WAR HEROS

War Heros
Sam Schweinsberg, R2
As I’m lying here in my tent, listening to the men in the camp talking about the battle coming up, I can feel how scared they are. I can tell they are trying to be tough, making others think they aren’t afraid, when they are terrified. I don’t blame them, they aren’t good soldiers, and they don’t know how to take care of themselves, or others, in battle. These men are hopeless; if we win it will be a miracle. I hope this doesn’t turn out in misery like some of the other battles I’ve faced. I am Col. Mark Brown, the leader of this army and I am ashamed of it. This is the Civil War and even though we are winning I believe that we will lose because of my army. We are in the south of the United States.
“Sir”, Sergeant Gong and Lieutenant Oswald walked into to my tent, “It’s time to go to battle, the men are ready, the guns are loaded, the cannon balls are ready also, and it’s your call as to when we leave Sir.”
“Ok, all set and ready to go, let’s move out, this war isn’t going to win its self.” I said
As we march to the fight I start to wonder if we will even survive, I still wish I had my team that I had during training…, now that was a great team! This squad, on the other hand, is pathetic; they barely know how to hold a gun. They are just a bunch of men they found in the woods and thought they could be useful and I got stuck with them. They don’t know anything. It’s an embarrassment to lead them.
I’m riding my new gelding on the way to the battle even though he is only green broke. I took him because to me, it doesn’t matter what horse you ride into battle, any horse is good enough. I ignored all of the warnings that my men and Sergeant Gong gave me about my horse and went with him anyway. Since I know that we will lose this war with my army, why worry about a trained horse..?
While we march to the battle field we were attacked by the South and the battle had started. Then out of nowhere my horse panics and runs in the direction of the enemy and gets shot and dies while I fell off and hid, I was shot in the leg and had to stay out of harm’s way but with the enemy troops closing the gap between us that safety was almost over. I was there for about a half an hour then, when I thought that all hope was lost, I felt someone next to me. Someone in my army, and I thought, Who is this and why is he here?, Private Andrew Space looks at me and says,
“Sir are you ok? I’m here to help you”, said the soldier.
And he pulls me aside into the woods because it would be too dangerous to go forward into the battle with the enemy at our back. Andrew takes the long way around and finally sets me down to tend to my wounds, and to keep me from any more harm until it is safe to leave. Time is not on our side, and after a while the South catches up to us and trapped us in the woods so we can’t return to our unit. Andrew feeds me, and finds fresh water, and sees to my comfort, but all the while I keep asking myself why, why is he helping me when he should be out in the war but he stays and helps me instead.
“Sir I found some berries, would you like some? You must be hungry so here you go sir” said Andrew
“Thank you, Private, but we should be going now, we need to get back to camp.”, I said.
He picks me up and we leave once again for camp, this time we are ahead of the South and we make it out alive and back to camp. When we are settled in the infirmary, it turns out that Private Space is wounded also. They find a bullet wound in his leg so we find ourselves in adjacent beds in the infirmary.
This battle is a long one and we are confined to the infirmary for most of it, but while we are in there, I learned quite a bit about my rescuer, his name is Andrew Space and he was a strong leader like myself. He was a strong man who took anything I threw at him.
“Andrew, do you have a family back home, a wife and children?” I asked
“I have a girlfriend back home that I miss very much.” he said
“I don’t blame you, I miss my wife and sons too, my sons are age 5 and 8 their names are Shane and Tony. My wife’s name is Margret.” I said
While we were talking the war was still taking place outside. We have been in here for four weeks resting, and I feel certain that the war is going the wrong way for us. This is not how I wanted this war to end but, you know, everything doesn’t always go your way during a war. Later that day I woke up to find the aide to the camp standing over me trying to wake me up.
“Sir, the war is over, WE WON!!!” said the aid
“What? How? This entire army was horrible, how could we have won?” I said
After I said that I heard a snickering, I looked over and saw Andrew with a smile on his face and he said,
“I knew we would win, we’re tough and nothing brings us down.”
I looked at him in amazement, thinking how did this happen, maybe this army isn’t as bad as I thought, in fact, they’re better than I thought. A lot better than I thought... Seeing Andrew sitting there laughing, I realized that I was wrong about this army and was proud to be in charge of them and to lead them because thanks to them we won the war. And it’s time to go home.
We met again back in camp and I stand up to make a speech, and I say
“Congratulations, thanks to you we won, you showed great courage out there and I’m proud of you, but I have to say I was doubtful at first but you proved me wrong. I thought that this army was just a waste of time. I believed that we were going to lose this war because of you, but I was wrong. I thought you were the opposite of an army, but no, you weren’t. You are better. You fought like men, not wimps or hicks. You fought like you meant it even though I was in the infirmary the whole time, you still won the war.” I said
“This is the end and I’m glad that it is because I am very tired of this and I wish to be home right now than rights here so you want to stay here or do you want to go, if you want to stay go head but if you want to go home lets go because I don’t feel like staying here any longer.”
As we march for the last time we start to wonder what will happen if we are attacked before we get home my men are tired and they can fight anything else or else they will lose that fight. This is enough fighting for one day and they can barley carry on but they want to get back home so they will push till they do get home.
We are almost home and I can hear the cheering and can’t wait till we get there. These men are anxious to get home and I can see the happiness on their faces they can’t wait either.
“Men I can hear them cheering us on they want to see their hero’s come home finally, they are waiting just like you they can’t wait to see you.” I said
That made them want to be home more so they started to pick up their pace to get home, they want to see their families again. They missed them for too long. When I see the expression on their faces when I say that we are almost home is what I want to see on a soldiers face. This is what I think war is the joy of coming back home a victor and not a loser. Their families have been writing to them through the entire war telling them how much they missed them and how they want them back home. When they would write back I thought it used to be pathetic seeing how they wanted to go home so back and leave their duties. I never wrote to my family and they never wrote to me because my father was a well respected high rank officer and thought that notes and letters were pointless at the time so why write them?
When we march into camp families left and right started spilling out of houses and barns and other buildings, to congratulate the soldiers for their return. When I saw that it made me happy to see them so happy then I saw my family and had joy as well. That’s when I realized that any army is a good one as long as you pull the slack to get home.