Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen, of the allied expeditionary force.....
"5 minutes!!!" A dozen young men, clad in gears like me, are with this small watercraft swaying with the ocean, one man had loose his lunch while another gripped his weapon tightly
You are about to embark on a great crusade, which we have striven for many months.....
My eyes had gaze the rough seas, with our small boat, others are also traversing to these dangerous waters. "You got a light?" The one who drove the boat, asked a favor, I looked for my lighter and let him use it to smoke his cigar "thanks kiddo" my head nodded
The eyes of the world are upon you, The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people marches with you.....
The currents are smashing our boat left to right, our balance is now very unstable as the driver was having a hard time navigating the boat. The sea is raining upon us, clothes are wet as the splashes of water hits my helmet. One young boy who is beside me is shaking crazily, and with pity, i tried to ease him up "hey there....you ok?". He replied which is in the form of shaking his head "I-i-im scared...." i felt sympathetic towards him, a young boy like him shouldn't supposed to be here "Hey, it's too late to turn back now"
"I-i g-g-guess so" he said, shivering quite madly
The waters were still rough as before, making our traveling a bit hard
"...just try to relax ok? And you'll do fine" i tried my best to motivate him. "T-thanks" It seems my pep talk works a bit, and with that done, i focused back on the current things
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world......
Of all the time...my head is repeating the speech our general broadcasted..the last speech I'll probably hear before we hop in this boat
"æughhh" The same lad who looses his lunch did it again, partially covering the boat with bile, but no one complained, we are too focused to even pay a mind to it, his eyes went to mine with an apologetic look, i only shake my head and said "Don't mind"
He grew a smile on his face and thanked before standing straight, a bit wobbly. Motion sickness....that's quite unfortunate for him, i thought upon looking at the man. Then i watched the horizon in front of us, only to see the bland grey fog covering it up "1 MINUTES!!"
The driver gestured something to his fellow drivers side by sides, with a message i don't know how to translate
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely....
Memories of myself have flashed before my eyes...The time i got my first friend, those sweet moments when I'm flirting with her, who is now my wife, those lovable bits with us enjoying and lastly, My farewell to her before joining the army, a kiss...a kiss was her final gift before i depart
Subconsciously touching me cheeks, that day still felt like she did it yesterday.
And with that, my hand were beginning to shiver a bit, due to cold? Nervousness or even fright? I don't know, but calming them took a while
"Dammit, now's not the time to be a scaredy-cat" i said to myself
The two M1919 Browning gunners had a small chatter, which i picked up a few lines like
"Man, this is suicidal.."
"Why do you said so?"
"We're heading to a heavily fortified position, the navy may weakened it but the first wave failed to take it, I don't think this is a good idea..."
And those few words gave me goosebumps. thought, mostly composed of the grim and darkest circulated on my brain, and with that, i forced to banish these mere thinking and carry on
But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.....
"30 SECONDS!!" Those words brought chills to my bones as we are getting closer to our destination, i looked to tue horizon again but it was in vain as i can barely see through the foggy terrain
And then, we heard it...
"FWEEEEEET!!!!" A sound that is so terrifying, soared through the air, i looked up and see a faint small object flying towards our position.
"INCOMING!!!" And with that, the small thing hits the sea, creating a huge shockwave which shook our boat.
"Mortars! Keep your heads down!" Our squad leader said to us, gesturing to stay low.
"WHEEEZE!!!!, BOOOM!" Another round went, but this time, it got lucky as a landing craft to our left was engulfed in flames, claiming it's beloved prize.
Bodies flew to the air, some cried and some died, but the most horrifying thing is their dismemberment of their limbs. I thought i was gonna loose own my lunch back there, may god give peace to those poor fellows
"KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN ALRIGHT? FIRST WAVE WERE CUT TO SHITS! OUR MISSION IS TO-"
One shell almost hit us, badly rocking the boat to the point we fell to out butts.
"OUR MISSION IS TO SECURE A BEACH FRONT FOR OUR BOYS BACK AT ENGLAND" the sergeant continued on his orders
"MIKE, COVER OUR ENGINEERS WITH THE BANGALORES WITH YOUR TEAM, JOHNSON, ESCORT THEM AND RETURN FIRE!" The shrieking of the bombardment didn't ease me up, but looking at the frightened kiddo beside me, I can say I'm lucky
"AND THE REST OF YOU, ONCE YOUR IN THE GROUND. FIND WALKER! UNDERSTAND?!"
"HORRAH!!" We said, while struggling to stabilise ourself
"PHWWWWWT BOOM" And another Huggins boat sank beneath the rough waters
"Jesus chr-!!!"one of the 50.cal gunners didn't even finished his words when he was strucked with a stray bullet
"15 SECONDS!!!!" The driver said, ducking his head while the last remaining MG gunner returned fire
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.....
And with the bombardment, the hailstorm of bullets joined. Sparks and lights hit our boat, killing the last gunner to us, his body hanging, looking at my own eyes. My hands are now tightly gripping my own rifle while looking at his own decided eyes
"Poor bastard" the driver spoke, I wiped the blood that smudge my face
"WHERE'S THE RALLY POINT, CAPTAIN?!"
"ANYWHERE NEAR THOSE BUNKERS, PRIVATE!!"
When I gazed at the front, I only saw something....very disturbing, boats similar to ours layed there, crippled and destroyed, mutilated bodies either are floating on the sea or resting on the shore, my mouth felt like it choked upon seeing it...
No one can have a good night rest after this....
"5 SECONDS!!!"
"LET'S DO THIS" One lad is hype upon standing. With our battered boat arriving the shore, along side a few others, we anticipated. The battlefield became silent, the sea became calm, the whistling stopped and the only thing we heard....is the metal cranking of our ramps
"LOWERING THE RAMPS, MOVE IT, MOVE IT!!"
And slowly, we saw a bloodied beach, smoking crafts, fresh dead bodies and felt the stares of thousands of enemy soldiers gazing our location.
This. Is. It.
"FWEEEEEEET!!!"
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking......
