A/N: This was written a very long time ago. Forgive me for my writing sins
There is always a statement by most war victims or combatants, be it they are the winners or the losers or even the innocent. They will always say "War is hell. No matter where." For Coporal Lincoln Loud, that hell was the small peninsular of Korea. In a foreign land, where he saw horrors he never could erase from his mind.
He was serving in the 1st Marine Regiment. Shipped out when the Reds advanced through the 38th parallel. He had been there at Incheon. Armed with only a M1 Garand and a M1911A1 pistol. They slowly made their way, with armor support helping them. As they entered the outskirts of the city, nearing the bridge, 5 Russian made T-34s advanced upon them, as the whole platoon hit the ground after a shell narrowly misses the whole lot of them, the M46 Patton fires a shell. The shell hit the tank's turret and an earth shaking blast was heard. As Lincoln looked up from the dirt, he saw the olive green tank missing it's turret. With the M46 Patton shooting at the T-34s, Infantry arrived resulting in his platoon was pinned. He and his platoon mates grab their rifles and start firing away at the enemy in front of them. The firefight was very onesided
*BOOM!*
Another T-34 goes up in flames, as the North Korean Infantry charge with their Soviet made submachine-guns and are sprinting towards their platoon and the tank at the other end of the bridge, the tanks machine gun and the platoon shoots at the enemy, with the T-34s on the other end firing their 85mm guns. Lincoln shouts "FIRE AT WILL!!" .30-06 rounds fly from the muzzles. As the North Koreans keep attacking. Lincoln gets up to get a better view, A T-34 turret is trained on him. He runs to grab a M20 Bazooka. Rusty, his platoonmate sees him and runs towards him. Dropping his M1 Garand and quickly grabs a crate of rockets nearby and loads the bazooka for him. "CLEAR!!!" Rusty shouts as Lincoln presses the trigger and the rocket flies, with the tank blowing up into oblivion. Seeing their tanks destroyed the North Koreans start falling back. During the engagement, the platoon had suffered two casualties. Both were wounded after a shell from a T-34 landed too near to them and suffered shrapnel injuries.
Finally, reinforcements arrive. They bring the two wounded man back to headquarters before they cross the bridge. There Lincoln saw a gruesome sight. The surrounding infantry, unlucky to be nearby the blown up tanks, were no longer recognisable, burned by the blast. Yet they advanced in. As the platoon moved in two columns and entered a street in the city, DP-28 machine guns open up on them.
*BRATRATARATARATATATATAT*
Caught unaware, Lincoln and 4 other men moving at the front of the column run for cover at a destroyed tank. 2 of them are hit by the machine gun and fall. The 2 remaining men, named Liam and Rocky along with Lincoln fire at the machine gun position before one of them hurls a grenade, soon a blast is heard and the entire 2nd floor of the building blows up with the gun on the street. Lincoln quickly grabs the dogtags of the fallen men and put it in his pocket. Simon Sharp and Alistair Bronson
Now cutoff, they run towards another house, there Lincoln sees the horror along with the other two. A shell hit the house and killed the 4 people inside, A man, a woman and 2 children. The youngest was a girl about 7 or 8, reminding him of his youngest sister. He took off his helmet and sat down, as the two remaining men sat along side him, unable to stand the sight they just saw. As they left that house and moved down the street. More horrible sights. Men shot in the head, crying in the streets, gunfire and screams of agony.
The three of them walk through the destroyed streets of Seoul, sick to their stomachs. Before a sniper shot is heard, it misses. As they run towards the houses. This time, they meet up with 5 men, also Marines covering under a sandbagged barricade.
With the extra 5 marines they charge the position, throwing grenades and firing their M1s. As they cleared the houses. There was a sight he would forever remember was a sight of a unlucky Marine. He was still alive, holding on to his M1, his leg had been horribly wounded along with his chest by a Korean holding on to a grenade. As Lincoln held him. Unable to do anything to relieve his pain, Lincoln then reached into his kit and pulled out a Lucky Strike Cigarette for him. Before lighting it for him and giving it to him. He accepted the cigarette before giving Lincoln a letter. A bloodstained letter. As the wounded soldier smoked the cigarette, Lincoln stayed by his side. As the soldier told him "Guess I never got to marry her..." His sentence ended by his departure. Lincoln holds on to the young soldiers bloodstained letter, closed the soldiers eyes and grabbed his dogtags. He was unable to forget his face, his smiling face even though he was dying. He couldn't forget his name, Chandler Hawkins.
As Lincoln grabbed his M1 and rallied the 6 other marines to the end of the block, where they saw more Marines, trying to blow up the 8 foot barricades and disarming mines. coming under fire from machine guns and anti tank guns As Lincoln signalled the marines below in the minefield to evacuate, he and his group covered their escape and threw grenades over the barricade.
*BOOOOM*
The whole barricade was now a shattered mix of sand and rice, churned up earth, destroyed equipment and dead men. Then an enemy sniper takes his shot.
*BLAM*
Another Marine falls. This time it hits man named Jordan Toll. He's shot in his stomach. As Lincoln rushes to put pressure on his wound. He is losing lots of blood, as Lincoln and Liam try to patch him up. "What's your name kid" "Jordan" "OK, Jordan stay with me don't go to sleep, stay awake, we'll patch you up. " As the firefight between the sniper and the other marines under cover rages around them. Despite their best efforts, Jordan is losing blood. As a combat medic joins Lincoln and Liam to get him stabilised, Jordan holds his hand out and places a small photograph on Lincoln's hand before he inhales his last breath and says "Tell Carol, I love her with all my heart..." As he leaves the world.
"FUCK!!!! FUCK!!!" As he slammed his hands against the floor. The war claimed the lives of many lovers. "FUCK!" Liam grabs his tags and closes his eyes before passing it to Lincoln Another man has fallen, another fallen brother. As they advanced more and more inwards. As Lincoln calmed down and commanded the remaining 5 men to the building down the street. They stumbled in, firing at the only floor, 3 North Koreans fell, but not without losses of their own. A burst of submachine-gun fire from another North Korean hit a Marine. As they swung round and shot him, the marine reaches his hand out and grabs Lincoln by his arm and says, "Tell my momma, I love her..." Before succumbing to his wounds. Lincoln broke down. 5 men. 5 men died in front of him. He was unable to forget. As he grabbed his tag, and read his name, Andrew Peterson. Another name among the dead. The remaining men run towards a platoon of 14 men, only greeted by the news that the city was cleared. But for Lincoln, the damage had been done. 5 men died near him. 5 men never going back to their loved ones. He now walked towards the headquarters in the destroyed city and placed the 5 dogtags in the helmet and walked away. This was just the prelude of his hell.