As i wake up I hope I have a good birthday, mostly since it is my first in this hell hole of a country Vietnam. I rub my face and roll off my cot gathering my gear and double check it, as Jim looks over my gear for a thrid time I do the same for him. As we walk towards the firebase entrance Gunny says, "Gegner, take point." "Aye Sergeant," I replay as I walk past a mumbe profanities as I start to leave the gate. We where given the area that hasn't seen American patrols since mid-May, so we had to practice noise disipline and what not. At the head of the squad I hum "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix and think of my girlfriend, Sandy, back in Boulder, Colorado; whilst looking for possible booby traps, heh that always sounded funny to me booby traps, and possible enemies....BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! "Holy shit!" I scream as my legs are swept from under me and my helmet flies off. "Shit, shit, fuck, shit, damn it, DAMN IT!" I manage to cry out looking at my legs, the left is all cut up with multiple shrapnel wounds and bits of twigs as well, the right is crippled and broken. While still in a daze I manage to lift my uninjured M16 and do a quick scan of the area, what the fuck was that RATATATATATATATATA..... damn nothing. "Corpsman!"....nevermind I think as i see the rest of the squad sprawled arcoss the jungle floor like leaves. I try to stand using my M16 as a crutch but collapse under a feeling of pain and guilt. Quickly I tie a tourniquet on my left leg and crawl, using my arms since my legs have been hit, to check the vitals of my squad. The result brings more guilt, all are dead except for me and Gunny who is just barley alive, I gag a little looking at the destruction around me and curse myself for not paying attention, but I don't have enough money to pay attention, hahaha, i manage to reach Kelly, the radio operator to reach the firebase, but some shrapnel cut the cord to the box, damn is this shit FUCKED up, happy birthday Ben, which I just remembered, the best one ever too... not. I decide to stay and see if they'll send out a recon team to recover our bodies if we don't return to base, so I start to crawl toward a tree ZWANG BOOOOOOOOOM!!!! I quickly scream out and cover my head with my arms and hands as best I can. I laugh at how much my life is fucked up right now, as i continue to crawl toward the ever looming tree, i have to shut my swollen left eye, and use my right arm to crawl, dam my left side it FUCKED up. My right arm has multiple minor shrapnel wounds too it as well as a piece of my middle knuckle missing.....................................
...................I don't know how long it's been since the first blast, but I am so fucking sore and in so much pain, I cry towards the heavens and break down crying, as I start to look at the clouds floating by. This war my be beyond my helping but, shit, it's a beautiful place. It starts to rain... FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK, I hate the rain...........
.........As i slowly wake from my slumber in the jungle, I realize I'm not gonna be rescued, so I start to crawl BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
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