The Ashes of Iwo Jima
Chapter 4: The end of the first day
Mike tirelessly patrolled his tent area. It was around midnight and it had been raining nonstop since his shift started at 2200 Hours. His poncho kept his clothes dry but drops of rain dripped from the brim of his helmet. He almost lost his grip on his rifle due to its increased wetness. He was dead tired, after being pinned down on the beaches and taking heavy casualties they had broken out. A group of 760 Marines made a near-suicidal charge on the Jap positions and had taken heavy casualties. They punched through the Japanese lines and completely isolated the garrison at Mt. Suribachi from the rest of the Jap forces on the island. Now Mike was straining his eyes in the dark to look for any signs of a Japanese banzai attack. That was a favourite Jap strategy; they would banzai attack during the night and the Americans would be taken off guard and slaughtered. They had been specifically told to watch for enemy infiltrators but there had been none the entire evening. Another marine walked out of the dry tent and came up to Mike.
"I'm here to relieve you sir" he said.
"Have fun private" Mike told him before trudging slowly back to the tent. The lights were still on as Mike took off his poncho and helmet. He placed then in his personal trunk and leaned his rifle against it. He proceeded to collapse on his cot.
""Hey Mike, you up to join our game of Black Jack?" asked Barnes.
"Well I've just gotten off a 2 hour watch shift in the rain. I haven't slept since we were on the Langley" he replied drowsily.
"Okay, suit yourself. Your loss when you wake up tomorrow and find that I won 50 bucks" he laughed.
"Sure, have fun with that" Mike said jokingly.
Clark turned his attention back to the game. "So I get down to the sickbay for my vaccination and there are these two nurses standing there…"
Mike sighed and rolled his eyes. Clark was carrying on about his way with the ladies again. Speaking of ladies thought Rick I wonder if I have any new mail from Mom or any of my sisters. He got up off his cot and walked towards the desk where letters were sorted, mailed, and delivered. As he approached, the man on duty looked up.
"What can I help you with?" he asked politely.
"I'm looking to see if I have any new mail. Pfc. Mike Jones" he said.
The man scanned the neat rows of compartments until he found Mike's. He reached into his pocket and took out a loop of keys. He flipped through them and found the one he was looking for. He inserted it into the lock and opened the box. He proceeded to leaf through the contents and pulled an envelope.
"One new letter. It just arrived today" the man noted.
Mike took the letter, thanked the officer, walked back, and sat down on his cot. He pulled the bayonet off his rifle and used it to cut the envelope open. He unfolded the letter and began to read it.
Dear Mike:
Things have been pretty hectic since you left. Your father is swearing at the radio because the Rangers just scored a late third period goal to lead 3-2. Trevor got his tongue stuck to a metal fence yesterday; it took all of us to get him unstuck. He cried for three hours straight. Helen is doing well; she just finished her semester 1 exams. She only has a semester left of high school. Time just flies these days. Dad and I have been working overtime on the production lines. The war in Europe is almost over and I heard that Charlie is fine. He helped save the 101st Airborne Division trapped at Bastogne last month. The Germans are pretty much all out of fight but the Japanese don't seem to be. Be careful out there. Best wishes from everyone back home, Mom.
Mike folded the letter back up and placed it in his trunk. He would keep any souvenir he could find and put them in his trunk. So far he had his letter and a can of dirt from the beach that he had labeled Iwo Jima. He was determined to fill it up and then send it home.
Mike took a piece of paper and a pencil from the trunk, and then locked it. He reattached his bayonet to his rifle and began to write a reply. He fell asleep before he even finished dear Mom.