My eyes focused in on the beach. The scent of death was in the air. There were at least 50 men on my boat. Some were born killers. Others were innocent boys, no older then 17. My hands started to shake. Was it from fear? Was it from anxiousness? God knows. I started to gaze around me at some of my fellow troops. I still remember the look that boy gave me. It was one of fear. I could read his eyes like a book. They were telling me, "I don't want to be here." Before I could even tell the boy that everything would be okay, the boat driver yelled to all of us…
"Clear the ramp! 30 seconds! God be with you."
It was then when I dropped the thought immediately and started to go over the plan that would soon go so horribly wrong with my men.
"Move fast and clear those murder holes! I want plenty of feet between men! Keep the sand out of your weapons. Keep those actions clear. I'll see you on the beach."
The explosions and gunshots got louder and louder as we approached the beach. A few guys started vomiting. No one seemed to pay attention. I continued to gaze around. I saw one man kiss a cross around his neck. Another reached into his pocket and pulled out a finger-full of tobacco and stick it in between his lower teeth and gum. That's when I heard the whistle. The signal to lay down the ramp.
Before the ramp was even half way down, I saw at least 15 men get shot right in front of me. I will never forget the sound it made when the bullet tore through their flesh, ending their lives in an instant. One by one, they were all shot down. It became quite apparent to me that if I was going to live, I had to do something, and fast.
"Over the side!" I yelled as I grabbed Pvt. Keenes and hurled myself over the side of the boat with him.
The water was as cold as ice. I could still hear gunshots, but they were drowned by the water I was submerged in. I opened my eyes, only to see 2 soldiers struggling with their equipment in the water. As I swim towards them slowly to grab them and pull them to the surface, the water around them quickly stains red, and they stop fussing with their equipment.
I made my way to the surface with Keenes, unphased by what had just happened. My head was slowly bobbing in between the icy depths and the surface. Each time my head came up, I so desperately wanted to just stick it back under. The explosions. The gunshots. The cries of pain. It was hell.
I finally managed to make it out of the water with Keenes, carrying him as if he were drunk at the pub. That sounded real good right about now.
Just as our feet touched the sand, Keenes was shot in the heart. I will never forget his face. It was one of agony, but freedom. He was free now.
I continued onto the beach, looking for the closest possible cover I could find. I managed to find a rock to hide behind. As I sprinted towards the rock, I tripped over a carcass, and hit my head on the rock. It was nothing compared to the diabolic mayhem going on around me. I wiped the blood away, and sat there for a moment thinking to myself, "This is really happening."
Every time I went to shoot, or come out of cover, I would be sprayed at with 100's of bullets. This was downright murder. They had 4 MG42's on top of the beach cliff. We had to go through a maze to get there. No one ever really made it past 20 feet though.
I saw Sgt. Miller wave to me, signaling for me to come to him. I took a deep breath and made a mad dash towards him. My heart was racing. Then, out of nowhere, I was thrown aside, at least 20 feet, by some mysterious force. It didn't click at first, but what had hit me was a grenade. It went off right next to me, yet, I was unharmed. I was in shock and awe that I was unharmed. So much in fact, that I had lost my hearing temporarily. I looked around the beach, and I concentrated on 3 men. 1 was using a flamethrower, and 2 had rifles. Before I knew it, his napalm pack had been shot and it engulfed all 3 men in flames. I then turned my attention to the boat-stoppers. One boy was curled up in a ball behind one. It appeared he was weeping, and he didn't even have a gun. I then turned my head slightly left and saw a man looking on the ground for something. I didn't realize it at first, but he was missing an arm. He then bent down, and picked up his arm, and trotted along as if nothing happened. By now the beach was littered with bodies.
I looked to the right and there was Pvt. Smith. It startled me. I could make out that he was yelling at me, but I didn't know at the time, due to the loss of hearing. My hearing slowly started to fade back in and I heard him scream…
"WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO NOW?!"
"Rally up with Sgt. Miller! Get on my ass and follow my lead!"
I ran past many dead bodies, and a few that were twitching. The most horrific was a soldier holding his intestines in his hands, crying out, "MAMA! MAMA! AAAAAAGH!"
As I regrouped with Sgt. Miller he started yelling out orders, but for some reason I couldn't pay attention. Before I knew it, things started fading to white. I wondered if I was shot, if this was heaven. But I quickly snapped to my senses and realized I was back on the boat. I blacked out, and it was all a horrific future.