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Stars an Stripes
or by just lookin aroun at what the hell is goin on.
In any event, when we get up there, all sorts of crap is flyin aroun an
they is about a dozen fellers badly hurt an moanin and cryin an they is
so much noise from all quarters that nobody can hardly hear nothin. I be
crouchin down real low an tryin to get all that ammo an the water can
an the tri-pod plus all my own shit up to where Charlie Company is, an
I’m strugglin past a slit trench when this guy down in it pipe up an say
to the other, “Lookit that big Bozo—he look like the Frankenstein
Monster or somethin,” and I’m bout to say somethin back, cause things
seem bad enough already without nobody pokin fun at you—but then,
I’ll be damned! The other guy in the slit trench suddenly jump up an cry
out, “Forrest—Forrest Gump!”
Lo an behole, it were Bubba.
Briefly, what had happen was that even if Bubba’s foot was hurt too
bad to play football, it were not bad enough to keep from gettin him sent
halfway roun the earth on behalf of the United States Army. Anyhow, I
drag my sorry butt an everthin else up to where I sposed to be, an after a
wile Bubba come up there an in between the shellin (which stop ever
time our airplanes appear) Bubba an me caught up with each other.
He tells me he hear Jenny Curran done quit school an gone off with a
bunch of war protesters or somethin. He also say that Curtis done beat
up a campus policeman one day for givin him a parkin ticket, an was in
the process of drop-kickin his official ass aroun the campus when the
authorities show up an thowed a big net over Curtis an drug him off.
Bubba say Coach Bryant make Curtis run fifty extra laps after practice as
punishment.
Good ole Curtis.
That night was long an uncomfortable. We couldn’t fly our airplanes,
so’s they got to shell us most of the evenin for free. They was a little
saddle between two ridges, an they was on one ridge an we on the other,
an down in the saddle was where the dispute were takin place—tho
what anybody would want with that piece of mud an dirt, I do not
know. However, Sergeant Kranz have said to us time an again that we
was not brought over here to understand what is goin on, only to do
what we is tole.
Pretty soon, Sergeant Kranz come up an start tellin us what to do. He
says we has got to move the machine gun about fifty meters aroun to the
lef of a big ole tree stickin up in the middle of the saddle, an fine a good
safe place to put it so’s we is not all blowed away. From what I can see
an hear, anyplace, includin where we presently are, is not safe, but to go
down in that saddle is goddamn absurd. However, I am tryin to do the
right thing.
Me an Bones, the machine gunner, an Doyle, another ammo bearer, an
two other guys crawl out of our holes an start to moving down the little
slope. Halfway down, the gooks see us an commence to shootin with
they own machine gun. Fore anything bad happens, tho, we has
scrambled down the slope an into the jungle. I cannot remember how far
a meter is exactly, but it almost the same as a yard, so when we get near
the big tree, I say to Doyle, “Maybe we better move lef,” an he look at
me real hard-like, an growl, “Shut you ass, Forrest, they is gooks here.”
Sure nuf, they was six or eight gooks squattin under the big ole tree,
havin they lunch. Doyle take a han grenade an pull the pin an sort of lob
it into the air toward the tree. It blowed up fore it hit the groun an they
is all sorts of wild chatterin from where the gooks is—then Bones open
up with the machine gun an me an the two other guys heave in a couple
more han grenades for good measure. All of that gone down in just a
minute or so, an when it come quiet again, we be on our way.
We foun a place to put the gun an stayed there till it got dark—an all
night long, too, but nothin happen. We could hear all sorts of shit goin
on everplace else, but we be lef to ourselfs. Sunup come, an we hungry
an tired, but there we is. Then a runner come from Sergeant Kranz who
say Charlie Company is goin to start movin into the saddle soon as our
airplanes have totally wiped out the gooks there, which is to be in a few
minutes. Sure enough, the planes come an drop they shit an everthin get
exploded an wipe out all the gooks.
We can see Charlie Company movin off the ridge line, comin down
into the saddle, but no sooner does they get over the edge of the ridge an
start strugglin along the slope, than all the weapons in the world
commence to shootin at Charlie Company an droppin mortars an all, an
it is terrible confusion. From where we is, we cannot see any gooks, on
account of the jungle is thick as bonfire brush, but
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