Chapter Two: Memories
Once the Loud family arrived to their home, all their bags were packed and waiting in the driveway. As Albert looked forward, he saw Lincoln and Lori waiting next to the luggage talking and Lori began crying.
The family stepped out of the van to attend to Lori.
"Lori, what's wrong, honey?" Rita said as she put her arm on her daughter's shoulder.
"It's literally nothing Mom! I just don't want Lincoln to enlist!" Lori said as she began whipping her tears away and held on to her mother's arm.
"Oh honey, don't worry. I know how you feel. I was in your exact position when your Pop-Pop was drafted." Rita said as she comforted her daughter.
Lincoln watched as everything had unwind. He felt as if he was leaving his family for a new one, the Army. Lincoln was about to walk up to Lori to apologize, but his Grandfather stopped him and put his hand on his look-a-like's shoulder.
"Don't worry, kiddo. She'll accept it. It'll just take time. Same with your hippy sister, Luna." Pop-Pop said as he tried to reassure his Grandson.
"Alright, Pop-Pop.." Lincoln said as he began walking over the the luggage and placing it into the van.
The family began packing their things dropping them into the van. The family attempted to limit their luggage but that still didn't work out and the van looked as over packed as their last trip to Lake Michigan.
"Uhhh Rita, how long is this drive gonna be?" Albert asked as he scratched the back if his head.
"At least one or two days, dad. But don't worry, you got the kids as company" Rita said as she got into the van.
"Yup.." Albert said as the rest of the family members got into the van.
"Come on, we gotta go! Lets move guys!" Lynn Sr said as Lana and Lola were rushing out of the house and into the van.
(...)
"Come on boys! We got some Slicks coverin' us!"
The sound of gunfire, men screaming and people jumping in Dust Off helicopters could be heard
"Anymore wounded?"
"Nah, the rest are fuckin' dead!"
(...)
"Pop-Pop, are you okay?" Rita said as she walked closer to her dad.
"Oh yeah, Honey. Better than ever." Albert said as he forced a smile on his face.
Once the family was inside, Lincoln became quiet and began reading his Ace Savvy comics while the others were talking.
"Lori, try not to drop another bomb in here again!" Lana said while pointing at her older sister.
"That was so long ago and it literally wasn't me!" Lori said as she checked the bottom of her seat making sure it wouldn't happen again.
"Lori, maybe you should pay for the gas! Hahahaha! Get it!?" Luan said as she made a very poor joke.
The family as usual groaned while Albert and Lynn Sr. laughed at the joke.
"Alright kids, get ready for a long drive! We're gonna be in here for a LONG time!"
The kids groaned and some tried to adjust to their seats.'
7 Hours Later..
Most of the family members had fallen asleep, but Lola, Lana, Lynn, Lucy, Lisa, Albert, and Lori who is driving temporarily as their dad sleeps. As the kids managed to stay awake, they got so bored
they got so bored to the point they started asking each other questions and played games.
The kids expected their grandfather to fall asleep easily as he did sleep early and easily, but he had not. Albert was afraid of sleeping as he expected to get a nightmare of his previous battles in Vietnam.
The kids had noticed this and began asking their grandfather questions. The kids remembered that awkward pause their mother made while talking about D.C. and one of the kids decided to ask their Pop-Pop.
"Hey Pop-Pop, what was Mom gonna say when she was talking about D.C. when she stopped talking?" Lana asked as she got closer to their grandfather to hear an answer.
Albert remembered that awkward moment with her daughter and he knew what she was going to say. Pop-Pop tried to avoid the answer and said "Oh I don't know, kiddo."
"Maybe it was about some boring museum." Lana said as she immediately came to a conclusion.
The other siblings agreed with the sudden answer until Lisa lowered her science book.
"Incorrect. By the looks of our Grandfather and his past, he wants to avoid the Vietnam War Memorial. It is possible he served in the Vietnam war as our Parental units did tell us he was in the military during the 60's and nearly half of a million served in that country." Lisa said calmly and raised her science book to continue with her studying.
Albert was shocked as her answer was spot on. The remaining kids looked at their grandfather in worry and they got closer to him.
"Pop-Pop, is this true?" Lynn said as she worried for her Grand Father.
"Yeah, do you not wanna remember the war?" Lana asked.
"It's obvious why he doesn't want to remember, it's because of the DEATH." Lucy said bluntly as the others looked at her.
"Look kids, you're right. But I don't wanna talk about it.. It's just too much pain to handle." Albert said.
"Pop-Pop, please. Tell us what happened there. This could help you. You can get this stuff off your chest!" Lana begged.
"To be honest, I think you should literally do it, Pop-Pop. I does help telling someone else." Lori suggested while keeping her eyes on the road and the GPS.
"Please, Pop-Pop! Lisa, aren't we right?" Lynn said as she desperately wanted to help her grandfather.
"Well, yes. It does help talking about experiences. It may even support our sibling-unit with his enlistment." Lisa said supporting the other's cause.
Accepting defeat once again, Albert finally gave in. But he only accepted to help Lincoln with his future career.
"Alright.. Alright.. I'll do it.." The old Veteran said as he prepared himself to relive his worst memories.
"First, wake Lincoln up. He might wanna hear this." Albert said while looking at the teenager sleeping with comics in his hands and a blanket.
"Heh, you got it, Pops!" Lynn said as she formed a devious smile on her face.
Lynn proceeded to do something she hadn't done in a while. The infamous, Dutch Oven.
As she crept up to Lincoln, she was preparing to give him the nastiest gassing of his life. The jock grabbed his blanket and quickly jumped inside along with Lincoln.
Soon after that, a large fart could be heard followed by a muffled scream. The kids and the grandfather quietly chuckled.
"Wha- What the hell is it Lynn?!" Lincoln said while he started coughing.
"Pops wants to tell you about his life, Linc." Lynn said as she smirked at her brother.
"Alright, Pops. Whenever your ready. You don't have to do it if you don't wanna." Lynn said.
"W-well Oka-okay.." Albert said as he was about to return to the memories of hell.
"You guys made him do this? Don't you think this'll cause problems for him?!" Lincoln said as he didn't want his grandfather to suffer.
"Oh, it's okay kiddo. I'm doing this to prepare you." Albert said trying to calm the albino haired boy.
"Alright.. But you don't need to go in full depth.." Lincoln said worried for his Pop-Pop.
"Mhmm.. Well the first thing you should know, you ARE gonna see a lot of death.." Albert said while he closed his eyes.
"Tell us about the battles, Pop-Pop. Please." Lucy said.
"Alright.. Just don't tell your mother I told you this." The old veteran said as he didn't want his daughter to worry too much as she did in the past.
"We promise.." All the kids said.
Albert looked up at them and smiled. He looked back down to reflect on his time.
It all started when..
Vietnam Flashback
Camp Eagle, 1967 (Camp Eagle actually housed the 101st and the 82nd Airborne but screw it)
Count Five- Psychotic Reaction Plays (Listen to the song while reading please)
A young Corporal had left his barracks with his gear ready and was currently putting on his M56 Webbing. Him and his company were excited for their first time in combat and were gung-ho.
"Ready for this shit, Sir?" A Corporal asked.
"Fuck yeah, Corporal. I'm ready to kill some fuckin' commies." The 2nd Lieutenant said
The Corporal looked towards a Private, nervously loading his M16 rifle.
"How about you Crocker (Albert)? You're skin is as white as your damn hair." The Corporal said.
"O-oh yeah, Sir.. I'm ready to k-kill those 'gooks' (That's what they called the NVA or the Vietnamese to be more specific. If you are offended, sorry.), Sir.." Albert said nervously.
"You don't sound ready, soldier. Just don't you dare hesitate on my fuckin' ass." The Corporal said and walked away.
Albert gulped and walked away to regroup with his section. Albert was part of a 13 man section (or squad), but the Albino only really knew 4 of the 13. One of them being the Staff Sergeant who led the unit whose last name is Johnson. Another one of the members would be Debb, who carried an M60 machine gun. Stoner, who was a grenadier, and coincidentally, a man with the name of Lynn, who was carrying a radio.
An older man appearing to be around 30 or 40 years old approached the units of the 173rd Airborne. It was Major General William Peers, who was commanding the the 173rd in the battle.
"Alright, men! Let me tell you that this assault will obviously be DANGEROUS! You will be facing four NVA regiments and they are better trained and equipped than the damn Vietcong." The Major General said.
" But I have confidence in these three companies. I KNOW that you will take that fucking Hill 875 and kick the shit out of those fucking commies!" The MG said as he tried to increase the troops moral.
The soldiers cheered and they were ordered to get in their Huey gunships. They had to travel across the Kon Tum province to reach Hill 1338 or more commonly known as Dak To.
As they flew across the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the soldiers spotted the beauty of the country.
"Can't believe there's a fuckin' war going on here man" Lynn said as he stared at the beauty of the Central Highlands.
"Yeah, well the commies wanna fuck everything over, Lynn" Johnson said as he lit a cigar.
"10 more fuckin' minutes to the LZ, boys!" The Pilot said over the radio.
"Time to lock and load!" Debb said as he loaded his M60 and strapped the 7.62 rounds over his body.
"Don't get gung-ho on me. In my experience, that'll get you KILLED!" Stoner said as he took part in previous battles.
"Don't worry, Smartass. I know what to do." Debb said in a cocky way.
As the unit was talking, Albert was praying. The young Private was praying to see his 3 year old daughter, Rita and his wife. Albert gave a number of Hail Mary's during the ride.
"One minute to the LZ! Drop your cocks and grab your socks!" The Pilot said over the radio.
Albert began looking around aiming his weapon, just to notice no one was around but friendlies. As they proceeded to land in the field, the area appeared to not be hostile, at first.
"Leonard, take point." Johnson said as he commanded some of the unknown members of the unit.
As they continued walking forward, many soldiers realized that it had been awfully too quiet for a battlefield that was bombarded by artillery.
"Sarge, there's no one here!? Can't we ju- GAHH!" Debb said as he was immediately hit by a Chinese-made machine gun.
"Contact! Where the fuck are they!?" Johnson yelled as the company was being sprayed with machine gun fire.
Albert began hyperventilating as he watched the lifeless body of his new friend, laying there with a giant hole in his helmet and blood dripping down to his face.
In an instant, everyone had dirt stains on their faces and uniforms as they heard screaming, gunfire and mortar shells hitting the ground nearby.
Back to the Present..
"Oh my God... " Lola said as Pop-Pop described the beginning of the battle.
"Wow… It must've been a long nightmare.." Said Lynn feeling bad for her Pop-Pop.
"I know…. *exhale* I know.." Albert said with a tear dripping down his face.
"Lincoln, are you sure you want to do this? You will witness a lot of death.." Lucy said as she watched her brother thinking.
"I'm sure.. It was the past, things changed.." Lincoln said with a few second thoughts in his mind.
"Pop-Pop, I literally feel so bad for you. Maybe we should find you some therapy." Lori said while trying to look at her grandfather as she was driving.
"It's okay kids.. We should get back to the story later. I'm feeling tired now." Albert said, feeling a bit relieved getting his experience off his chest.
I know I got a bit of some historical inaccuracies in there, the big one being Camp Eagle housing the 173rd Airborne Division, but I only changed it because I don't know much nearby camps or camps at all. Alright, thanks for reading the PTSD fuckfest. Next chapter will come soon.
Love,
Delta.