War is Hell

A little late, but better than never.

Don woke up in throbbing pain. He quickly found out that he could only look through his right eye, and then the memory of the grazing shot flashed in his mind. Looking around, he found himself in a field hospital located somewhere safe behind allied lines. He also noticed that he was in a hospital gown, his leg patched up, and a bandage around his stomach and right shoulder.

"So, your up" a female voice said. Don looked to his left and saw an Army nurse. "You've been out for about twelve hours now."

"That long?" He asked. The nurse nodded. "How did I get this wounds?" pointing to his stomach and shoulder.

"Well, the soldiers that brought you in said that you took some shrapnel from the enemy tank shells. The one you were on flipped on its side and you were thrown off, and landed on your shoulder" she told him.

"I see. Thank you for telling me."

"No problem. If you need one of us, just let us know"

'So, we were hit by an armor ambush' Owens thought to himself, 'heck, I just glad to be alive right now.'

"Long time no see buddy" a familiar voice said.

Don looked at where the voice came from. "Johnny B! Good to see ya man!"

The two comrades shook hands. "It's been, what, two months?"

Don laughed, "I lost track after I was sent to the front."

"Don't you mean, how was it put, 'negotiated' your way to the front?"

"You got me," raising his hands in defeat, "several other officers also had a hand in it though."

"I thought so." Berelsman answered. "I also heard that you'll keep your eye and get out in about five days."

Owens sighed in relief, "Thank God the medicine works a lot faster and better than it did before, back on Earth."

A slight grimace crossed his friends face, "Yeah, I remember. I miss it you know, I really do."

"Too bad we had to leave it. But, at least we still have our comrades and a place to call home."

"Some of them anyway" Johnny B said with trails of sorrow in his voice. The sound of approaching footsteps caught the attention of both Lieutenants. Johnny went to the position of attention when he saw that Nell was approaching, with what looked like a few officer trainees.

"At ease Marines," Nell said, turning her attention to the officer in bed. "I heard a report of you fighting by yourself after getting separated from your unit, is this true?"

Owens gulped whatever moisture was in his mouth before speaking. "That is true ma'am."

Her expression lightened up a little. "It's good to see that you made it out alive, despite the horrible conditions," her face hardened, "but it was very reckless of you to do that! You were almost killed and we'd have lost a perfectly good officer!"

Don quickly tried to defend himself. "With all due respect ma'am, I was cut off and had no other choice if I wanted to stay alive! I also managed to cause them grief by sniping them in their own territory!"

"That was one reason I sent those tanks out, to retrieve you. Unfortunately they were lost as a result. Did you find anything worth noting or were they wasted?"

Don looked over to the trainees, young guys still in the academy probably, then back to Nell. "Yes, I did." Nell, Johnny and the cadets looked at him expectantly. "While fighting them I overheard something about sending forces somewhere near Pointing River and the Switchback Pass. That was it."

She took a moment to process the info that she was just given as if calculating possible forces that they may be gathering and what could happen if they advanced from those locations. "Thank you Lieutenant. Now for the other reason I was here."

Both Lieutenants looked at here with interest. "What would that be?" Berelsman asked.

Nell smiled as a cadet handed her a small box. "Second Lieutenant Robert Owens, for exceptional bravery and actions in the face of danger, the nation of Orange Star presents to you the Bronze Star. And for receiving wounds in action, you are hereby awarded the Order of the Purple Heart."

Everyone within visual rang clapped as Nell pinned the medals on his pillow. He shook her hand, smiled for the picture, and looked at the Bronze Star in disbelief. 'I rated a Bronze Star. My parents would be proud of me' he thought to himself. He faced her again and gave a crisp salute, "Thank you ma'am."

"You're welcome Lieutenant, and congratulations." Nell returned the salute, and went along her way to continue awarding medals and thanking soldiers for their service and sacrifice.

It was not long before his commander, Sami, came up to him. "I'm glad to see you made it out of there" she said with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

"Are you also going to chew me out?" he asked, sounding deflated. To his surprise she shook her head.

"No, but I should be. Your actions almost got you killed, but it also got you a transfer to Force Recon."

"WHAT?" Johnny and Don both said at the same time, completely caught by surprise by the news.

"Keep it down will you, we're trying to rest" some trooper announced.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, as soon as you're out of here, you'll meet up with the 4/13 at Fort Maxwell in Rallast. Here are all of your paperwork, and good luck." With that she gave him a quick salute and left.

Johnny looked at his friend with some expectancy. Don returned his look before opening his new orders. "I move out the day I book from here."

Future updates will be far and few for the next few months, possiblly years. Anyways, please R&R!