The Hell-Boys Entries 1/3

I know for a fact that the boys back in Washington created a simulation based on the experiences of the 401st hell-boys, that was our unit in Alaska. Too bad I never got to experience the simulation that they made. They were still, last I heard, working out some kinks with the machine when the bombs dropped. I still remember the experience of the drop with the 401 too well.

"Name's Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery, boys. We'll be parachuting in soon at the drop point." The Anchorage War has lasted far too long for comfort, even if we are starting to push them back with the T-51s. My parachute felt heavier by the minute as we started our approach to the green light zone. "Remember to meet up at point Victor! If we are separated for any reason, report back to point Beta. There will be heavy red resistance, so you better have wrote a hell of a goodbye to your love ones. Give them hell, hell-boys!"

Marcus was over by the Sergeant but I could still see his fear. Poor guy, lost his brother in the annexation of Canada a bit back. I'm not sure if my brother is doing as well back in the U.S, not that I ever saw him since we parted ways in college. My watch said it was 7:32, perfect time as sunrise started to come up. The orange glow revealed how close we are to the mountains, which didn't give me much comfort.

There were others also on the plane, but I couldn't remember them or much of the trip there. What I could remember, was that it happened too fast, happened in less than a few seconds. BANG, an artillery shell scaved our rightmost engine. Anti-Air shells blew up all around us as our pilots fought the descending plane.

Flames flumed out as the pilot yells for us to bail out. "SHIT! Sir, what's the drop point now?" One of the jumpers asked, panicky. "Anywhere but here soldier, now jump!" The plane was struggling to keep level, jerking left and right as we start to tumble about.

One of those shells exploded near the right door, blowing a poor soul to bits. By now, the squad was bailing as fast as they could. Sergeant bailed out with another soldier, while I bailed with Marcus. The air felt tight, bitterly cold when I poked my head out the door. As we dropped in altitude, the thumping of the engines started to slow and the transporter leaned right. The high winds from the cliffs definitely made the experience much more treacherous than expected.

Sarge and I split due to the high winds, with him landing somewhere further West with another soldier, and me, by myself with Marcus in the more… shallow area. More paratroopers were hurdling out as fast as they could all around us. The plane, now leaving a huge smoking trail, was diving down, spiraling above us until it crashed on a mountain. God Blessed those pilots, going down trying to save us all.

The rumble caused a slight avalanche, hopefully burying some reds. Our landing site was supposed to be near the oil pipes but we were way off course by that point. The shrapnel from the shells bursting above us tore a few holes in my chute. Marcus and I landed in a hole on the side of a cliff, softened by the new snow.

As I struggle to untangle the chute from my face, I heard a noise. Immediately, I rushed to take the cover off, to reveal several Reds who were previously playing a card game. We pulled out our rifles and a firefight ensued. Marcus fired his sidearm as fast as he could during our retreat behind some rocks and an overturned table.

I jumped and took cover behind a boulder on the ground as bullets passed by us. Bang, Bang, BANG, BANG! The fight gets louder as the enemy managed to get their weapons and are retaliation. "在那边！得到那些猪！" Marcus fired several rounds on his right and managed to down the Chinese commando who was shouting at us. I leaned to the left and pulled my trigger rapidly, getting the last two.

We (Marcus and I) emerged after that, looking back at each other. "Fun start, nothing like boot camp though." Marcus remarked and I retaliated with, " No kidding, the targets didn't fire back at us for a start. Alright, Serge told us to meet at point Beta if we are ever separated. That's those oil pipes we saw coming in." Marcus nodded as he stepped towards a table with a radio. I decided to search the commando, maybe he has something useful to us. Damn, Marcus is a great shot, right between the eyes.

The sergeant would love to have seen that, especially back when we kept missing our shots in the camp. "Hey, Arromdee. This place may have been a listening post. Seems like the fucking reds were listening in to all of our conversations back at base David, there are notes scribbled in both English and Chinese on this. (He lifts a notepad) I think they knew we were coming, just not when.

Fucking hell, they even knew about Operation Anchorage." I stared back above the hole we fell through, those fucking red spies have truly are reliable to the reds. I hate them so much at the moment, but I can't focus on us flying to a slaughter, we have to move soon. "Find anything else that might help us, Marcus?" He shook his head and regrouped with me.

His right ammunition bag seemed to be torn, maybe from the rough ejection from the plane? His face reveals his youth, only 19 years old. Why did this have to be? What's the point of fighting for patriotism if we die for something so dumb like oil? At this point of the fight, we will be throwing children into meat grinders the minute that they are born, with the harsh draft and all. "Arromdee? We should move."

I blinked a couple times as I phased back into reality, "Huh? Oh… yeah, let's move out" We ran towards the cave entrance and looked around. The snow was coming in hard now, I really hope Montgomery made it through all of this. "There's the pipes! Several clicks 259 degrees!" We rushed on the cliff lines, attempting to get to point Beta as fast as we could. When we approached the ridge lines and the oil pipes, there was no resistance.

There were corpses, freshly shot, all around the pipes. I turned back to Marcus, "Sergeant was here, maybe with that other soldier he parachuted out with. Let's catch up." The snow was slowing down as the sun was rising even more. We slogged through the deep snow and onto the metal oil pipes and started walking across. Fucking hell, this is nerve racking if I can say so. I was taking each step with immense caution, with the wind picking up… yay. Eventually, we made it across and then stumbled right into an ambush.

Later, in base camp codenamed Hell-Fire valley...

"Johnson, this is Marcus. The Sergeant has cleared a path for us by taking out the artillery. We've got reports to send our tin cans to the pulse field. Yes, I said Pulse field, the ones with the electrical mines. No, I'm not suicidal, we have an opening damn it! The orders came in to push the Reds out with one strike against their base. Reports say that their General Jingwei would be there. General Chase says it's a green light. Marcus out."

Marcus turned off his radio and covered his we go, the push to make it count. The push to get the commies out of Anchorage. After we get Jingwei, the reds would be running with their tails out back to China, it's just that we have to pick up the scraps left behind after. Marcus seemed to have grown a bit (mentally) since we dropped in from the plane. That's pretty good, considering we've been so fucking miserable since our drop. It's been several days since the drop with Sergeant Montgomery, sure missed that bastard.

I was promoted, in an emergency by Staff Sergeant Donivin, to be part of the force that overwhelms the enemy in the oil refinery district. Resist the Reds, read a poster, bite down against communism. These posters are all that reminds us that we are fighting a war for the black gold. This substance, so stupid, cost so many lives on all sides. I hated that.

God, I miss home. The air was bitter cold but good weather for a troop deployment drop. "Lieutenant Arromdee, our ride's here, time to face the menace head-on." Somewhere, I heard a huge buzz as the energy fields fell. With the shields down, the tanks out of commission, and the artillery crushed, it's time for the T-51s and T-45s to fly close to the minefield. God save these men and Women, God blessed these men and Women.

I grabbed my gauss rifle and ran outside the tent, Marcus following with. Private Velediaz, who was one of the soldiers with us back when we jumped but were separated, was already in the Vertibird. As I got onto the bird, other Vertibirds were launching with the heavy armor, heading to the minefield. It's a green light, I thought, here we go. Marcus climbed on board and immediately grabbed one of the side turrets.

I sat down alongside Private Velediaz, who was staring out the right side of the bird. "HQ, we are go for take off. This is Liberty Seven with the battalion A4, heading to drop off point. Good luck out there guys!"

Last checks now. Helmet: Check, Rifle: check, Ammunition: Check, Fear for my life: double check. The bird was jolting left and right as we took off hastily. Marcus glanced all around the side before loading the machine gun. Marcus was humming Ride of the Valkyries as one of the soldiers on board took his helmet off, sitting on it.

I overheard one of the other soldier asking him, "Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?" The GI responded by responding back, "So we don't get our balls blown off." There were a few chuckles as the vertibird speeds onto our destination. Already, there were sounds of ricocheting of shells. Must be the Chinese soldiers firing at the copter as it flies by. And away we go, feet first into hell.