"You smug-faced cowards with kindling eye,
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know,
The Hell where youth and laughter go."
- Siegfried Sassoon
-February 8th, 2014, 1645 hours-
Private First Class Wade Barton, 2/5/H, Camp Pendleton, California.
"...In other news, there was another series of bombings in northern Iraq today. The explosions have left an estimated seventy people dead, and an unconfirmed number of wounded. This is the fourth attack of this scale in the past month, and while there has yet to have been an official claim, Iraqi Police officials are already pointing the finger at the People's Liberation Resistance..."
Wade Barton released a slight sigh as he watched the news, sitting on the edge of his bed, in his Battalion's barracks at Camp Pendleton. All that had been playing for weeks had been Iraq, and the PLR. It was starting to wear on the Private First Class's nerves. The man reached over to the corner of his bed, plucking up his remote and changing the channel to something a little more interesting; specifically a rerun of the movie Predator on AMC.
The PFC shifted in his position, casting a weary glance at his room's door. Wade hadn't been with the Battalion long, just a few weeks. He'd just finished basic training back in December, and had only recently hit the Fleet Marine Force. Unfortunately, Barton had been forced to room with one of his Squad's 'Senior' Lance Corporals; one Lance Corporal John Gwozdek. Gwozdek had spent the past three weeks making Wade's life a living hell, hazing the PFC until he puked. By now, Wade was fearing the LCPL's return, because he knew that it meant more pain. John had slipped out thirty minutes before to head to the PX store, and buy more AA batteries and Copenhagen dip. The Lance Corporal was due back any minute now, though.
Deciding to use his waning freedom to his advantage, Wade stood up from the bed and walked over to his desk, where his pack was laying in a mess. The young Marine pushed some of his gear to the side, looking for his cellphone. After a moment of searching, he finally found the slippery item. Wade turned the device on, then flipped through his address book. He finally found the number he was looking for, and pressed the call button.
Wade held his phone up to his ear, hearing the dial tone as his call went through to the lines. It rang for a few seconds, before he finally heard a voice on the other end.
"Hello, you've reached Gisele's cell, I can't get to the phone right now. Leave a message and I'll hit you back! Bye!"
Swearing to himself, Barton waited for the beep, halfheartedly watching the movie on the TV. "Hey, Gisele, it's Wade. Just had a free moment and wanted to hear your voice. You still flying over for the fourteenth? I'd really like to see you..."
Hearing the room's door click open, Wade decided to hurry up and end the message, before John heard more than he absolutely had to. "Anyways, I've got to go baby. I love you, call me back okay? Bye." The young man finished, before pulling his ear away from the phone and ending the call, tossing it onto his pack just as Gwozdek came into view.
"Message, huh? You know that means Jody is pecker deep inside her, while she's screamin' his name, I predict." John spat with a twisted grin, winking at Wade. Wade snarled in return, feeling the blood rush to his face.
"With all due respect Lance Corporal, how about you shove your predictions up your ass, I know they can fit."
With a amused chuckle, Gwozdek shook his head, setting down a plastic bag on the desk. As it landed, the Private First Class heard a metallic clang. Yep - it was definitely filled with dip.
"Stow it for later, boot. Battalion Commander just called for formation, and it's mandatory. Best get out there before you give me another reason to knife hand you."
Frowning at John, Wade moved over to the room's TV, which was still blaring with the noise of Predator, and switched the appliance off. The PFC then wasted no time moving towards the barrack's door, plucking his cover off the desk while on his way. "Formation? It's like, fuckin' five o'clock, can't this wait until tomorrow?"
"Well, obviously not, you dumbass, otherwise they wouldn't have called it. You know the BC doesn't leave his office unless he absolutely has to."
Barton stepped to the side to allow John to pass, before reaching over and flicking off the room's lights. Stepping out onto the barrack's upper catwalk, closing the door behind him. Wade slipped his cover onto his head, tossing a glance at the rest of the Marines leaving their respective rooms; before turning towards the stairs that led to the bottom floor.
-Twenty minutes later, Battalion formation-
Private First Class Wade Barton
Wade held in an annoyed sigh as he stood in Battalion formation, standing at Parade Rest with the rest of the several hundred Marines. To his right was Gwozdek, then Corporal Kosmatka, Wade's Fireteam Leader. At the far right of their individual line, comprised of thirteen Marines, was their Squad Leader. Sergeant Lovell Jenkins. The big African man stood stock still, eyes front.
Far ahead, barely visible through the ranks of the rest of 2/5's Hotel Company, was the Battalion's Sergeant Major. The man was in the process of raising a salute to the Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Bairstow.
"SIR! Second Battalion prepared for announcement!"
The Lieutenant Colonel returned the salute, and Sergeant Major Winston took a right face, marching out of the way. Bairstow stepped forward, clearing his throat.
"At ease!"
Wade felt his body relax in relief as he dropped his arms below his waist, but kept his clasped behind his back. The BC had never been a cruel man, and the Private First Class was thankful for that.
"Good afternoon Marines! I'm sure you're all wondering why I decided to interrupt your day, and I bet you're all eager to get back to playing with your dicks; but I've got an important announcement."
Bairstow paused for a moment, glancing along the lines of the Marines. Despite himself, Wade could feel the impatience rising in his chest. He wanted to hear what was so important.
"You've all been watching the news recently. An Iranian Air Force General, Faruk Al-Bashir, has gone rogue. He and his men have formed a new paramilitary group, the People's Liberation Resistance. They are currently carrying out multiple operations and bombings all over Iran, trying to depose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, this is an internal affair with Iran, one we cannot step into."
The Lieutenant Colonel paused once more, clearing his throat a second time, before continuing on with his announcement.
"However, a great number of PLR has massed along the Iran-Iraq border, and have even crossed it. For weeks now, they have been detonating IEDs and suicide vests in Iraqi Kurdistan. The current civilian death toll is around fifteen hundred. The Iraqi Police and Army have done their best to contain the threat, but they're just not up to par."
"The Iraqi Government has requested assistance from the United States to deal with this threat. President Obama has agreed, and the entire 1st Marine Division is mobilizing for Stability and Support Operations in northern Iraq. The first planes will be leaving February 16th, and 5th Regiment will be on them. Any leave you had planned is now cancelled. Make any plans you need to before we set off. Battalion - You are dismissed for the day."
Wade listening to the announcement with intensity, but by the time it was over, he felt numb. The Marine fell out as the Sergeant Major ordered them too, and began his short trek back to the barracks.
Shit, they were going to Iraq. Iraq! The birthplace of civilization, to fight the PLR. With forces almost completely withdrawn from Afghanistan, Barton had accepted the fact that he'd never see combat. But here they were, deploying to Iraq in just eight days! The young man felt both a strange giddiness, and a strong sense of foreboding.
As he walked up the stairs to the barrack's upper level, he thought about Gisele. She was flying to California on the fourteenth, for Valentines Day. What was he going to tell her? He knew she wouldn't take the news well. Wade opened his room's door, and flicked on the light. Almost immediately, he went to his desk.
The Marine unzipped a pouch on his pack, a hand reaching inside. He fingers brushed against the felt of the object he was looking for, before he grabbed the small square item and pulled it into eye's view. The young man flipped open the box, looking at what was held inside.
It was a small, simple yellow gold ring, with a small diamond on top. He'd bought it only just a little bit ago, with what cash he could afford. Wade had been planning on showing it to her when she flew to see him...
Upon hearing footsteps enter the room, Wade quickly closed and hid away the ring, turning to face John as he entered the room. The Lance Corporal stepped forward, before slamming his hands onto Barton' shoulders, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"We're goin' to war, motherfucker! Hahaha!"
-February 14th, 2014, 2000 hours-
Private First Class Wade Barton, Oceanside, California.
God, she's beautiful.
This thought repeated in Wade's mind, over and over. He couldn't even follow along with what Gisele was saying anymore, he was too lost in thought to listen to her, just smile and nod.
The two were sitting in a booth, at the most expensive restaurant the pair could afford. There was a set of burning candles in the middle of the table, and a few plates of steaming food. Gisele was wearing a red dress, and her hair was straightened. The candle light was reflecting off her glossy lips as she spoke, recalling some story about her little brother.
Wade had lost track of what she was saying, but he laughed when she did, and his eyes never left hers. The moment she finished what she was saying, Wade slid across the booth's seat. Before Gisele could say a word, the man cupped his hand over her cheek, and leaned in. Softly pressing their lips together, the pair sat in silence, then Wade pulled away; their lips separating with an audible pop.
Gisele smiled at her boyfriend, a slight content sigh escaping from her, before she spoke. "So, how have you been? Uncle Sam treating you right?" She asked with a smile, turning her head to the side.
Wade smiled and glanced down at the table, feeling his hand scrape against the box in his pocket. He looked back up at her and smiled, he was going to tell her about the deployment before he did anything else.
"Uhh, yeah. So far it's been alright, it's taken a bit to get used to. Some of the guys are kind of dicks, but I expected that. Uhm..." Barton pursed his lips, glancing away. A look of concern came over Gisele's face, and she leaned forward.
"Honey, is something wrong?"
Wade reached out and gripped the woman's left hand with his right, sighing. "Alright, well... You know how I told you that we were leaving Afghanistan, how I'd never go there?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I was wrong... Shit's gotten pretty bad in Iraq. We're going to be deploying there... In two days. I'm really not allowed to tell you much, because of Operational Security and all that, but we'll be there for about seven months."
Gisele was quiet for a second, looking down at the table. Wade could feel her hand tense up underneath his, and it was almost a full minute before she finally spoke.
"How... will I be able to talk to you?"
"You have my FSO number... Just mail a letter to it, and it'll find it's way to me. I don't know if we'll have internet access where I'm going, at least not for a while. But they'll set up phones, I'll be able to call you pretty regularly... That's not all I have to say though."
Before Gisele could say anything, Wade stood up. He kept her hand in his, as he moved around to stand next to the woman. Without a word, the man dropped to his knee, releasing her hand and digging into his pocket.
Wade lifted the small black box up, as Gisele stood up from her seat, unable to say a word as tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Gisele Davis... Since the day I met you as a Sophomore, I have never felt anything but love for you. I can't imagine life without any more. I can't lose you, so..."
Feeling his cheeks flush as the couple started getting some looks, Wade flicked open the box, revealing the ring.
"Will you marry me?"
Gisele stopped for a moment, tears spilling down her cheeks as she cupped her mouth, giving a soft nod.
"Yes... of course I'll marry you!"
Unable to contain himself, Wade shot up, wrapping an arm around Gisele and pulling her close to him, pressing his lips against hers in a brief, but fierce kiss.
With a trembling hand, the young man slid the ring onto his fiancée's finger, then hugged close to her, feeling his own tears starting to build.