Tales of the Ranch - Phoenix Rising

[overbore]

WOWZER!!!!

overbore

[C-POP]

Target Rich Environment ,No time to die now to many people relied on you to do the job !!
Come on back up where at ,at least some big Navy guns if not air cover.
You're trying give a heartache aren't ya !!
Thanks

[Grand58742]

You're trying give a heartache aren't ya !!
Thanks

Would I do something like leave a cliff hanger or an evil twist of turn in my stories?

lol

[sniper69]

Would I do something like leave a cliff hanger or an evil twist of turn in my stories?

lol

No, no you would never do something like that. ;) LOL

[Hawkeye]

Damn the torpedoes, Get some guns trained back on those beach heads....now...

[Elza]

Would I do something like leave a cliff hanger or an evil twist of turn in my stories?

lol

Based on past experience? Yes!! :)

[C-POP]

I know you would never do that .
I also believe in the tooth fairy!!!!
LOL
Your bad ya know that !!!

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 15


Z Day Plus 67 Hours


“Sir! The defenses at Pegasus are collapsing! They are in a full retreat towards Minotaur!” shouted a Captain in the Sphinx Beach command post.

“Can they make it through?” shouted the AFNAS General, seeing the alarming rate his defenses were collapsing.

“The attack is against the flank, but the middle is holding okay for the moment!” replied the Captain.

“Can the General hold halfway?” asked the AFNAS General.

“The General was killed making a last stand while the field hospital was evacuated! The senior Colonel says the positions are no longer defendable!” said the Captain.

“General! Heavy action on our western flank! The defenses are falling back to the secondary positions!” shouted a Colonel from the other side of the tent.

“Southern defenses state they are fighting the Damascus Martyrs! They are in danger of being overrun!” shouted another member of the command post.

“Minotaur reports a two brigade attack on their southern flank! Their positions are taking a beating!” said another.

“Brigade sized assault against the boundary of Minotaur and Sphinx! The IU is trying to divide the beaches!” shouted another member.

It appeared the attacks were coming in from all directions in a last second attempt to destroy the defenses and reach the beaches. The IU had saved their best units for just this occasion and were feeding them into the lines in force. The defenders were tired, weary and emotionally exhausted. But still, they knew their backs were to the wall and they continued to defend the ground paid for in blood.

“Get on the horn to England! We need emergency close air support right now!” shouted the AFNAS General after taking in the reports. Action was needed right then and he made a plan by the seat of his pants. There was no longer any need for a well staffed defensive plan. This was a bar brawl, pure and simple, and the side that got there with the most first would win. “Send the reserves to the western flank and tell Minotaur to prepare to fall back to Sphinx! Have Minotaur 6 send his reserves to the boundary and keep them from getting through! The forces coming in from Pegasus Beach will continue to fight a delaying action and continue falling back! We will make our last stand right here! This is our Alamo, our Bastogne! This is where we prevail!”

The staff was energized and quickly put the plans into action. But the reports flowing in told a grim tale of the situation they faced. The IU wasn’t going to stop just because they were taking massive casualties. They weren’t going to stop because they were tired. They were out for the win. They were tossing the Hail Mary in the final seconds going for the win. And the FNC forces didn’t have any more defenders to send downfield.

********************

The fear continued to grip me for several moments until someone screamed in the back of my mind. I didn’t know who or what it was, but something screamed for me to act. Don’t just sit there and become a target, fight. And I released the fear, put it into the back of my mind and ordered it to stay there. I let go of my feelings and decided if I was going to die, I was going to die fighting and kill as many of them as possible. The fear popped out for just a moment until I slammed the door on where it came from, locking it away and tossing away the key. I started picking my targets again and fired at the nearest to the furthest. Sectors of fire were out, aiming stakes were out, preferred targets were out; we were just making sure the closest targets were destroyed first and moving back.

A group of the soldiers were within the range of the Claymores we had set out and I saw Delacruz activate the mines in a thunderous roar. They seemed to make the first rank falter a bit, but they continued on after brief hesitation. But at least something had slowed the progress of the IU for even the briefest of moments. More mines were going off down the line, expending the last supplies of those critical defensive items. Grenades were tossed out, full automatic fire was expended against the massed groups and I could hear our leadership screaming in the radio for support. But there was nothing to be had, the attacks were all over the entire southern front and we were on our own to gut it out on our own.

A squad made it within fifty meters of our position and we engaged the group as they covered each other by fire. It wasn’t easy to pick targets as the enemy’s fire was effectively pinning us in position, but we managed to get off enough shots to keep them from advancing further. A position to our left was able to engage their flanks and assisted in rolling up the squad, but not before being targeted themselves by additional IU forces. Just as the last IU soldier was hit, Delacruz’s partner was hit and fell back into the position dead from a head shot.

I kept firing and firing at the bodies that continued to appear out of the distance. Like an ant hill we had kicked over, the IU seemed to have an endless supply of bodies streaming towards our position. Targets were everywhere as I continued to load and fire, the AKM starting to glow red from the rounds being fired. Lucky for me, the hand guards were plastic and wouldn’t catch fire like the older wooden ones. Ammunition wasn’t a concern right then as we were fighting for our very survival. I loaded a new magazine and continued to fire bursts at the bodies with Private Blain at my side screaming his head off in rage. Delacruz was doing much the same and I realized I was yelling as well after a moment. The IU broke through the defenses somewhere down the line and the infantry surged forward. We were getting overwhelmed and knew we had little distance to fall back on.

“Fall back! Back towards the beach!” I heard Lieutenant Winfield yell. I fired once again and emptied a magazine at an advancing fire team of IU soldiers. They ducked down long enough for Blain, Delacruz and I to get out of the crater and started heading back towards the beach. But little did we know we were quickly getting surrounded and needed to fight our way back to the beach through a line of IU soldiers. We started falling back to the next line of defensive positions, a hundred meters to our rear. They were little more than hasty scrapes created by weary engineers with hand tools, it was better than being out in the open and offered us a chance to have some form of cover. I saw Blain take a round to the arm as he ran, but didn’t drop his weapon and continued to sprint to the position.

When we arrived, we saw the IU infantry was starting to pour through the lines about four hundred meters to our east. A reserve force sent from the beach was quickly trying to establish a defensive line in the secondary positions. We could see the IU was hot on our heels as the leading formations were already upon our old positions. We started firing once again and were taking out the leading elements of the attackers. Again, we fired at the closest targets and ignored our standing rules of engagement. If we faltered and only targeted what we were supposed to, we would have been overwhelmed in short order. So it made perfect sense in my mind. I saw the remainder of my squad was online with the rest of us as the thunder of the battle continued to rage along the front.

********************

“Sir! Southern defenses are collapsing! The first line of defenses was broken through! We had to commit all our reserves in that sector!” yelled the Chief of Staff after receiving a radio call.

“And Minotaur?” asked the AFNAS General.

“In full retreat as well as Pegasus!” yelled a Captain. “They are retreating in an orderly fashion, but the IU isn’t giving them any relief.”

“And the attack against the boundary of our beaches?” asked the General.

“Has been stopped for the moment, but instead of retreating, the IU is in place pinning the forces there,” said another member of the command post.

“Order all reserves to their positions! Get them where they are needed the most. Zero and destroy the classified systems and put an incendiary grenade on the classified papers out back,” ordered the General as he grabbed at his carbine and looked out of the tent. The sounds of the battle were closer than he realized and growing closer. He knew the IU was heading this way and he needed to prepare his staff for the actions they would probably face in the near future.

“As soon as you give the orders, turn over tactical control of all units to the sector commanders. And get your weapons ready. I have a feeling the IU is about to make our lives miserable and we need to be prepared to defend this location. I want the G-1, G-2 and G-6 staff members at the aid station defending that location and the wounded. G-3, G-4 and G-5 prepare to defend the immediate area where we are standing. Send the MPs to the southern sectors to assist with the forces there,” he said as he returned and prepared his M110A3 carbine for action. He also made sure his sidearm was ready as the remainder of his staff gave last minute orders and grabbed their own weapons before heading out. The MP detachment guarding the command post left out, running towards the battle where they would be needed the most. The General knew the command post was no longer a concern to be defended. At this point, the only thing that needed to be defended was the sand they stood on and their very own lives.

His Chief of Staff joined him outside and chambered a round in his own rifle, an AKM he had gathered from one of his trips to the front after handing off his rounds to an infantryman.

“I sent you to the hospital,” said the General.

“If it’s all the same to you sir, I’d like to keep watching your back,” said the Colonel.

“I think I can handle that,” said the General.

“Been a pleasure serving with you sir,” said the Colonel.

“The pleasure was all mine,” said the General. “See you on the other side.”

They continued to watch and wait as the tent emptied and the remaining staff took up positions nearby. The sounds of the battle were growing closer as they waited for the first signs of the IU to appear…

********************

“Continue falling back!” yelled my platoon leader. I didn’t even know his name as he had just been sent over an hour before the battle began. In command for two hours before this madness started and what a way to learn the job. We were halfway to the beach now and I swore I could hear the surf coming in. I knew it was my imagination since I could hear little else besides the gunfire and explosions surrounding me and filling the air. A few rounds whizzed by as we displaced once again and fell back to the next set of positions. And the IU followed…

It appeared we hadn’t even made a dent in their forces since they were still coming forward with everything they had. I couldn’t understand where all the forces were coming from and had no idea why they hadn’t committed them before now. As we ran to the next positions, we noticed a group of soldiers had already taken residence in our new positions. However, they weren’t facing the right way and were firing on the next line of defenses. I also happened to notice their uniforms were different than ours. At some point, we had been surrounded by units of the IU and cut off from the beach.

“Alpha move right! Bravo up the middle! Delacruz, your squad keeps up the security to our rear!” I shouted as we ran forward. “Alpha and Bravo Fire Teams! Engage those forces!”

We started firing on the unsuspecting IU squad to our front, catching them from behind as we raced forward. We fired on the move and effectively killed half the squad before they knew they were under attack. As we continued forward, the IU noticed they were also surrounded and half their number turned to engage us. But we were quicker and ended up getting into bayonet engagement range before they were able to fire on us. I knew we needed to start conserving ammo and we were trained in the rifle fighting techniques needed right then. The sharp points of our weapons completed the slaughter of the squad to our front.

“Gather the ammo and continue to fall back!” I shouted as Delacruz and his squad joined us in the positions. We quickly gathered the ammo from the dead IU soldiers, just getting what we could see before continuing back to the next set of lines. But there really wasn’t a defensive line anymore. None of the lines were safe and the two forces had finally merged. It was simply hand to hand and individual battles now. We had no way of knowing where our next set of defensive works were and we had no idea how to establish a defensive line in the middle of the battle since most were overrun.

“Take them all out!” screamed Winfield who appeared to rally us on. He surged forward towards a group of IU infantry and we followed. We were still getting closer to the beach, but fighting individual units of the IU now. Forces were heading in our direction and I noticed the uniforms of the North American Union. Apparently the defenses along all the beaches had collapsed and we were starting to retreat to a common point. But we had no place to retreat to and had nothing else to do but kill the enemy. Kill the enemy to save ourselves. To defend our brothers and sisters. The primal instinct of survival raged in our brains as we shouted and surged forward to kill or be killed.

********************

“We have them on the run! Their defenses have collapsed and they are in full retreat to the beach!” shouted an IU General.

“Overrun them and kill them all!” shouted the IU Marshal. “Destroy every last one of them!”

“Units are running low on ammunition!” shouted a Major from the rear of the command post.

“The enemy has to be running low as well! Rout them off those beaches at bayonet point!” shouted the Marshal.

The orders went out for all the remaining reserves to press forward in the attack. But most of the units were already engaged and were in the battle raging on the last kilometer towards the beach. The IU had no more reserves to throw into the line. They had gone all in on this last gamble and the only units he had left were some territorial garrison battalions to hold the lines. It was all or nothing at the moment and in the hands of the Sergeants, Lieutenant and Captains to see the battle through to conclusion.

********************

The first IU units appeared over the sand dunes closest to the former command post. The General saw he was out of position, but the remainder of his staff engaged and started firing at the platoon, making them seek cover. Friendly forces started appearing and still firing to their rear as they found they had reached the last place they could retreat to. More IU units appeared and engaged them as both the forces started running low on ammo and resorting to hand to hand fighting.

“Fire! Help those men!” screamed the General as he started marking targets of his own and firing. But it was becoming increasingly difficult since the two forces had merged and targets were not easy to engage. He rose up and found an IU fire team heading towards his position and fired at them. They stopped to fire back before the remainder of his staff engaged them as well. The General quickly scampered towards the remains of the supply dump, since emptied of just about everything and sent to the front lines. He found another small unit of IU troops and engaged on the run, taking cover behind a small group of sandbags. The IU unit started moving forward once again, right towards his position. He noticed his staff had followed his movements and were close behind him.

“Keep firing!” screamed the AFNAS General as he fired his rifle at the advancing infantry. He continued to fire as the IU screamed and charged for the command post area. They were close enough now he could see the whites of their eyes and he fired nonstop. The entire defense force was engaged fully as they quickly mounted bayonets on the end of smoking rifles and charged out to meet the attacker. Vicious hand to hand ensued as the IU was charging ahead. Soldiers battled soldiers and worked together as they singled out opponents and fought them to the death.

The General’s rifle fell empty as he dropped it at his feet. There were no more magazines to be had and until he could get a resupply, his M110A3 carbine would be of no use to him. But he wasn’t worried about resupply right then, he was more worried about finding a long gun capable of inflicting as much damage as possible on the attackers. He spied a shotgun leaned against a table with a bandolier full of 12 gauge shells and quickly picked it up. Chambering a round, he found targets close enough and started letting the street sweeper continue the work he had started. He ran through a full tube before running out and engaging an infantryman bent on his death. Three .45 rounds from his pistol quickly ended the charge as he reloaded the shotgun and continued to fire. His Chief of Staff was battling a lone infantryman in rifle fighting techniques and he ran over to aid him. He fired the shotgun at close range and took the IU soldier off his feet before racking the slide and chambering another round.

“Look out!” screamed the Chief of Staff as the General felt two sharp pains in his back. The Chief of Staff came around and gave the IU soldier a pistol shot to the face as the General dropped to the ground with the bayonet still sticking in his back. The Chief of Staff quickly removed the rifle and attempted to aid his fallen commander.

“Leave me here and get the defense organized! We need to hold this beach!” he wheezed and coughed out blood. The rifle shot had entered his belly but the bayonet had punctured his lung.

“Let me slap a bandage on you!” shouted the Chief of Staff.

“Get out there and defend this beach soldier! We will all die here if they take this beach! Get out there and fight!” grunted the General as he coughed up blood once again. “Go now!”

The Chief of Staff got up, reloaded his rifle and let out a war cry before charging at the IU forces. More FNC infantry were being backed onto the beach from almost all directions as they continually fired at the IU infantry. The Chief of Staff got to the nearest group of soldiers and rallied them to go forward, fight and win. They rose up as one and charged into the hellish maelstrom of fire as they were energized by the Chief of Staff’s example.

[RunAndGun]

Holy Crap! Durn that was good!

[C-POP]

Sounds like Quang Tri Province Republic of
to me !!!
Great chapter Thanks !!

[Pilot11]

WOW! Need to........breathe........again! Outstanding narrative, felt myself burrowing into the sand! Thanks for an excellent chapter.

[Grand58742]

EPILOGUE


Z Day Plus 78 Hours


Today marks a great tragedy in the campaign to liberate the continent of Europe from the tyranny of the Islamic Union. Our forces were pushed off the beach and their foothold destroyed today by the enemy. While they put up a brave fight, they were simply overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the enemy. But they put up a grand resistance, fighting not only the enemy, but the weather and limited resupply as well. We underestimated the time it would take to properly resupply the forces as well as the weather conditions, resulting in the enemy overrunning our foothold on the continent of Europe. This is no fault of the valiant efforts of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in contact. The responsibility for the loss of our forces rests solely on my shoulders.

For this, I take full accountability of my actions and hereby resign my position as Commander, Free Nation Coalition Forces and request reassignment as my superiors see fit.

The General of the Army looked at the press release he had printed out and studied it once again. While there were some things he found flowery, it was simple and to the point. His Chief of Staff walked into the room unannounced.

“Sir? The press is assembled,” said the Colonel.

“Give them that,” said the General as he nodded towards a sheet of paper on the edge of his desk.

“No question and answer portion?” asked the Colonel.

“Not today,” said the General.

The Colonel walked out of the room and scanned over the press release. Again, short and to the point, the press was going to give him a hard time for not being available to answer questions. He looked it over once again and decided it was perfectly fine as they didn’t need a whole lot more than that. As he entered the briefing room, he looked down at the paper and stepped up to the microphone. The press was wondering why a simple Colonel giving the briefing instead of the General of the Army, but were eager to hear any news from the beach. The embedded reporters with the landing forces hadn’t been heard from since the early hours of the invasion and they knew many had ended up with rifles in foxholes during the fighting. So any news was good news.

The Colonel cleared his throat and waited for the signal from the cameraman to record the speech for posterity. After getting a nod, he started reading from the release.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll have copies of the remarks prepared so you can take them with you,” he said. “This comes from the General of the Army and commander Free Nation Coalition Forces Forward.”

“The nations of the world united against tyranny have started a great liberation today. Valiant fighting forces from the Free Nation Coalition have fought the enemy to a standstill on the beaches of Normandy and have persevered in the face of great adversity. The hopes and prayers of the nations under occupation have been answered by the relentless dedication of the troops in harm’s way. They have shown great courage and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds and have triumphed where evil once stood. They stood their ground as brave warriors fighting for a just cause and have come off victorious. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘never was so much owed by so many to so few.’ Their actions and their sacrifices have enabled us to continue to hold the beach and finally reinforce them. They have kept hope alive for our continued liberation of Europe and for that we cannot thank them enough.”

“We will continue to battle the oppression of those longing to be free and will continue to win as we advance forward. While we have won the initial battle for the continent, a long road lies ahead. It will not be an easy road, but we will be victorious. For this I am certain because our cause is just and our hearts are pure. We ask the Lord to continue to guide and guard us and to take our lost into His arms so they may know peace. And we pray for victory and continuing advancement.”

********************

“Friendly forces coming from the rear!” I heard announced as I scanned the lines to our front. We had fought the IU to a complete standstill and destroyed the entire Damascus Martyrs during their attack. They had broken through the defenses and got all the way to the beach, but we were able to fight them and win despite the odds. Hand to hand, rifle to rifle, the IU had thrown their best at us and come off lacking. We had consolidated the units and reestablished the lines. We barely held four hundred yards of ground now between the beach and the front lines and were exhausted.

“Advance and be recognized,” I said after taking up a position looking to the rear. Blain was still watching the front in anticipation of more IU troops playing possum and waiting for the opportunity to kill another American. I saw the camouflage uniform of a Texas infantryman come through the remaining hedges to our rear. And a clean uniform at that for some unknown reason. Our own uniforms were completely shredded and stained with dirt, mud and blood. I challenged him as he approached. “Taco.”

“Swordfish,” he replied. “I’ve got a company with me.”

“A company?” I asked and noticed he was a Captain and quickly added “sir.”

“We’re here to relieve you,” said the Captain as I watched him point left and right to the advancing platoons of soldiers. They were fanning out and quickly filling in the large gaps in the lines. But even more were showing up as I could see additional platoons heading down the line.

“Are you coming from another point in the line sir?” I asked as a fire team quickly jumped into my position.

“No soldier, we’re here to relieve you,” he said.

“I don’t understand sir,” I said, wondering if I had fallen asleep and was dreaming.

He grinned and nodded to his rear before looking over the area. I stared off in the direction he was indicating at the ocean. I didn’t have the best view, but from what I could see, I saw ships…a whole lot of ships. Landing craft were coming in streams from the Channel and putting massive amounts of infantry on the beach. They turned before heading back to England to get refilled and repeat the process. I could hear tanks and other tracked vehicles rumbling up the beach and heading for the few exits we had left and towards other positions. A flight of A-10s suddenly screamed overhead, going south and looking for targets. I could see other fighters further up, patrolling over the beachheads through the breaking clouds. Distant impacts of artillery shells indicated the destroyers, cruisers and frigates had returned and replaced the now empty battleships and heavy cruiser. For the first time in as long as I could remember, the sun broke through and shined on us.

“Where’s your commander?” he asked.

“I think he’s over near position four,” I replied and pointed in that general direction, still wondering if this was a dream. But he answered some of the questions in my mind.

“With the storm gone, we finally broke the naval forces in the area and have pushed back the air force enough to land reinforcements. Artillery is still a concern, but we’re targeting that as well,” he informed me. “You head on back to the beach with your unit. You are relieved soldier.”

And somehow I had made it through. A great burden had been lifted off my shoulders and I hung my head, not in shame, but in fatigue. But as I got out of the position and took what little I had with me, I walked with pride. The remaining defenders gathered together by twos and fours and headed to the beach where we would be sent back to England eventually for rest and reconsolidation. The approaching infantry stopped as we passed and cleared the path for us. Nods were sent our way, almost reverent in nature, and I nodded back with the same grim determination I had during the entire ordeal. But for me it wasn’t determination, it was relief.

The second invasion of the European mainland by American troops was a success and we had pulled it off somehow. In retrospect, I have no idea how we accomplished it, but somehow we did it. And again, I have no idea how I ended up surviving it all, but I managed to do that as well. I knew the war wasn’t over for me by a long shot, but at the same time, I had cleared a pretty large hurdle in my path. And I knew if I could survive this, I could survive anything the IU threw at me.

We gathered on the beach and waited for the transports to return with another wave of troops. Our commander, by that time a former Staff Sergeant from Third Platoon given a battlefield promotion to Second Lieutenant, informed us we were heading back to England to reconsolidate and recuperate. Lieutenant Winfield, since promoted to First Lieutenant and in charge of the company, saw what was left of the original members of the platoon and nodded in our direction. Sergeant Delacruz made his way over to me and we hugged briefly before moving on to the others that had waded ashore with us three days prior. After we made contact with the survivors, we stood by while a Naval Petty Officer took down our unit information and assigned us to a returning craft. After getting our assignment, I slumped down on a sand dune, still blackened by the explosions from the past three days. I dropped my helmet onto the ground next to me and opened a canteen for a drink. I don’t remember ever getting the water into my mouth and the next thing I remember was being woken up as we arrived in England after the ferry trip.

********************

“Hey there old man,” said a familiar voice beside the AFNAS General. He had woken up moments before and his eyes popped open to see the white walls of a military hospital above him. He turned his head briefly and saw his daughter sitting in the bed next to him.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“In a military hospital in London,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone attacked me with a bayonet,” he said dryly. “Are you okay?”

“I should be more worried about you,” she said.

“Will you just answer the question?” he said weakly.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Be out for about six weeks or so. And you?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, remembering the shot and bayonet strike in his back. “It’ll take a lot more than this to slow me down.”

“Yeah right,” she said. “Even you can get slowed down pretty good.”

He remembered going unconscious at some point after sending his chief of staff away to fight the onslaught of attackers and barely remembered a medic re-inflating his lung. After that was a blank until his daughter’s voice had woken him right then. He had been part of the initial medevac flights out after the NAU General had taken over the defenses and the reestablished the defensive lines. And the winds had died down long enough to start getting flights in and out.

“I’m okay, more worried about you,” he answered.

“I’m not a china doll. I’m a big girl now and got pretty tough,” she replied. “You kind of pushed me in that direction.”

“I never pushed you to be a soldier,” he said.

“But you should have known. I was always following around my brothers playing soldier so you had to realize it was going to happen eventually,” she said with a chuckle and her stomach immediately started hurting.

“How did you end up on that beach anyway? You weren’t supposed to be there until the third wave with the AFNAS 2nd,” he asked.

“Somehow got mixed up in port. We got lumped into the first,” she replied. “And how did you know I was there and was supposed to be medevaced?”

“I didn’t,” he replied. She gave him an unbelieving look before he had to come clean. “Okay, I didn’t know you were there until I saw you heading into the field hospital. My Chief of Staff quietly checked up on you and plus your loud protesting could be heard all the way to Paris. How did you end up in a bed beside me?”

“I knew you wouldn’t accept a private room and would want to be with your soldiers instead. I talked to the staff and informed them of same, however, they didn’t believe little Specialist nobody until they figured out we were related. Still took your Chief of Staff making a call before they moved you in here,” she replied.

“How did he get involved?” he asked. “Is he here?”

“Last I knew he was still on the beach,” she replied. “And I made a radio call to him on the beach to let him know you were okay.”

“How on earth did you get access to a radio in here?” asked the General.

“I flirted with the comm technician,” she smiled impishly.

“Did you let your mother know what happened?” he asked.

“Oh, she is not happy at all and you’re probably going to get an earful when you two talk. I took the chicken way out and sent her an e-mail. Her reply was colorful to say the least,” she said.

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?” asked a voice from the head of the beds.

“Sir!” exclaimed the Specialist as she saw the General of the Army had appeared.

“At ease soldier, just seeing how your old man is doing,” replied the General of the Army.

“Fine sir,” said the AFNAS General and took the offered hand. The General of the Army also took her hand and thanked her as well. The family was very familiar to him since they had rode out the Fall in somewhat close proximity in Alabama and they were friends before the Fall as well.

“Can the sir stuff Nate, nobody else is listening and your daughter has heard you call me by my first name before,” said the General of the Army.

“Good to see you Bobby,” said the AFNAS General.

“You should have ducked Nate,” he chuckled.

“It’s just a scratch,” replied the AFNAS General.

“Lot more than a scratch. Punctured lung and a gut shot? You’re going to be out for a while,” he remarked after looking over the chart.

“Maybe a couple of days,” said the AFNAS General.

“I think he needs to keep his skinny behind in that bed for a while sir, but that’s just me,” said his daughter with a smile.

“She is right. We need you to get better. Your position in the AFNAS 1st is still there, but we have to rebuild the division,” said the General of the Army.

“Lot of my boys and girls died out there,” remarked the AFNAS General.

“But they didn’t die in vain. And you helped keep those beaches secured so we could land the second wave. And to date, the invasion forces destroyed twenty-three IU divisions during the three days of fighting,” he replied. “Not bad at all.”

“We are holding?” asked the AFNAS General.

“Like a rock. The second wave had pushed out past your original lines and we are massing support to start expanding the beachheads. We’ll get the ports in short order,” said the General of the Army as his communicator beeped at him. “I’ve got to get going, but there was a reason I came down here.”

He reached into his bag and removed two Purple Hearts from his pocket and pinned them on each of their hospital gowns. Additionally he pulled out a Silver Star for her and handed it to her father to pin on. He was barely able to lean over and pin it on her hospital tunic, but he would have risked major injury in order to do so. He finally got the award clasped on and his face beamed with pride as he did so.

“Seems like there was a Sergeant from the AFNAS 1st that said you did a pretty good job out there Specialist. Said you were instrumental in getting past the original beach defenses. He wants you to join your unit if you want,” said the General of the Army.

“I just did my job sir,” said the Specialist.

“You did more than that and it helped break the defenses. Be proud of what you did,” he replied.

The General of the Army set a bag of additional decorations on the stand beside the AFNAS General. “It’s not often I get to decorate a father and a daughter so I couldn’t resist. But I figured you’d like to be the one to give some of those out to your soldiers. Once you can get up and around that is. Can you keep an eye on your old man for me?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t overdo it,” replied the daughter.

“Got to get going. I have a conference with the FNC leadership in a half an hour,” replied the General of the Army. “You two get better quick. We need you out there.”

He departed and the two got back to some father daughter bonding time. “I was proud of you out there.”

“And I was proud of you as well,” she replied. “You kept everyone together.”

“Just part of the job,” he replied.

“I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather have out there,” she said.

********************

“Grandpa?” asked my grandson after I hadn’t replied. “Mom said you were there the entire time, from the start I mean. She said you were a hero for what you went through on the beach.”

“I did go in with the first wave,” I said after reflecting on those memories so long ago. And thinking of those brave men and women I served with during those three days. I shed a tear thinking of the ones who never made it off those devastated beaches. “I wasn’t really a hero. The ones that never made back were the real heroes. The men and women I served with were heroes. I just did my job.”

It wasn’t something I ever talked about with people, even my own family. Even my wife never really mentioned it either. There is the association of Operation Phoenix members that meets every year and they like to get together and laugh at the funny things that happened to them. There apparently aren’t as many as when the association was started, but there are enough new guys still popping up to fill the ranks. There’s even talk of the group heading back to Normandy for next year’s reunion. And while there’s an association, I’ve never been as I locked those memories of my time in Normandy into the back of my mind and never let them out. I think it’s more of a psychological hurdle for me to remember and tell my story, but it’s something I know I should face. It wasn’t shame to lock them away, but the simple fact I never wanted to relive the terror I faced on the beach during that short period of my life that seemed to last an eternity.

But the worst memory I had of the whole ordeal, the one I hadn’t thought about since the day it happened was my return to Foggy Bottom and entering the platoon tent for the first time. It was then I realized just how bad it was overall. Staff Sergeant Gilbert, Corporal Devons, Sergeant Delacruz, Lieutenant Winfield, Specialist Robinson, Specialist Rodriguez, Private Martin, Private Sawyer and myself were the only ones left out of the forty-four that had started the journey. Nine original members of our unit left. The tent was empty and void of life as we sat there looking around at the bunks of our friends that had been lost. Our comrades in arms that we had taken for granted just four days prior and never thought to stop and just talk. I remember getting into my footlocker and finding the cookies sent from home. A small reminder of my life before it was violently transformed by the three days in Normandy. I remember passing them out one last time and everyone having their fill as we emptied the container. And I remember the tears we all shed together thinking of our lost. I never could fully explain to my mother why I never could eat them again. I think my father and grandfather knew since they had been soldiers in their lives, but she never could fully understand why I would pass them over. I knew it would remind me of the aftermath of that battle I tried my whole life to forget.

I never returned to Normandy after we were relieved. Just never thought to look back and remember as I knew we had a long war ahead of us. I survived the liberation in Europe, the invasion of Turkey and the conquest of the Middle East. I was there when the defenses in Jerusalem surrendered. I led my company through tough opposition during the siege of Basra. I was near one of the blast zones of the IU nuclear weapons used when we were in the final days of the war. I remember all those things vividly. But Operation Phoenix?

I don’t think I ever wanted to remember honestly. It should have been a very proud moment of my life, but I guess I never wanted to expose anyone else to the horrors I saw. The deaths I had seen and caused myself. The lives of my friends and comrades shattered in a brief moment in time. The destruction of my own…innocence would be the best word I could use to describe what I lost on those beaches. I never went to the reunions because I wasn’t sure if I could face what happened myself. I know I should have out of respect to the brave souls who fought and died in that place, but never could bring myself to do it. Maybe it was past time for me to confront what happened to me and let it out, maybe a little at a time. Maybe it was time for me to release the memories a little at a time. To release my inner demons slowly from the prison I had locked them away in so long ago. Maybe it was time to tell my story.

I was surprised my grandson asked about it. I never really mentioned the fact I was there from the beginning to my daughter, but somehow she knew. I mean a lot of guys were involved in Phoenix. And those at the reunions were all involved in some way, but not many of them were on the beach. Some were support, others sailors supporting the beachheads, others were pilots and aircrews…but certainly not a lot of the men and women that fought and died in those three days of hell. Oh sure, folks wrote books, did interviews and documentary shows were made, but for the most part, the nitty-gritty of what happened in the individual foxhole was never portrayed or discussed. It’s like it was a dark secret we all wanted to suppress about the individual stories and what happened.

I think it is past time for me to tell my story. And if I couldn’t share with my own family what happened, who could I share it with? It wasn’t exactly the high point of my life as I was certain I would die, but it was probably the most defining moment of my life. I remember someone saying “you’ve never lived until you face death.” I don’t remember who said it, but it certainly fits what happened to me, to all of us that were there. And I think it was past time to at least explain how those three days shaped me into the man I am today.

“Come on over and have a seat,” I said to my grandson and nodded towards the couch. “I’ll tell you about my time during Phoenix.”

[Grand58742]

Afterthoughts on Tales of the Ranch – Phoenix Rising


I sat down thinking of a few other ideas and further storylines and came across an idea of the World War III era from my “Ranch” universe. I’d always thought about what a landing in Europe would be like this day in age. I never really had an avenue to go on in this one until someone gave me the motivation to start. So I sat down and started putting some thoughts on paper as I typically do and the thoughts turned into a short story. I never planned on having a long drawn out story as I have done in the past, but rather a snapshot in time of the horrors of combat. I can’t say I can reliably say what it’s like as each man and woman that’s ever been on the end of a round fired in anger has their own story to tell, their own emotions they felt and the sheer terror that combat brings with it. But I hope I managed to show a glimpse into the world of what veterans endure and the memories that they lock away in their minds.

As this is a fictional story, I can hope it’s entertaining. But as a teaching story, it shows that soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have inner demons that follow them around for their lives. And furthermore, psychological scars that can torment in ways not seen by anyone else. For those that never have served, it’s a teaching tool to show there are veterans that carry huge burdens around for their lives. And often times, veterans don’t like to relive those memories. They will talk about the men they served with or the funny things that happened, but rarely of the actual combat time and their lives behind a rifle. And the lessons to be learned? Those that have seen the elephant rarely want others to have to see those horrors they witnessed. In time, those stories come out, a little at a time, but for the most part, they remain hidden from the world. To protect those they love? Sometimes. Other times it’s just painful to remember what they went through. I hope I have been able to tell some of the tales so they don’t have to relive their own memories.

This story has also given me a primer into writing first person as I hope to finish up another story I’ve got in the works that will be told from a first person standpoint. It’s not easy to do as one has to effectively “get into the head” of the person they are writing about and distance themselves from their own lives. And even as short this story was, it wasn’t easy to get into the head of one Donald McIntyre. But hopefully I portrayed the character well enough and told his story as seen through his eyes.

As with most of the “Tales of the Ranch” series, this isn’t a learning story for the most part. But more of an entertainment story. And always, thanks are due on my part.

1Admin/Lowdown3 for administering survivalandpreparednessforum.com and the work he does in keeping up the site.

All the other Moderators, Administrators, tech gurus and staff on the respective websites as they keep it clean, real and in order.

Special thanks to BM59 fan for bringing me to the keyboard to type this out. It’s always kind of been in the back of my mind to write something along these lines, but he made the suggestion to move forward with it. So a little prodding from him made me get into the mindset and get the story started.

And always, a special thanks to the fans out there that continually supported me on the site and with messages of inspiration behind the scenes. I write because I like to. But I continue to write because of the support I get from all you folks. I cannot express my gratitude enough for keeping me behind the keyboard.

I appreciate the time the reader took to read the story and I hope it lived up to the expectations.


Grand58742

23 February 2012

[overbore]

Congratulations and very well done ( written) Grand. EWQ! and many thanks for the outstanding effort and enjoyable story.

overbore

[DennisH]

All I can say is thank you Grand.

Dennis