The young man lay on the ground, he could see blood pooling around him. 'Well…' he thought, 'I guess this is what it means to die.' This man, his name was Polonsky. He was never much of a thinker, but now as he lay dying he could only think of what he would leave behind. 'Well, I'll see you later Ma, Sarge, Miller, all you other guys.'
He thought back to the day he first forged his dad's signature to get into the Marines. To his drill instructors. First coming in and meeting Miller, Sullivan, Sarge, all the others. He remembered the good times, such as the old card games, and the bad times, such as Sullivan's death. 'Well, at least I'll see good old Tom.' Polonsky was thinking happily. He was laying in a pool of his own blood, but he was smiling a bit. 'I guess dying isn't so bad after all…..' That was all he could think of before a jolt of serious pain ran through his body. He could feel his heart slowing down. He knew the doors were closing.
'Well, bye old guys…..see ya on the other side….' His eyes were faded into a white, his heart stopped. The final things flashing in his mind were pictures of his Mom, the guys, his trusty old M1 rifle, and then, it stopped. All went blank and white as Polonsky died with a smile on his face.
*********
Standing in the rubble of what once was Shuri Castle, the two men stood weeping. A Sergeant and a Private stood over the body of the young soldier. The Sergeant reached down and took the young one's dog tags. He gave them to the Private, who said nothing, only weeping in silence. Soon the Private kneeled by the dead young man. "You were a good kid Polonsky. Hey, can you do me a favor? Tell Pyle I miss him, please." The Sergeant walked over to him. "It's ok Miller, hes in a better place now." He muttered to his friend.
"Yeah Roebuck, I know. I just wish this didn't happen" Miller said in a low tone, looking down at Polonsky. Roebuck put his hand on Miller's shoulder. "I know…..I know." Roebuck kneeled down and picked the young ones limp body up, and held him over his shoulder. "C'mon, lets go." Roebuck called out to Miller. Miller turned and nodded. The two men set off to the zone where they would soon be airlifted out of there, with words echoing through their heads, said earlier by Roebuck.
'Everything that was asked of us, we've done. Every night we lay in a filthy foxhole praying the enemy won't slit our throats. Every day we spent crawling through the mud and dirt while bullets whistled all around. This is the enemy's last stand. When we take Shuri Castle we go home. All of us...'