,” Andrew shouted with a cold breath. “Look at this Chink money,” he continued as flapping paper in the air.
Stopping next to Allen, Andrew gave Allen the money and started exploring the pouch, again. Some papers, a pencil, and then, a small wallet, which Andrew handed to Allen. “This is fun.”
Allen nodded his head as he opened the wallet. There inside he saw a photo of a young woman with a young child. Allen had not eaten in a long time, but whatever was in his stomach flew out onto the ground.
“Hell, Smokey. What’s a matter with you?”
Allen’s pale face stared Andrew’s eyes with a sickly look and, with a weak, but stern, voice, “My wife. My child.” Allen’s open hand went to his side. It was protecting something in his pocket. “Damn, a Chink one day.” Allen’s eyes opened-wide.
Andrew knew what he meant, “You can’t think that way, Smokey. If you want to see your wife and child, again, you can’t think that way.”
Allen grabbed Andrew by his collar, “I’ve never seen my child with my own eyes.” Allen turned and walked away.
“You two, quit the small talk. Get back to piling the rock and dirt. The sun isn’t waiting for you two to quit talking before going down. Get back to work!” he yelled.
Allen and Andrew looked up at the sun and, even with the frozen cold, sweat drops appeared on their heads. They feared the night.
Allen felt a hand on his shoulder. He was pulled around. With a sounding slap, he felt a sting on his face.
“You creep. How could you!” Ella yelled into his face.
A face of shock appeared on Allen’s face, but within, he was smiling. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what you did. You broke Jeff’s nose and Buddy’s arm. Henry has bruises all over his face and body.”
“How do you know it was me? Did they tell you that?”
“Don’t think I am stupid. I know you threatened them not to talk. You are the only one who would do something like this.”
“Well, I did it for you.”
“What! You did it for me. Don’t go there. You didn’t do it for me. You are just a thug. You just think you are so big and bad. Don’t ever talk to me, again.” Ella turned and briskly walked away. Flames from her red hair shot back.
Allen smiled, “We shall see.”
“Allen, let go. It is alright. I will be alright. Quit fighting. It is alright to die. Please, quit fighting,” Ella prayed to him. “I know you can hear me. Your body can’t take anymore. Quit suffering.”
Allen heard every word. The fight for life, how do you give it up? Especially, when you fear death so much. “I can’t quit.”
The darkness could be seen slowly advancing up the mountain side. Within minutes it will be completely dark. “When will they come?” The question on everyone mind. Soon, single shots rang out here and there. “Quit firing!” someone screamed, “They ain’t here, yet!”
“Has it been hours, or minutes?” Allen thought to himself.
From the skies, a blinding light flashed. Bloodly screams floated up the hill. Armed, dark figures advanced as the burning flare dropped. Sounds of gunfire from rifles and machine guns filled the air.
Blocking thoughts of his wife and child, Allen’s finger kept pulling the trigger. Kept dropping clips into his rifle. Kept aiming at the dark figures. Kept blocking the photo of a young woman and child from his mind. Kept blocking the love and wanting to be home.
In time, being long or short, who knew, ammo became an issue. Allen crawled a yard or two towards Andrew to ask for some additional ammo. Reaching and grabbing Andrew’s arm from behind, Andrew’s helmet rolled down from the pile of rocks and dirt.
Looking at Andrew’s bloody face, with what was left from a deadly hit, Allen had trouble unfocusing the thoughts of his face on the lifeless body. Then, remembering back to boot camp, remembering back to all the fun times out drinking and telling stories, remembering back, Allen grabbed his rifle and, through the tears, pulled the trigger and dropped the clips as fast as he could. Without a thought, he saw many dark figures drop.
When the ammo gave out, Allen ran down the line to find a machine gun unit. It had a difficult time firing since one of the members was wounded. Allen moved him aside and began to feed the machine gun. From a few shots to an almost endless stream of death.
In time, all things end. So did this night. In the morning, the sun came up again, though for many, it would nevermore come up. The Marines held their ground.
Ella came out the door after hearing the knock. “Joseph, what’s wrong.” She had a nice date with Joseph and the little good-night kiss was fine, but had she forgotten something.
All Joseph could do was point his finger up towards the branches of the nearby trees. Ella had to laugh. In the star filled night sky, there in the upper branches was Joseph’s motorbike. “How did he do that,” Ella thought to herself.
Allen felt a hand on his shoulder. He was pulled around. With a sounding laugh, he felt a soft, smooth hand on his face.
“Allen, how did you do that?” Ella asked. “Joseph had the funniest face. His daddy had to come in the morning with some rope and a couple of friends to get it down. It was so funny.”
“It worked,” Allen thought as he smiled. “It wasn’t easy,” he replied.
“Allen, go help other there,” the Sarge commanded.
Allen jumped up and ran up to the Sarge’s face. What a hateful and angry look he gave the Sarge. In the Sarge’s eyes, he saw such softness. He saw understanding. He knew the Sarge at one time felt the same feelings and the same hurts when losing a comrade. A fellow Marine.
Patting Allen on the back, “Go. Help the others. We will take care of Andrew.” The Sarge grabbed Allen’s shoulders and pointed him away from Andrew. Allen slowly walked away to give help.
Allen could feel Ella’s hands on his.
“Go. Your dad and mom will be waiting for you. Your family. Your friends.”
Allen pictured his mom, his dad, and all the other family members who preceded into another life. But, give up. Never.
Then, a voice he hadn’t heard for so many years, “Smokey, it is alright. We are waiting for you. I have a cold beer right here. I saw you walking away and called to you, but you couldn’t hear. Do you hear me, now?” Andrew questioned.
“Walking towards the room, I heard her shout, Allen! Allen! When I got there, she was sobbing on his hands. When I picked her up, she said ‘He said it was alright.’ I don’t know how he could say anything. He couldn’t talk, but she said he did.”
Down the aisle, a young lady walked. A long, flowing train from her wedding dress followed. The filled hall was quiet. There at the end of the aisle, stood a proud, youthful Italian man. Reaching the end of the walk, the young man took the young lady’s hands, “I told you I would wait for you.”
“I missed you,” she smiled.
“I see they buried you with me. I am glad.”
“Yes, together forever, Allen.”
“Yes, together forever, Ella. The ‘night’ has ended.”
The loudness stopped all thoughts except those of survival. Those of killing. Those of kill or be killed. Machine guns and rifle shots filled the empty spaces between artillery rounds. They came and came. They killed and killed. They died and died. The Marines lost count of the numbers. They just knew there were less Chinese than a moment ago and would be even less in the forthcoming seconds. The loudness of battle seemed as if it would continue forever. The Marines did know the night would end. Each prayed he would not end with the night.
Allen’s finger pulled and pulled the trigger. He shot at the flashes knowing someone on the other side was firing. Through the coldness of the darkness and the unseen snow which ran with blood, he kept firing. Reload, fire, fire, and fire some more. Reload, fire, fire, and fire some more. As the edge of twilight rose, he quit firing. He had survived the night.
Looking down the slope of the mountain, his eyes saw bodies and bodies of dead enemy soldiers. His mind saw his new baby boy laying in his soft crib. He held his wife next to him as they stood guard over the little angel.
“I have done so many terrible things in my life, Lord. Please, let me get home to my family. I do not want to die.” This tough young man, this tough young boy who never feared anything but his wife, now felt the fear of dying.
Falling onto the embankment of his frozen foxhole after his mind finally saw those who no longer feared dying, icy tears tried running down his face. “How did this night happen. How did I get here. What am I doing here,” Allen stated to himself.
“Allen, please, let it go, my love. It is OK to let go. Quit fighting. There is nothing to fear. Please, let it go,” Ella cried as she rubbed his hand with both of hers. She prayed to the One for the first time in many years.
Allen could hear his wife, yet, he did not hear. For two weeks, he had been in a nightly coma. His lung cancer finally got the better of him. He has been firing his rifle throughout this nightly affair.
“Allen, try piling it up some more. Can’t get too deep into this frigid crap. Every little bit helps,” the Sarge commanded when scurrying by.
“Bastard,” Allen thought to himself. Him and the Sarge had their differences. The Italian in Allen seem to have a natural dislike for the French in the Sarge. “And I had to fall in love with a Cajun girl.” Allen smiled to himself as pushing up some more dirt, pebbles, and stones.
“Ella, go to the show with me?”
“No. How many times do I have to tell you, no!”
Allen gave a fiery stare to Jeff who stood behind Ella. Jeff knew Allen and knew standing behind Ella would save him. Ella was the only one that could stand up to Allen.
The madness in Allen made him bubble inside. “Can’t wait to get you by yourself, Jeff,” Allen thought to himself. He turned and walked into the darkness.
With the rising of the sun, strange eerie noises sounded in the distance. Even in the freezing daylight, the Marines sweated. They knew another night would come when the sun went down in the western horizon.
Allen raised his head from the hole in the ground to see some other fellow Marines pulling Chinese bodies up the hill to the front of their foxholes. Dragging dead bodies made for less work than trying to dig into the frozen rocks. Allen could not bring himself to do this. He turned his face away from the sight and all turned to silence.
Jeff and his two buddies laughed as they came down the hall of the school. Jeff’s retelling of the night before with Ella and what a good time they had made his friends so envious of him. The buddies had to pick on him.
As they turned to enter the stairwell, a hand came from around the wall and smashed Jeff in the face. Blood flew from his broken nose. And before his shocked friends knew what had happened, another hand grabbed one and a foot kicked another. They went flying to behind the stairs. Jeff followed right behind. Allen had them behind the stairs and whipping them to pieces. He smiled his evil smile of revenge, “Ella, see what you have done.”
From behind Allen, a chilly laughter echoed out and came running towards him. Allen shook his fearful head as he turned to face the Chinese only to see his buddy Andrew hurriedly approaching him waving his right arm in the air.
“Smokey, look what I found,” Andrew yelled to break the frozen air.
Allen became excited, too. Not so much because he knew what was going on, but to heat his thoughts and body with the warmth from the fiery and percolating glow Andrew had on his face and in his voice. “What is it?”
“I found this on the hill down below. It is a Chink’s pouch. Boy, it has some funny stuff in it,” Andrew shouted with a cold breath. “Look at this Chink money,” he continued as flapping paper in the air.
Stopping next to Allen, Andrew gave Allen the money and started exploring the pouch, again. Some papers, a pencil, and then, a small wallet, which Andrew handed to Allen. “This is fun.”
Allen nodded his head as he opened the wallet. There inside he saw a photo of a young woman with a young child. Allen had not eaten in a long time, but whatever was in his stomach flew out onto the ground.
“Hell, Smokey. What’s a matter with you?”
Allen’s pale face stared Andrew’s eyes with a sickly look and, with a weak, but stern, voice, “My wife. My child.” Allen’s open hand went to his side. It was protecting something in his pocket. “Damn, a Chink one day.” Allen’s eyes opened-wide.
Andrew knew what he meant, “You can’t think that way, Smokey. If you want to see your wife and child, again, you can’t think that way.”
Allen grabbed Andrew by his collar, “I’ve never seen my child with my own eyes.” Allen turned and walked away.
“You two, quit the small talk. Get back to piling the rock and dirt. The sun isn’t waiting for you two to quit talking before going down. Get back to work!” he yelled.
Allen and Andrew looked up at the sun and, even with the frozen cold, sweat drops appeared on their heads. They feared the night.
Allen felt a hand on his shoulder. He was pulled around. With a sounding slap, he felt a sting on his face.
“You creep. How could you!” Ella yelled into his face.
A face of shock appeared on Allen’s face, but within, he was smiling. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what you did. You broke Jeff’s nose and Buddy’s arm. Henry has bruises all over his face and body.”
“How do you know it was me? Did they tell you that?”
“Don’t think I am stupid. I know you threatened them not to talk. You are the only one who would do something like this.”
“Well, I did it for you.”
“What! You did it for me. Don’t go there. You didn’t do it for me. You are just a thug. You just think you are so big and bad. Don’t ever talk to me, again.” Ella turned and briskly walked away. Flames from her red hair shot back.
Allen smiled, “We shall see.”
“Allen, let go. It is alright. I will be alright. Quit fighting. It is alright to die. Please, quit fighting,” Ella prayed to him. “I know you can hear me. Your body can’t take anymore. Quit suffering.”
Allen heard every word. The fight for life, how do you give it up? Especially, when you fear death so much. “I can’t quit.”
The darkness could be seen slowly advancing up the mountain side. Within minutes it will be completely dark. “When will they come?” The question on everyone mind. Soon, single shots rang out here and there. “Quit firing!” someone screamed, “They ain’t here, yet!”
“Has it been hours, or minutes?” Allen thought to himself.
From the skies, a blinding light flashed. Bloodly screams floated up the hill. Armed, dark figures advanced as the burning flare dropped. Sounds of gunfire from rifles and machine guns filled the air.
Blocking thoughts of his wife and child, Allen’s finger kept pulling the trigger. Kept dropping clips into his rifle. Kept aiming at the dark figures. Kept blocking the photo of a young woman and child from his mind. Kept blocking the love and wanting to be home.
In time, being long or short, who knew, ammo became an issue. Allen crawled a yard or two towards Andrew to ask for some additional ammo. Reaching and grabbing Andrew’s arm from behind, Andrew’s helmet rolled down from the pile of rocks and dirt.
Looking at Andrew’s bloody face, with what was left from a deadly hit, Allen had trouble unfocusing the thoughts of his face on the lifeless body. Then, remembering back to boot camp, remembering back to all the fun times out drinking and telling stories, remembering back, Allen grabbed his rifle and, through the tears, pulled the trigger and dropped the clips as fast as he could. Without a thought, he saw many dark figures drop.
When the ammo gave out, Allen ran down the line to find a machine gun unit. It had a difficult time firing since one of the members was wounded. Allen moved him aside and began to feed the machine gun. From a few shots to an almost endless stream of death.
In time, all things end. So did this night. In the morning, the sun came up again, though for many, it would nevermore come up. The Marines held their ground.
Ella came out the door after hearing the knock. “Joseph, what’s wrong.” She had a nice date with Joseph and the little good-night kiss was fine, but had she forgotten something.
All Joseph could do was point his finger up towards the branches of the nearby trees. Ella had to laugh. In the star filled night sky, there in the upper branches was Joseph’s motorbike. “How did he do that,” Ella thought to herself.
Allen felt a hand on his shoulder. He was pulled around. With a sounding laugh, he felt a soft, smooth hand on his face.
“Allen, how did you do that?” Ella asked. “Joseph had the funniest face. His daddy had to come in the morning with some rope and a couple of friends to get it down. It was so funny.”
“It worked,” Allen thought as he smiled. “It wasn’t easy,” he replied.
“Allen, go help other there,” the Sarge commanded.
Allen jumped up and ran up to the Sarge’s face. What a hateful and angry look he gave the Sarge. In the Sarge’s eyes, he saw such softness. He saw understanding. He knew the Sarge at one time felt the same feelings and the same hurts when losing a comrade. A fellow Marine.
Patting Allen on the back, “Go. Help the others. We will take care of Andrew.” The Sarge grabbed Allen’s shoulders and pointed him away from Andrew. Allen slowly walked away to give help.
Allen could feel Ella’s hands on his.
“Go. Your dad and mom will be waiting for you. Your family. Your friends.”
Allen pictured his mom, his dad, and all the other family members who preceded into another life. But, give up. Never.
Then, a voice he hadn’t heard for so many years, “Smokey, it is alright. We are waiting for you. I have a cold beer right here. I saw you walking away and called to you, but you couldn’t hear. Do you hear me, now?” Andrew questioned.
“Walking towards the room, I heard her shout, Allen! Allen! When I got there, she was sobbing on his hands. When I picked her up, she said ‘He said it was alright.’ I don’t know how he could say anything. He couldn’t talk, but she said he did.”
Down the aisle, a young lady walked. A long, flowing train from her wedding dress followed. The filled hall was quiet. There at the end of the aisle, stood a proud, youthful Italian man. Reaching the end of the walk, the young man took the young lady’s hands, “I told you I would wait for you.”
“I missed you,” she smiled.
“I see they buried you with me. I am glad.”
“Yes, together forever, Allen.”
“Yes, together forever, Ella. The ‘night’ has ended.”
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