The Old Breed

Chapter 14

Cape Gloucester

March 17th, 1944

"Wilson, Gora, Liss, search the bunker. Edmann, Adams, Wallace, grab three more guys and set up perimeter. Anything that moves and isn't one of you three, Wilson, you kill, understand? Do it quick, boys. Daylight's fading fast. After this, we can dig our foxholes and settle in."

Lieutenant Armstrong's face was terse, and we knew this was no time to fool around. None of us had meant to find this bunker, stumbling on it more than anything. It was a wooden structure, built up with logs, an opening in the sides for machine guns, which there were none. Another company had already advanced through this section of the jungle, but it was not impossible that they had just walked right by it without noticing a thing. The jungle was terribly dense in this sector, to the point where if a Marine got more than ten feet in front of you, they'd simply disappear.

I pulled my rifle down from where it had been shouldered, pointed it down into the opening of the bunker. Lanky was right behind me, and Rocky behind him. It was a sandy spot in the middle of a miniscule clearing, the sand dipping down into a concealed opening. There was no light coming from inside the bunker, and the opening a black maw readying itself to swallow me up.

"I'm going in, Lanky. By God, cover me."

"What else would I do?"

I didn't answer. I stuck the muzzle of my rifle into the opening first, thought about firing a warning shot. No. If there are other Japs in this jungle, they'll definitely hear it too. I took a cautious step inwards, leaned my head in. When no one shot at me for a moment, I decided the room was empty.

"Clear."

It took my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. The bunker was empty of anything, just a small room, a thin sandy floor, more log walls. Dust bunnies floated everywhere, a faint musty smell saturated the air, and a different smell too. I couldn't make out what it was, but it smelled bad. Real bad. There were two other rooms leading off from the main one, and I motioned for Lanky to take one of them while I checked the other one. Rocky stayed back in the main room as cover. The second room was almost as empty as the first, a small desk in one corner, which I feverishly checked for documents. Nothing.

"Hey, I've got something!"

My head snapped up at the voice, loud against the relative stillness of the bunker. I stepped quickly out of my room, heard Lanky still calling us from his room. I made my way quickly through the main room, caught up with Rocky, and we stepped into Lanky's area at the same time. I stopped suddenly, Rocky doing the same.

"Oh shit." Rocky muttered slowly. My stomach twisted in revolt, and I fought the urge to hurl. I looked over to Lanky, who was leaning in one of the corners, his face sickly. I couldn't help looking down at his feet, could see the puke.

There were four Jap bodies spaced out along the walls, each of their chests ripped open, their faces sliced up. There were fragments of wood and metal all over the floor and sticking from each body. The log walls were all chipped up, more metal splinters sticking from them. The body closest to me had his cut up arms wrapped around his midsection, a feeble last attempt to keep his entrails from spilling into his lap. There was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the wall, already on my boondockers, everywhere. The smell was hideous too, clenching up my throat, making me choke, the smell so thick I could almost taste it.

The deaths were from a well-placed grenade or grenades, the shrapnel and concussion the biggest killers of these men. I found where the grenade must have come from, a small ventilation pipe running up out of the roof.