The voice came from everywhere as it narrated the dream sequence. He recognized the fact that he was asleep and yet was powerless to wake from it. “Landed at night. The cicadas drowned the noise of our boots. Tanks settled into positions but it was the grunts, the foot soldiers like me who would take the brunt of the invasion. Before Truman ordered the H-bomb, most generals believed we needed to take each island, one at a time. No matter what the history books say, that was never gonna happen. They wanted the gooks fried and it didn’t make any difference how much American blood was spilled to do it. “I reached for a smoke off my helmet, ducked low in the trench to light it so I wouldn’t be the target of a sniper. You wouldn’t think that tiny pinpoint of light would make a difference, but those fucking jungles got dark as hell. The flash of a lighter might cost ya yer life. The worst part of war is the waitin’. Had orders to sit in the trenches until daylight. Once the sun came up we’d be marched through the jungle to take out the one or two Jap outposts that still had ammunition.
