Suddenly, he wasn’t overlooking the beach anymore. He was back on the boat, steel walls and soldiers surrounding him on all sides. Listening to the deep hum of the engine, the choppy rise and fall of english channel, the hacking sounds of the men surrounding him throwing up their breakfasts.
The black clouds cast an ominous sheen over the water, the soldiers hands were clenched with uncertainty, their grips slipping on the plastic-wrapped rifles. Freezing ankle deep sea water lined the deck with little puddles of vomit floating about- saturating his boots, coating the lower parts of his uniform.
Sergeant Jackson, Private Mayor, Private Lyle, and Private Liangelo were among the three dozen or so men boat beside him. This was the beginning …show more content…
At last, his emotion returned. He felt a kindling of anger begin to burn inside of him.
“Do you hear me private? You’re not much of a talker are yo-”
“Yes sir,” John stared at him with his bloodshot eyes, the whites had turned to a muted-grey from sleeplessness.
O'Connell clasped his hands together approvingly and nodded. His thin lips offered a wry smile.
“See? There we go. You’re a good man, Private Reese. Enjoy your rest.”
The captain grabbed his helmet and swung his pack over his shoulder, returning to the field tents just over the hill.
John still sat there, he let himself go numb again as he watched the June sun fade over the ocean, obscured by the thick cloud cover. His sheer exhaustion was suppressed from the adrenaline that flowed through his veins, the terrible, unshakable fear of venturing into the unknown again tomorrow, his inability to subdue the horrors he had seen that morning, the denial that his entire unit was dead. He wouldn’t rest that night.
With a quaking hand, he picked up one of the cigarettes he had dropped on the ground and stared at the ocean. It was getting dark now, and he could no longer see the color of the waves. He pretended they were
The black clouds cast an ominous sheen over the water, the soldiers hands were clenched with uncertainty, their grips slipping on the plastic-wrapped rifles. Freezing ankle deep sea water lined the deck with little puddles of vomit floating about- saturating his boots, coating the lower parts of his uniform.
Sergeant Jackson, Private Mayor, Private Lyle, and Private Liangelo were among the three dozen or so men boat beside him. This was the beginning …show more content…
At last, his emotion returned. He felt a kindling of anger begin to burn inside of him.
“Do you hear me private? You’re not much of a talker are yo-”
“Yes sir,” John stared at him with his bloodshot eyes, the whites had turned to a muted-grey from sleeplessness.
O'Connell clasped his hands together approvingly and nodded. His thin lips offered a wry smile.
“See? There we go. You’re a good man, Private Reese. Enjoy your rest.”
The captain grabbed his helmet and swung his pack over his shoulder, returning to the field tents just over the hill.
John still sat there, he let himself go numb again as he watched the June sun fade over the ocean, obscured by the thick cloud cover. His sheer exhaustion was suppressed from the adrenaline that flowed through his veins, the terrible, unshakable fear of venturing into the unknown again tomorrow, his inability to subdue the horrors he had seen that morning, the denial that his entire unit was dead. He wouldn’t rest that night.
With a quaking hand, he picked up one of the cigarettes he had dropped on the ground and stared at the ocean. It was getting dark now, and he could no longer see the color of the waves. He pretended they were