The air was crisp and the sky clear. It was early in the morning and the surrounding homes were still stirring to consciousness. The birds and gentle winter breeze were all that could be heard, as they did their dance through trees and blades of grass. The boy took slow and controlled breaths as he leveled the shotgun.
Read MoreLady Luck is a mistress who disguises herself in many shapes and forms. Some good. Some bad. In Iraq, she was mainly a bitch.
Read MoreWhat is seen in war does not haunt a man as much as what he does in war. War brings out the best in men, sure, but it also brings out the evil bits as well. Man carries out actions in war he did not know he was capable of. It is those things a man must spend his life coming to terms with. A man thinks himself honorable until he is not. Society lifts him up as a brave hero while the evil he has committed eats him up.
This story is my way of dealing with my inner demons. It is my way to process the evil I have done. This story is not meant to dishonor the brave men which have served - and there are many. This story is meant to shine a light on the darkness people don't like to expose. War is a complex beast. History will lift up certain men and heroes, and others as villains. In reality, they are both.
This is a story of me as the villain.
Read MoreFour years ago I tried my hand at some creative writing to help process some of my experiences while deployed to Iraq. This is one of those stories. Our lives are a moment away from being turned upside down. This event still sticks its ugly head up in my memories every now and again over a decade since it happened. Someone witnessing this scene would have seen a Marine patrol crossing the road and a vehicle which had trouble stopping. For me, a jammed weaponed prevented a lifetime of nightmares and torment.
Four years after writing this, and over a decade since it happened, it is finally time to let my creation enter the world. It is not an action-packed or heroic war story, but for this old Marine, it has been a therapeutic story to write.
Enjoy!
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