Chapter 6

They had been worried about West when he was brought back in extreme pain. Captain Ross gave him some water and turned around when he heard a horse whisper. "Captain," he turned to see West's penetrating gaze. "What is it son?" He leaned close putting his ear near West's lips. "I'm here son," he said. "My platoon," West croaked, "All dead." "I'm sure they fought bravely" the Captain assured. "No!" West moaned, "Out of ammunition, surrendered, then they shot us all." The Lieutenant, watching saw the dismayed look on the Captain's face. What West said had caused the Captain to momentarily question his optimism. "What did he say? What did he say?" Asked the Lieutenant. "He said his platoon was massacred after surrendering" replied the Captain. "I think they've broken my back" West sobbed. The thought of of being paralyzed overwhelmed him. They carefully lifted him onto one of the benches that served for beds and tried to make him comfortable.

The next day some officials came to the camp. While the guards were distracted the Captain signaled the doctor to come over. At the sight of an Oriental face West shrunk back in his bed. "It's O.K. he is a friend" the Captain said. The Doctor examined West and was optimistic. The boy could feel his feet and move his legs a little. Of course he had no way of knowing how much damage there was. Once again he regretted he couldn't provide anything for the pain. He promised to bring crutches. West was unable to sit or stand long without the pain becoming overwhelming. He got some measure of relief lying down but that caused sores to form all over him.

Over the next few weeks West told the Officers more of what happened to his unit and how he survived the shooting. They ascertained that his name was Arthur Frances West and that he was eighteen years old. He was amongst the twenty-eight survivors of his platoon when their North Korean captors shot them down. West apparently fell underneath the other men and was overlooked. The Captain was from Connecticut but spent a lot of time in New York. He could almost peg the rough neighborhood were West was from by his accent. The boy seemed to be getting weaker so the Captain attempted to bolster his spirits. "The only thing that matters is getting back to your family." When West's head sank he asked, "You have a family waiting don't you?" He was shocked when West shook his head. Desperate to give the boy some hope he said, " Well I'd be proud to have a brave son like you, when we get out of here you can come home with me and be part of my family." Would he say that if he knew about my past? West wondered.

"You have to make it back and tell what happened to your platoon, Their families need to know" continued the Captain " But I'll just have to say there all dead, murdered." Said West. "You don't have to include the terrible details." Ross said, " Just tell them they fought well and how they helped each other. Its better than never knowing their fates." The Captain had thought a lot about what he would want his family told under different scenarios. West wanted them to know the truth about him so he went ahead and told them, "Look, I'm only in the Army because I got into some trouble." Knowing they wouldn't recruit anyone that did anything serious the men looked at each other and laughed. Trouble was the reason Lieutenant Corso had been sent to numerous military schools. The Captain said, "Yea, well I got into plenty of trouble as a kid. The only difference is that my parents could buy me out of it!" West wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing.

Over the ensuing weeks West's condition deteriorated. The Doctor had brought crutches but West could only use one because of his damaged shoulder. He suffered from fevers, the bedsores became infected and he couldn't keep food inside long enough to matter. He had a wracking cough that he knew must be keeping the other men up all night. West cursed that it was taking him so long to die, cursed his sturdy Irish heritage, cursed everything. He finally refused to eat. "Don't you want to make it back and get yourself a nice car and a steady girl?" Captain Ross asked, begging him to eat. "My family owns a couple of businesses. You could have your pick of jobs!" West would not comply so the Captain turned away in defeat.

The next day the Doctor came around with some herbal tea for West. They propped him up and he grudgingly accepted. It was soothing, as he sipped the liquid the Doctor and the Officers stood in a clutch on the other side of the room whispering. West's young hearing was acute and he could hear everything. The Doctor told them " I wanted to be sure before I came to you. I found out they've arranged a prisoner exchange, but only the progressives the sick and the wounded. I'm so sorry in isn't going to be everyone." " So they're going to let the rats out!" Lieutenant Corso said. They knew early release was one of the things they offered to those that submitted. "At least maybe we can get that kid out of here. They all looked over at West. "Please give some of the men to be released information about my family" The Doctor asked. "Of course! We will always be grateful for what you have done for us, thank you Doctor." Said the Captain.

When he left they turned to West to tell him the news. Before they could West pled, "Don't send me with the rats." "Look Arthur your sick now and you are not thinking right. You have to go back there and tell our families we are alive, you have to tell military intelligence what's going on here. They can't kill us if they know were still alive. I order you to eat this food!" West doubted what the Captain said but couldn't refuse. They started coaching him on what they wanted him to say to their families "Leave out the terrible details." What they wanted him to tell the authorities. "Tell them what they did to your unit and us here. Don't leave anything out! Tell them they paraded us thru villages were we were spat on and stoned." The Officers painfully remembered the day they were walked thru a recently bombed village, hands tied behind their backs so they couldn't fend off the angry onslaught. When they saw the lights and cameras they knew it was all for propaganda. They were horrified to think their family's would see them in such a degraded condition. "They beat, starved and kept us in isolation. They kept us awake for days until we were in a mentally abject condition to force us to sign confessions of air piracy. I was so delirious at the time I could have thought I was sighing my kid's report card" said the Captain. "Worst of all they knew all about our families, their addresses. They even knew where my kids went to school for Gods sake!"

The next day the guards came. West struggled to sit up but they took the Captain instead. West was visibly alarmed but the Lieutenant tried to calm him. "He'll be O.K. they will not hurt him" Corso hoped. A few minutes later he was returned unharmed carrying some boxes. "Well he really wanted to lord it over me that the rats were going home and we weren't. He gave me these Red Cross packages as if they were a gift from him," Ross snorted in disgust. He'd acted downcast when the Commandant gloatingly told him the news but secretly Ross was encouraged. It meant that negotiations were going on and the war would possibly end soon. What the Captain didn't know was that the Commandant had been told in no uncertain terms that nothing had better befall any of the prisoners or he would be executed. They also reminded him that they had informants watching and knew about his corruption. It seems that he was selling food meant for the mens hopes were further bolstered because they started getting better food. The enemy was interested in public relations and didn't want the returning prisoners seen in wasted conditions.

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