Touring America

Chapter 1: APC Ride

Pvt. Laurence Miller looked around the cramped interior of the Bradley he was in; he could see 5 other soldiers sitting in the back of the M2 APC. He looked to his left, and noticed a soldier sitting next to him, he could see the patch on his shoulder: a triangular shape that had its pointed end pointing downwards, and in the middle was a large crimson colored number one in the middle. That got the 19 year-old thinking, remembering him of the words:

"No Mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great, duty first"

A chill ran up the young soldier's spine, those were words he heard many times uttered by his 90 year old grandfather, the reasons he joined the army, that was the motto of the US 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One, as they were appropriately called.

His grandfather's tales of his service in first WWII then Korea were the exact reasons he joined the Big Red One. He thought of his grandfather, a Sergeant, leading his squad to multiple clashes with the enemy, he had been through it all, from North Africa where the Americans landed to support the British, all the way to Germany and Czechoslovakia where the Second World War ended. For years, his grandfather's tales of his service fascinated him, and he sprouted a lifelong dream of joining the military and the 1st Infantry.

The young Private also harbored a love for Dinosaurs, having been a huge fan of the movie Land Before Time when he was growing up, and even when he was grown up, so much so that his Army buddies nickname him "Longneck" for this obsession. In fact, he even put a little picture of a Dinosaur on his helmet, just for individualism. He inspected his M16A4 assault rifle; it was in prime condition and was ready for action, much like the young Private himself.

A voice beckoned him "Hey Longneck, look alive, will ya?"

He looked up away from his assault rifle and towards the direction of the voice, it was from a skinny nerdy looking soldier sitting across from him, his M4 carbine at the ready, it was Private David Beck, a slightly older fellow who was preparing to enter Yale university when he decided to join the military and put his college time on hold.

"Sarge says we're near the combat zone."

"Man, I'm starvin', haven't eaten nothun since we left for the warzone!" complained a soldier with a heavy New York accent, Private Carl Wainwright, a tough Jew from Queens, though everyone calls him Manhattan. "Hey, y'know, my dad owns a deli shop back at Queens, makes the best Salami sandwich you'll ever eat!"

"Manhattan, ya ain't quite right!" snapped a thicker man sitting next to him with a Southern accent, Private Fred Hangsworth

Chuckling, the New Yorker commented "Kinda like yer sister, huh Hayseed?"

Hangsworth grabbed Manhattan by the shoulder, intending to pound the New Yorker, before Sergeant Ed McHanely intervened "Hey, can it, you two! This ain't boot camp, you know!"

"So, Sarge, wudda we doin' in Washington when we should be back at the base?" asked the soldier next to Miller, Corporal Frank Hunter

"Simple: Ivan's f***ing up the capital real good, and a contingent of the Navy SEALS, Rangers, National Guard, and Green Berets are stranded there, holding off the Ruskies with everything they've got!" replied the Sergeant

Ignoring the use of the F-word, Miller asked "So, is it just the Fighting First?"

"Not exactly, Private, see, the 29th, 1st Armored, 101st Airborne, and the 1st Marines are moving in to help us out, and several battalions from the Virginian National Guard are already on the ground and in the city to help those bastards out."

"Didn't the 1st Marines get their asses handed to them by that nuke 5 years ago?" asked Wainwright

"That was the 2nd Marines, and I'd keep your moth shut in front of Hunter, if ya know what's best for you!" replied the Sergeant

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

Miller asked again "So, what're our orders?"

"Simple, we are to move across the Potomac River via the bridges that cross it, and move into the city to relieve the Rangers. The Virginia side of the Potomac is relatively clear of Ivan, now we're moving into D.C itself."

Suddenly, a voice cried out "We're nearly there, get your asses ready!"

"Okay, when the ramp drops, you know what to do!"

Finally, after what seemed like a boring eternity, the ramp dropped, and the soldiers grabbed their weapons and bolted for the outside. Miller rounded the corner and was instantly hit in the lower torso by a stray bullet, and the young soldier's world became pitch black before he even hit the ground.