Trees flew by Alex as he bounced up and down on his seat, the potholes on the road more prominent than the road itself. He had finally finished his training and was now war ready. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Alex couldn't help but to grin. Since h...
The ship arrived at their destination. Alex had puked four times within eight hours before the ship had landed and he was thankful that they were finally land bound.
"Alright boys," Lieutenant Carter spoke as the last soldier got out of the ship and joined them in the water, "We've got one hell of a battle ahead of us. Axis powers are expecting us to attack and are just waiting for us to make the first move. Of course, they might not and they may be headed for us right now, who knows-" A man tapped Lieutenant Carter's shoulder and the seasoned officer ceased speaking. The man whispered something in his ears and Lieutenant Carter hummed in acknowledgment before speaking again, "Johnny Plinkton, where are you?"
Johnny put his hand in the air, "Right here, Sir."
"You've got experience as a tail gunner, don't you?" Lieutenant Carter asked and Johnny nodded.
"Well, yes but I didn't do much." Johnny looked a bit scared and Alex whispered words of encouragement to him.
"You're going to be transferred then. Hodge just lost his tail gunner and they don't have a spare to give. Since you've had experience, you'll be joining him and his crew."
The man, Hodge apparently, spoke up, "Our previous tail gunner, Louis Pelliski, was shot and killed. Would you be willing?"
"I have to go anyways, don't I?" Johnny asked, his voice dismal.
"Yes, you do," Hodge replied, "I just thought it would be more polite to ask."
Manuel clapped Johnny on the back and Hodge patiently waited as Johnny said his goodbyes to his friends. Knowing this might be the last time Alex would ever see Johnny, he didn't protest when Johnny pulled him into a tight hug.
"You stay safe for me, okay Scrap?" Johnny said with a sad smile and Alex nodded.
"The same goes for you, Johnny." Alex replied.
"Alright, I've given you as much time as I could but we've gotta head out now." Hodge rushed and Johnny reluctantly pulled away from his friends. With one last wave, he jogged over to Captain Hodge and they walked into a jeep and drove away.
That was another friend that Alex had lost.
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Alex marched along beside Manuel, Alwin, and Landon. Alex could feel the pain of loss already hanging down his heart like an anchor. He knew that Johnny was still alive but the pain still remained. It was the pain of not knowing if he was ever going to see Johnny, Francis, Tommy, and the rest of his friends ever again. Somehow, that was worse than the pain of losing someone to death.
Manuel and Landon had solemn expressions on their faces and Alex had a feeling that the subject of loss was on their minds too.
Alex began to hate the war even more.
It had taken away so many of friends already and the drafting was taking even more.
They weren't permitted to speak and the lieutenant had told them to keep their guns at the ready. Alex looked around and saw several trigger happy boys with their fingers on the trigger. Alex had been taught by his father to never keep his finger on the trigger because if he got startled he could shoot someone or himself by mistake. Alex wanted to say something to them but he didn't want to get yelled at so he attempted to ignore it and instead concentrate on the path ahead of them.
Suddenly, the men in front of Alex flew in the air, a loud booming noise joining them. Medics rushed forward and began treating their wounds as the lieutenant instructed them all to stay quiet, stay low, and keep their guns ready. They were next to a house and the inhabitants poked out to see what was happening.
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Alex attempted to sneak a peek at the men but Manuel grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "You don't want to see that, Scrap."
"But-" Alex argued but Manuel gently shook his head and Alex realized he was probably right.
No Axis troops came out so, after a few minutes of waiting, they began marching again. This time more careful and looking at the ground to see any evidence of an underground mine.
Alex, despite Manuel's attempts, saw the horrors inflicted upon the men by the underground mines. One man's head had been blown in half, another's legs were several feet away from him, Alex also passed by a man whose torso was laying next to him. Men puked as they passed them, Alex one of them.
Birds chirped overhead and Alex thought it funny that while him and everyone around him were scared out of their minds, the birds were perfectly calm.
It was still raining and the dirt that they were going to have to march through was now all mud. Alex sloshed through it and tried to think of something else but the mud was filling his boots and slowly cementing, making his feet hurt. When they had first started, it had all been water and sand, but now that they were closer to the seaside homes, it was a muddy mess.
Alex glanced at the houses they passed by and saw a small face peeking back at him. He smiled and waved at the little girl in the window and her scared expression turned to a hesitant smile and she gave a small wave back. Another face appeared, this one much older, and glared at Alex then pulled the girl away.
"Don't talk to the locals, Scrap," Manuel said, "they don't take too kindly to us. After their government roped them in with the Axis, they've been going through a lot of hardships. Country is in turmoil."
Alex looked up at Manuel, "Why would anyone side with Hitler?"
"Money. Protection. Power," Manuel replied, "Anything could cause for it. Can't blame them for it, Scrap. They just want their country safe."
"Then why don't they side with us?"
Manuel shrugged, "Germany is closer and it would be easy for them to invade Italy. So, they figure that it'd be safer to go with them."
"Makes sense." Alex replied with a small nod.
"Although it's sad, it's the hard truth."
------
Johnny looked around him at his new crewmates. There was Captain Jerry Hodge, who was the pilot; Greg Krueger, who was the co-pilot; Phil Truman, who was the flight engineer; and Carlvin Dater was the navigator. There was also Griph Smith, who was one of the waist gunners; Jakob Bloczynski; who was the other waist gunner; Trampis Coulter, who was the bombardier; and Dennis Olwin, who was the ball turret gunner.
After the men introduced themselves to Johnny, they set off to their positions.
Johnny and the rest of the crew were flying in a B-17 by the name of Peace Maker. She was a sturdy fortress and Johnny was glad they weren't flying in a B-24, planes known for non-combat related deaths. Some men had even taken to nicknaming them "flying coffins."
Johnny hurried to the back of the plane and took his place as the new tail gunner.
He was nervous to say the least. Johnny had almost died his last time as a tail gunner and now he was replacing someone who had died. His last crew had all perished when they had to crash land onto an island. Johnny had somehow been the only survivor.
Sitting in the tail gunner's seat, Johnny took a deep breath and got ready to fight.
