By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher
“I live a dream in a nightmare world”
It has been a long 10 hour trip out to the middle of no place. The closer I get to my destiny the louder the gun fire and artillery shell sounds echo in my ear. With excitement and anticipation I await mile by mile as we reach our point of destination. Tired and under fed. I can hardly wait until this day is over and hopefully return to our bunkers for some sleep.
As the truck suddenly stops. The order to move out is given and we fall in line one after the other to position. At first it looked like we were storming into a field. Cold and light rain made it difficult to advance. Suddenly we reach a barrier at the end of the field and one could clearly see the enemy about 40 yards away. My heart raced, my hands shake uncontrollably as my training has left my mind. All I can do is sit there behind this barrier afraid for my life. My mind races to my loved ones back home. To the thought of ‘’what am I doing here”. Only to hear the Sergeant yell. Move out. At first I did not think much of it as a quick prayer to the Lord got me up and running towards the enemy.
As shells exploded all around me I lost my footing and ended up in the mud face first. My eyes burning, my equipment and riffle scattered. I tried to get up only to be told to take cover. Wet, scared and partially blind I took cover behind this wall. There was seemed to be one of my fellow soldiers. I asked him, “what do we do now”. As I pushed on him. I could tell he had been shot in the face. Blood gushed from what was left of the back of his head.
As I look beyond in total fear. I see another fellow soldier attempt to climb over the wall only to be shot dead on the spot. Death was all around me. I closed my eyes temporarily and prayed for God to take me out of this hell I was facing. As I ended my prayer, something exploded near by and sent me flying once again into another puddle of mud. In that hole there were all kinds of dead soldiers missing all kinds of limbs. Sitting in this watery hole surrounded by death. I could not move. I was so afraid I defecated and urinated in my uniform. I remember what they told us in training. To not let fear get the best of our commitment to the fight for freedom. I volunteered to fight for my country but never in a million years could I be prepared for what I was facing. Complete chaos and death. I could barely hold my weapon as my hands shook so badly. I reached into my pocket and took one last look at my love’s picture and stood up yelling in fear towards the enemy. As I ran into the enemy trenches I came across a lone soldier there standing, I could see in his eyes the fear that I was experiencing only to be first at the shot that killed a man I never met. His lifeless body laid there as I could not bare the damage I had caused another human being... only to look down at his hand and realize he was also holding tight to the picture of the love he left behind.
They say you become battle hardened with time... that may be true but you never forget the faces of those you killed.
Strangers killing strangers in the name of a cause. In mine freedom and liberation. I volunteered to serve to assure future generation could live free and not have to be faced with the reality that stood before me. In the memory of all those around me that died protecting our rights and freedoms I proudly hold this flag up in memory of their sacrifices. No man or woman shall be so below in human standards as to question the loss of a life in the name of humanity, liberty for all men. This flag is our soul, our being the body of civilization. You burn it, stomp on it and God will deal with your soul as he has with that of our enemies.
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