Part IV: Shiver
"This whole forest has become a battlefield. They could be anywhere out there. There's nothing more scary than being shot at and you can't find the damn guy! "Sgt. Ricardo Jameson of Charlie Company, of the 118th PIR, 79th Airborne Division after the battle of Parachova.
November 28, 2010- I was surprised so many managed to survive such a hellish artillery attack. Perhaps, it was because we were so spread out. We only suffered 6 dead and 22 wounded. My head is healing up fine...no life threatening damage. That's more than what I can say for some. SSgt Price was an icon to us, even in BCT. Best damn NCO there was. SSgt McDowell said he deserved a Seraphim Crest (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor) for saving three guys in his platoon even while taking that awful fire. I guess they needed a Sergeant in Heaven.
During the wait, I did indeed receive a promotion to Sgt, as well as Gordon, Lally, Christenson, and Seville. The squad command also passed to me. Still, I wasn't too worried. We were a coherent unit, with an exception; D'Angelis being that exception. D'Angelis was the kind of guy who fit and didn't fit into the army. Don't expect him to go out of his way; he didn't even volunteer to help look for me. He never let down in combat...but everywhere else...
He was widely disliked, as I have mentioned before. But none hated him like Roxy. From the get-go they've been enemies. He has this "misogynist-complex". I bet when Lt. D'Mornay was commissioned and transferred from Easy Company to our platoon, he must have been mad as hell. He just seemed to hate everyone. He was hard on prisoners, sometimes shoving them around and whatnot.
We were pulled back to Vijan today. As we were settling in again, we were hearing things about the western front. That area, known as Rydling, has been constantly changing hands since the beginning of the war. Our brothers in the 17th Air Assault Division have been sent to Ocktabursk, where it may be on the verge of collapse. No one knows where we're going next. Maybe that's a good thing.
November 29, 2010- We received some replacements and we've had some shakeups in the noncoms and officers. Captain Thomson has moved up to battallion XO. Lt. Jones is now in command of B Company. Lt. D'Mornay is company XO. One replacement officer, 2nd Lieutenant Sabon is my platoon leader. He was commissioned from Fox Company. He's not very demanding and a competent individual from what I can tell. Roxy is a corporal again. I wasn't too concerned about the squad leadership until today, when our squad got 2 new members, Pvts. Carter and Webber. Now, I have to keep the new guys alive as well; it's the only thing I'm afraid of.
Lt. Jones then briefed us today about the Rydling region. The Yukes had beaten back our forces in a vital city, Sevaspol. That city had changed hands 4 times in 3 weeks. We'd be shipping out soon to that area. We also received some new uniforms, white and black camouflage. The Rydling region is unbelievably cold this time of year. Our regiment would jump on December 2 at 1100 hrs. Our goal is rendezvous with the 3rd Infantry Division outside of Parakchova. How intriguing…a fourth combat jump in a month. Many of the rookies were hungry for experience. I remember Carter was very excited about the possibility of combat. My dilemma was whether or not to tell him the reality of combat. I decided to let him have his enthusiasm. We may need it yet….
December 1, 2010-I wasn't expecting to be here this soon, I had thought that 3rd Marine Division could hold the line. I was wrong. The Yukes blasted a huge hole in their lines and were heading straight for Parakchova. They were taking a beating and we had to get there post-haste. I was outside that night when I heard the news from Lt. Jones. So I'm running around trying to get everyone up in mad rush. All the C-130s were there on standby just in case of this very situation. By the time we got to our DZ, it was sunrise. We landed in a hot DZ though. They came out of nowhere. We'd landed in the right place at the wrong time…
We were scambling trying to get organized. This was much worse than Bastok. I think they were the Yuke paratroopers of the 10th Division that Lt. Jones told us about. They were elite. So were we.
We had to fall back to a high ridge for cover. I told Haley and Dave to set up their guns on the highest ridge. Then, Lt. Sabon and the rest of us in the company just opened up. I think I was almost out of ammo by the time it was all over. We were lucky, only 22 wounded. All of my people are still alive. Alpha Company got the hell beat out of them, they lost 15 guys. We had to dig in for the night while Division gets organized. Sabon sent for some ammo, but no word so far. So our master scrounger, Pvt. Brooks, went for it. He better hurry the hell up. We're in the OP, and I'm concerned were gonna be attacked again.
December 2, 2010- Brooks came back later, with ammo and a 50 cal that made Haley's day. She'd have a field day with that one today. He considered it an early birthday present. Brooks can get anything, just say the word.
We were not sure whether the enemy was holed up on the other side of the trees or if they retreated. So we, we're just sitting here in our foxholes waiting for orders. Daytime movement was hard, snipers could be anywhere. I heard about the Yuke snipers; how deadly and effective they were. Then around 1400 hrs…they threw the kitchen sink at us. They had bombers, tanks, infantry, and enough artillery to blow up Oured. The tanks were little threat since we had an advatagous position. The anti-tank units had a ball. Lally racked up 4 kills. However, the artillery was hell. There was a two minute long attack, followed by infantry. I kept running up and down our squad's section of the line checking on everyone. Then some fighter bombers came in to dropped some bombs on us. I remember seeing some guys from 2nd Platoon get blown out of their foxholes about 20 yards from my position.
I yell at Gordon and Carter to cover the left side while I tried to ascertain our situation. Lt. Sabon came running down to our position calling for reinforcements along the right side. I get Webber, Lally, and D'Angelis and we headed down the line. At about that time, mortars came in as we ran. Snow, ice, and shrapnel filled the air; they were breaking through the right flank.
When we got there, I realized why the line was going to collapse. The ridge was undulating, and 3rd Platoon and C Company were threatened by tanks. Infantry came out of the tree line and we fought in the middle of an artillery barrage for about 15 minutes. Suddenly, three tanks came over the hill. Muretadynes or Death Rollers translated literally. The deadliest tanks in the Yuke arsenal; they had 130mm dual barrels, missile launchers, enough steel to outweigh D'Angelis' ego. I think I said, "We're so dead." Then...one of them exploded. Suddenly, there were multiple explosions down their lines. Several Osean planes, F-15 Strike Eagles rolled up.
The Yukes fell back as Marines in helicopters came in to reinforce us. I have a feeling this is far from over. Luckily, my squad's all intact. We did pretty damn fine as I can tell.
December 4, 2010-We've finally got everything in order and can advance to Sevaspol. Before we get to the city, have to clear the woods of Dwathamper. This is one huge forest; yet it seems strangely beautiful with the light snow. It's about 1800 yards to the city. We've cleared about 1000 so far. We'll probably end up at the city before 1000 hrs tomorrow. There was minor resistance. Lally was wounded by a mine that exploded killing 2 guys in 2nd platoon. He wasn't hurt too bad, but he'll probably miss the main assault. Our "tank terror" would finally get his first purple heart, but I was concerned.
Most of the TOW Rocket crews remaining were replacements. There was no telling how much armor was concentrated in the city. Two came today, a brother and sister fraternal twins who by some fluke, both ended up in our company. They were Pvts. Johnny and Miranda Allen. They lived around St. Augustine, they were the middle two of six siblings. All of them were in the military; four of them alone were in the paratroops. The oldest one, Damon Allen of 3rd Platoon, was killed in Operation Callisto. So with them, the squad consists of me, Sgts. Gordon, Christenson, Seville, Cpls. Valentine and D'Angelis, and Pvts. Webber and Carter. The "rocket twins" got their first initiation today.
At 1500 hrs, we were pinned down by several Yukes in a ruined structure ahead. As we tried to deal with the snipers and such, there was a Yuke jeep that was trying to get away. Without hesitation, they had already loaded a rocket and Johnny with amazing accuracy put one a rocket threw it. I was surprised at how fast they were. They may live through this one yet.
Sevaspol will be the largest city we've encountered. I hope few civilians are in the city. They were setting up artillery in the woods. If there are any, I feel sorry for them as there is little to do but what were told. Our Division has a crack artillery unit. Then again, Lt. Jones (now Captain) told us we'd be going up against the some best infantry units in the Yuke army backed up by the ruthless Ovanji Tangra or Shadow Knights, among the most ruthless soldiers in the world. It seems we're going to fight for every inch of Sevaspol.
December 5, 2010- After clearing the woods of Dwathamper, the entire Third Army assembled outside the large frozen city of Sevaspol. All the Divisions would attack from three directions. We'd waited for a green light as the air force took out targets of opportunity. When we heard those words, the tanks then moved in with us behind it. There was so much open field, and even more flak. We ran through mortars, artillery fire, sniper and machine gun fire, tank shells, the occasional strafing Mig squadron. We would reply in kind.
As us in the Airborne approached the industrial sector, we would exprience urban combat at its purest and harshest; it was the ugly visage of total warfare. Every block, every building had to be struggled for. Sevaspol was an easy way to earn a purple heart. Tanks were concealed in buildings. It took 2 hours to take that sector. I saw a whole squad from Fox Company get wiped out by a machine gun. By 1500 hrs, the city was in our hands. 4th Infantry got banged up pretty bad. Our losses were lower than we expected though.
However it was brutal; we lost Carter to a sniper. Poor kid didn't even make it to the city. Webber got shot as we pushed into the city and died later at the aid station. Valentine got shot in her other foot. She was lucky though, it was only a ricochet. I guess me laughing it off didn't improve her disposition. Charlie took a piece of shrapnel in the face, nearly took out his left eye.
Even I wasn't spared. I got pinged in the neck by a sniper. Dave told me I was a lucky bastard. Sasby, from 2nd platoon, had his neck torn in half by a sniper. A medic said if it were a half-inch to the right I'd be dead. My luck has been extremely good so far. However, I keep thinking about how close I came every time. I keep thinking about how night after night I keep dreaming of Jen and long, thick, black, curly hair and those ocean blue eyes. Everyday I get closer to coming home. She knows so little of what I do. Does she know I slit a man's throat with my bayonet for the very chance to dream about her? I killed 10 men just to write this. I can't tell her. She'd be sick at the thought. I am too. This has to stop. Maybe Haley was right...we're so going to Hell for this...
December 6, 2010- My neck stings a bit, but it could be worse. The only thing to do now in the city is clean up. Our squad ended up taking 30 prisoners. We didn't run into any Ovanji Tangra, so that was a plus. Most of the civilians had fled or hid underground. Bravo Company lost 10 men. We were lucky. One regiment in the 4th Infantry lost some 400 men from what I hear, it was pretty bad. The good news is that we get excellent barracks. Of course, it's all relative. The three story apartment building our platoon was stationed in was run down and had battle damage. However, at least it wasn't a foxhole out in the snow. The food was still mediocre at best. Our position was overlooking the northeastern forest. My squad served as OP #4 along the east side. We could call for artillery support any time we wanted, of course there was nothing to bomb out there.
We had done tremendous damage to the enemy in the last few days. Many still had high hopes that the war would be over soon. I reminded my people that this was far from over. After all I've learned from prisoners, it seems the military government does not want to quit so soon. Like us, most of them just want this to end.
December 9, 2010- So far, we've just sitting around doing nothing but watching the woods, cooking, listening to each other's humorous stories. Today, we witnessed an air battle in the gray skies above. It was quite the grand spectacle. We watched it in excitement, one of the only enjoyable aspects of war. It was hard to tell who won, but 4 planes from each side were there, and 4 left the battle. I wonder if it was the Wardog squadron up there. I envy David. He gets to his job with his girlfriend; his job is relatively easy compared to us army grunts. I haven't heard anything from them though. There were rumors going around that they were shot down. I didn't pay much attention to them. I mean, they were only rumors...
We received some care packages from our families back home. Mostly stuff to remind us of home. Jen made this gift card video with her goofy friends. It was kinda corny, but I'm missing that real bad right now. She sent me a pack of cocoa along with some other stuff. I remember Garcia got a truckload of stuff from everybody in his family. Lucky bastard. At least his in-laws actually like him. Well, their not all bad. Jen's mother is really nice, when she's sober. Her father just has it out for me. I fucking hate her family. They're all rich and elite, hoping their daughter would marry someone rich and famous, with a big house and a fast car... Luckily for me, she chose Damien Klein, a former auto repair guy, crazy paratrooper, middle-class, motorcycle-riding, soldier trying to survive in this frozen hell. My life here is nothing but a day-to-day affair...
I haven't seen Jen in 3 and half months. I'm in a foreign land, freezing my ass off wanting nothing more than to be home. But one thing added to our content. We had heard about the fall of Cruik Fortress 2 days ago. It seems our buddies in 11th Armored did okay after all. We're not sure if were going on the move again soon, but we got it made so far. We got food, water, a roof over our heads, beds, and we're not getting shot at or shooting at anyone. If only we could stay here until the war ends...
December 12, 2010- The Osean Third Army has gathered for the drive northward. Guess who gets to be in the lead...
Our next target is the town of Kukof, 3 miles northeast of us. Captain Jones (formerly Lt.) ordered us to advance to a ridge overlooking the valley. Everyone else, the 4th Infantry, 13th and 15th Marine Divisions, 8th and 9th Armored Divisions marched at our flanks. Of course, we're supposed to be surrounded. Most of us, including myself, were expecting heavy resistance as we moved through the forest. But there was almost none. The only exception was an OP we ran into along the way. Morrison chucked a grenade at it and killed the two guys there.
We dug in a long a high ridge overlooking the entire valley and the town of Kukof in the distance. Visibility was much better today since the snow lifted and the long, lingering clouds left. The scenery was quite nice; however, we had no idea where the enemy was. Some believed we were walking into a trap. Others believed we'd broken the backs of the enemy. I don't believe that. There was a sizable force at Sevaspol, but not nearly enough to have completely routed them. The enemy commander may have been just biding his time.
We could see 8th Armored on our right moving in to position en masse. They spread out all over the valley like a metallic carpet. Seville's looking at it through his binoculars, when all the sudden he says, "Oh shit! We got enemy Tanks coming out of the treeline 12:00 low!" So I heard immense rumbling and I took out my own binoculars to look. The treeline began to collapse as enemy tanks came through it. But then I saw the panicked reaction of the Yuke Tanks. Both armored divisions had literally run straight into each other. Then the firing commenced. It was like a dogfight on the ground or dozens of men going at it with shotguns in a enclosed space. From our position there was little we could do.
The tanks were weaving in and out of each other's lines. Just the sheer size of the battle amazed me. To the far right, I could see pillars of smoke on the horizon; there were also large explosions along the rear. The Yukes were counterattacking. Several F-18s came to bomb targets. The Yukes retaliated with bomb runs of their own. Enemy helicopters strafed the tanks as well. I remember one chopper that did a gun run on our position. We just opened up on it and eventually through combined effort the chopper went down. Some guys from 2nd Platoon got killed. The battle raged on. Finally after about some 20 minutes, some A-10s came in. What a mess they made! However, we were to still hold the position while the battles around the valley continued. So much for a warm place to sleep...
December 14, 2010-We had witnessed a huge battle yesterday, today we saw the results. As we cleared the woods and headed into Kukof, we saw burning tanks everywhere. They burned into the night, some are still burning. The ground was filled with wrecked enemy planes. So at least the air force did okay. We captured some Yuke prisoners; most were out of fuel or ammo or both. Their faces were filled with grim horror. I remember seeing men without limbs and such. For us who'd seen death before, it wasn't as shocking as it was to the newer soldiers. Some of the inside of those tanks though...
We cleared east, and as we walked along, we saw nothing but destruction. The trees were torn apart, there were burning and wrecked tanks for as far as the eye could see. The whole forest seemed to be covered in smoke and fire. There were large patches of bloodied ice from the dead and wounded. Though the 8th Armored Division was badly mauled, they still maintained an aura of confidence like most tankers. I have no idea why they'd be so enthusiastic; they'd lost many tanks as far we could comprehend. Maybe they lived for these things.
The snow and cold has been taking its toll. Some people were treated for frostbite. Some were sick. There were others that were close to breaking. Even now as we clear the woods with little resistance on our end, some looked as if they would snap any second. I have to keep my squad's morale up, I don't want them to break. Something told me we'd need every soldier we could spare...
