The Soldier's Best Friend, chapter 1
Rat Patrol FanFiction by Stillvintage 55
CHAPTER 1
Tully Pettigrew was walking back from the base post office, carrying one package and half a dozen letters from his family, back home in Kentucky. He smiled to himself, grateful that his family sent him so many letters and packages of goodies. He knew that many other soldiers stationed at Ras Tanura were not so lucky. One of the letters was very likely written by one of his younger siblings, as the writing on the envelope was large and printed. He opened the letter, and saw that it was from his baby sister Gracie, a first grader. She wrote:
Dear Tully, I miss you so much. I lost my two front teeth and my other brothers make fun of
me. Mommy and Daddy say to ignore them. I have a new kitty Blossom. I like school most
of the time. I love you. You are always so nice to me I miss your stories and your funny jokes.
Be careful and please come home and write me back! Love Gracie.
Tully could see how fast Gracie was growing up. She had been not quite five when he had enlisted in the Army and left home. He was the oldest, and she was the youngest, but he had always enjoyed spending time with her, a very talkative and very bright little girl. He missed his whole family, and he wondered when (and if ) he would see them again. Tully was not usually a pessimist, but the realities of war and his own battle experiences made him realize that no combat soldier's survival was a given. He loved his wife, Charley, with all his heart and soul, but
she could very easily end up a widow, he knew. Please, dear God, give us all a future, he prayed. He wanted to get on with his life and their life, but he knew the war would not be over any time soon. There were many battles yet to fight.
Four months before, the Allied military base at Ras Tanura had consisted of several wooden buildings hastily constructed with plywood, tar paper, and the occasional cinder block foundation. The enlisted soldiers slept in tents, the officers in simple dorms adjacent to their offices. There were outdoor showers, indoor and outdoor bathroom facilities, the mess hall and kitchen, a large garage for vehicle maintenance and parking, and rows of metal-roofed
buildings placed 200 yards away from the wooden buildings for storage of supplies, ammunition, and other flammable materials.
The Rat Patrol was enjoying a few days off following a series of their routine but potentially hazardous missions. Hitch and Tully walked back from the mess hall, having finished lunch, wisely leaving before their two sergeants found something for them to do instead of relaxing or joining the daily afternoon baseball game. They noticed that the base hospital was being enlarged, and what looked like a modest runway was also being constructed nearby. Truck convoys delivering supplies were now arriving once or twice a day, instead of once a week, and newly arrived draftee soldiers were also straining the camp's facilities. Tully had grumbled about having to wait in long lines now for meals, and it was tough to find a place to sit down.
He liked to eat lunch with his fellow Rats, but tried to have dinner with his wife Charley at their apartment, whenever he could.
Both Hitch and Tully were good athletes, and they were usually invited to join the daily pick-up baseball or basketball games. But, not today, because Captain Boggs had announced an
"All Personnel" meeting for 3:00 PM, to be held in the mess hall.
"Don't see how everyone's going to fit in there now," grumbled Hitch. "What do you think is going on, Tully?"
"My guess would be a build-up for a new offensive. Don't know for sure, but they aren't doing all this sudden building just to make the place look pretty. Most of what's being built could be dismantled and moved pretty easily, too. So, when we do finally win here in North Africa, we will probably be going to Sicily or Italy next."
Tully always seemed to know what was going on, thought Hitch, and he was usually right.
"You'd make a good reporter, you know that?" he grinned.
"Nah," Tully said, "I just like to make the logical connections."
The 3:00 PM meeting verified Tully's speculations – there was a big battle being planned, with the goal being to finally knock the Germans out of North Africa. Captain Boggs told the soldiers that the Germans were also ramping up their own efforts, and Allied scout planes reported more heavy artillery and halftracks being delivered to the Germans, along with Stuka and Focke-Wulf fighter planes. Captain Boggs also told the soldiers that two more surgeons had been assigned to the hospital to help with the anticipated casualties. "Well, at least there won't be waiting lines in pre-op, once they get us stabilized, " said Tully. Hitch started to laugh, but then realized that Tully was dead serious, and not joking.
Hitch looked at him carefully. "What's up with you? You're not usually so serious!"
Tully stopped walking, and quietly told Hitch, "I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Why, Tully? You're usually pretty unflappable. Something wrong?" Hitch was perplexed that his calm, strong, and steady friend was sounding so uneasy about the battle to come.
Tully was one of the most skilled soldiers Hitch had ever known, and one of the most resilient.
"Hitch, we've all been wounded more than once, and we've looked death in the eye more than once. I just have this eerie feeling that I'm not going to make it the next time I get wounded. No basis for it, just a realization that I've been too lucky for too long. I should have bought it two or three times already, and somehow the surgeons put me back together, again, and again, and again. One of these times, they just might not be able to pull me through. That's just being realistic, Hitch. I hope we all make it through this war, but I've got my doubts if we'll all have happy endings. I hope I'm wrong, believe me."
"Have you talked to Troy or Moffitt about this?" Hitch asked.
"No, not really. I don't want to get them all worried about me; they've been through enough themselves. I'll be OK, what will be will be."