| War and History Fiction posted September 16, 2021 |
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Surviving Corregidor and Baatan
Twice Fortunate
by HarryT
I was a member of the U.S Marines 4th Marine Regiment station on Corregidor, the gateway to Manilla Bay and the Philippian Islands. December 29th broke as a splendid morning. I headed for a swim and to enjoy the golden sunrise. I stepped into the warm ocean water. The sky above was a glorious blue, almost matching the glassy sea. There had been talk since Christmas that the quiet time on the island would soon end. We were standing in the way of the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, which was sweeping toward Australia.
As I was about to take my first stroke, the moan of the air-raid siren ruptured the morning calm. I looked to the east and out of the sun came a swarm of Japanese zeroes. My mind flashed back to our farm in Illinois when I had observed a murder of crows winging over our corn field. The drone of the Zeros became louder and louder. I splashed out of the water, grabbed my helmet and in my skivvies, I ran toward my assigned anti-aircraft emplacement. Bullets splashed the sand around me like raindrops in a thunderstorm. The hairs on my neck stood on end. I heard a roar, and I looked up at a Zero dropping two bombs from its wings. They shrieked and burst not twenty feet from me. There was a brilliant light and a powerful bang. The heat blew over me like I opened the door of a hot oven. It sucked the air from my lungs. All was black. When I regained consciousness. The Zeros were still buzzing overhead. Struggling to my feet, I headed for my gun assignment. When I got there, both my gun-mates were dead. I shoved a 40mm shell into the Bofos, but I could not elevate the damaged gun. Zeros were strafing my position, bullets whizzed by my head. I dove behind the sandbags around the gun emplacement. I lie inert as bullets thudded into the sandbags. There was a lull in the attack. I headed for the tunnel, which was our command post and main protection on the island. I made it. But later, after months and no relief, we had to surrender. I was one of the lucky ones who survived the Bataan Death March.
War Story writing prompt entry
I was a member of the U.S Marines 4th Marine Regiment station on Corregidor, the gateway to Manilla Bay and the Philippian Islands. December 29th broke as a splendid morning. I headed for a swim and to enjoy the golden sunrise. I stepped into the warm ocean water. The sky above was a glorious blue, almost matching the glassy sea. There had been talk since Christmas that the quiet time on the island would soon end. We were standing in the way of the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, which was sweeping toward Australia.
As I was about to take my first stroke, the moan of the air-raid siren ruptured the morning calm. I looked to the east and out of the sun came a swarm of Japanese zeroes. My mind flashed back to our farm in Illinois when I had observed a murder of crows winging over our corn field. The drone of the Zeros became louder and louder. I splashed out of the water, grabbed my helmet and in my skivvies, I ran toward my assigned anti-aircraft emplacement. Bullets splashed the sand around me like raindrops in a thunderstorm. The hairs on my neck stood on end. I heard a roar, and I looked up at a Zero dropping two bombs from its wings. They shrieked and burst not twenty feet from me. There was a brilliant light and a powerful bang. The heat blew over me like I opened the door of a hot oven. It sucked the air from my lungs. All was black. When I regained consciousness. The Zeros were still buzzing overhead. Struggling to my feet, I headed for my gun assignment. When I got there, both my gun-mates were dead. I shoved a 40mm shell into the Bofos, but I could not elevate the damaged gun. Zeros were strafing my position, bullets whizzed by my head. I dove behind the sandbags around the gun emplacement. I lie inert as bullets thudded into the sandbags. There was a lull in the attack. I headed for the tunnel, which was our command post and main protection on the island. I made it. But later, after months and no relief, we had to surrender. I was one of the lucky ones who survived the Bataan Death March.
As I was about to take my first stroke, the moan of the air-raid siren ruptured the morning calm. I looked to the east and out of the sun came a swarm of Japanese zeroes. My mind flashed back to our farm in Illinois when I had observed a murder of crows winging over our corn field. The drone of the Zeros became louder and louder. I splashed out of the water, grabbed my helmet and in my skivvies, I ran toward my assigned anti-aircraft emplacement. Bullets splashed the sand around me like raindrops in a thunderstorm. The hairs on my neck stood on end. I heard a roar, and I looked up at a Zero dropping two bombs from its wings. They shrieked and burst not twenty feet from me. There was a brilliant light and a powerful bang. The heat blew over me like I opened the door of a hot oven. It sucked the air from my lungs. All was black. When I regained consciousness. The Zeros were still buzzing overhead. Struggling to my feet, I headed for my gun assignment. When I got there, both my gun-mates were dead. I shoved a 40mm shell into the Bofos, but I could not elevate the damaged gun. Zeros were strafing my position, bullets whizzed by my head. I dove behind the sandbags around the gun emplacement. I lie inert as bullets thudded into the sandbags. There was a lull in the attack. I headed for the tunnel, which was our command post and main protection on the island. I made it. But later, after months and no relief, we had to surrender. I was one of the lucky ones who survived the Bataan Death March.
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Writing Prompt Read All Rules Write a war story with a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 400 words. Your story must be one that details a combat event or events. This means NO story on such things as war efforts back home like Victory Gardens or Rosy the Riveter stories. Use 1 picture, 1 color font, no music, animation, or words in picture. Dedication line optional--doesn't count toward word count. Author notes acceptable with 1 video (optional) that may incude music. |
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