How I learned how to vanish in the Cu Chi Tunnels in Viet Nam.
From Wikipedia:
“The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting tunnels located in the Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong‘s base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.“
Anderson National Historical Site.
Nearly 13,000 men died on these grounds, a site that became infamous even before the Civil War ended.
Submitted to RDP Tuesday: History.
I took this picture in Iverness Scotland.
The Battle of Culloden.
Delphi Archaeological Museum, Delphi Greece.
“Yes child, I remember.”
Her horrible memories return nightly. The long lines with whole families lined up together with all their belongins. As she got closer to the end of the line she could see the soldier asking questions and then pointing either right or left. Sometimes the families were split up with the mothers and daughters directed to go one way and the father and sons going another.
Suddenly she realized they were the ones being questioned. Her husband and son were quickly shoved to the right.
“My daughter and I were the lucky ones. We got the water.”
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This post is written for Friday Fictioneers.
The challenge: Write a complete story in 100 words or less. Beginning, middle, and end.
The wrecking ball slammed into his head breaking his dark train of thought. Dangerous images of heavy fighting in far away places dominated his jumbled mind. Sand everywhere. The sound of invisable bullets whistling by his head were now so common place he seldom bothered to duck or hide.
His buddy’s shoe beside him. Just the shoe, nothing else. All the training; what was left was a tattered shoe.
A jolt of his wheelchair bumping over a small object brought him back from his nightmare.
Looking down at his shattered legs he mumbled to himself “at least you have shoes.”
Written for Mondays Finish The Story. Finish the story begins with: “They say that life is a game of chess…” using 100 – 150 words. My story starts after the picture prompt below. For other authors interpretation, just click on the blue froggie at the bottom of this post.
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They say that life is a game of chess. Just try telling that to Sgt. Jake Anderson.
It was a bitter cold day in January 1945. Jake could hardly see his buddy beside him the snow was blowing so hard against their faces.
The forested Ardennes looked like a frozen icy landscape. Although he could barely see his friend he could hear him quite well. The words he heard he would never repeat to his children if he survived.
And it looked like he would survive if he could make it back to his unit after repelling another enemy assault. They had started out this campaign against overwhelming odds: 80,000 troops to over 200,000 enemy adversaries. They had great leaders but the most valuable pieces in this chess game was their overwhelming use of very determined front line soldiers. The pawns of this conflict.
They had one last unit of enemy soldiers to destroy and then the war would be over. Checkmate!
A Marines email to his mother
“I was gonna call you but the phone is broken. I hate this place more than anywhere else i’ve been. I guess is a compilation of all the time I’ve done overseas fighting. Bullshit fights, its really bringing me down. I can’t wait till all this is over…I’ll be the biggest anti-war person this country will have… at least against this war in Iraq….Let’s go fight a different one somewhere else cause this one is lost. I swear i wish you could spend a week over here…you would know it’s lost. You can’t stop ‘holy warriors,’ especially in their territory. Tonight we are about to go drop off generators to the enemy (Iraqi civilians) hoping they will give us info about the enemy (bullshit storys). The shit your tax dollars go to would make you puke. You really would puke. I almost do when i think about it….. thomas jefferson would have a heart attack if he saw all the shit goin on today. Oh well. I really hope it changes soon when Bush is out…but i doubt it. I thinks its all Gods plan…he runs the show no matter what. Fate and all that…its good to trust him.”
“…I’ll keep the machine gun lubed in hopes of killin em all at the first opportunity for you. I love you ma and i know that no matter what you support me. I hope you don’t find this email burdensome. Just hit delete if that’s the case.”
Oh Danny Boy! 