Veteran Nightmares
Veteran Nightmares
I was reading a novel based on World War II and it got me to remember that war. I think about World War II every now and then. Most of the time I try to forget it, but no matter what it always comes back to haunt me. The sounds of the explosions bursting in the air, the blood running down the rigid parts of the sand, and the bodies falling to the ground from gun shots along with the sounds of soldiers screaming. Today I remember the whole thing like it all happened yesterday. When I was a young boy I always wanted to be a soldier. Get to fight for my country, get to meet new people, and you get to be like those guys in the newspapers and comics, a hero. I would always play war when ever my friends came over.
My friend Frank and I would talk about what it would be like to be in the army. We talked about it all our lives, but the last day we talked about it was the day we decided to join the military. That day was October 30th, 1939, and I will never forget it. Frank was the kind of guy who would worry about every decision, and he said “Dante do we really want to do this?” I smile to him and said “Frank this is what we have been talking about for a long time; I don’t want that to just be talk.” We went to training camp the next day, and it was hell. We had the worst bunks ever, and you could barely feel comfort from them.
Also, Frank and I had the meanest, scariest drill sergeant ever. But I always thought to my self that I wanted this and at least I have a friend with me along the way. After training was over, Frank and I were informed that a war has started that day, and I believe that day was September 1, 1939. Adolf Hitler has become ruler of Germany, and has formed the Nazi party. He also has taken over Poland and killed a lot of people, and he is condemning Jewish people to death or work camps. That period in time was called the Holocaust. I got a letter on that day saying I have been chosen to go to war, and Frank came over telling me had got the same letter.
We flew to a military base in one of our allies homes. I was not sure where I was, I was just psyched to fight for my country. Frank had weak knees, but he also wanted to fight for our country. For a couple of months we saw no action but my girlfriend Jessica wrote me letters every day telling me how much she missed me, and how she can’t wait to see me again. A few weeks later the army through a party for the soldiers to thank them for fighting. I wrote a letter back to Jessica telling her about the dance. The day of the dance I stood outside of the plane waiting for her to step out. The moment I saw her, it was as if time stopped for us. I was enchanted by the way she looked, the smell of her perfume, the way she smiled at me would light up a room. She ran in to my arms and hugged and kissed me like she never had before. “Oh my god, it’s so great to see you Dante” said Jessica with the most loving and sexy smile on her face. Then I said, “It is so great to see you too, I’ve missed you more than anything.”
After that we went to the dance and had the best time of our lives. I did not want her to leave, and before she left the next day I proposed to her, she said YES. A few months later I got another letter from my mom saying Jessica had cancer and she is dying from it. When I read that I fell to my knees in tears, the only woman I have ever loved was dying in a hospital somewhere and I could not come and see her. For the rest of the war I wanted to go home just to see Jessica, Frank was at my side the whole time. He was my best friend, and I did not know what I would do with out him or Jessica. A few months later, the year was 1944, and Frank and I were on a boat to a beach where a German or Japanese base was, I’m not sure which one it was.
We crawled up that beach with our guns and screamed with all our air “ For America!!!” There was gun fire everywhere you looked, and shells were all over the ground. So many of the soldiers were being shot with over a hundred bullets. I crawled up the beach and shot at one of the enemies operating the gatling guns. I looked over after killing the man, and saw Frank had been shot in the chest by the guy I just killed. I ran over to Frank, and as I was running I got shot in the leg. I fell to the ground right in Frank’s blood, Frank was screaming in pain.
I yelled for someone to help, but all of the medics were busy at the time. As Frank was dying he said he saw a woman in a huge black dress with some kind of metal around the bell looking part of the dress. He said she also wore a gray gas mask, and her hand was reaching for his. Behind her, Frank said he saw a huge black city with what he said looked like parts of buildings on the ground and a bunch of people with black outfits on. Frank had claimed to see the city of the dead. At the time I just thought he was hysterical so I tried to stop the bleeding until someone came, but by the time any one came Frank was dead.
My best friend was dead and it was all my fault, I was the one who made him join the army, I was the one who told him it would be fun. A few more months passed by and the war was over. I talked at Frank’s funeral, and I stayed there for a long time, way after everyone else left. After the funeral I ran to the hospital to see Jessica, but by the time I got to the hospital Jessica was dead. I did not believe the doctor when he told me, and I ran to her room to see for myself. My mother was there crying, and she gave me a note that Jessica wrote before she died. It said “I will always love you Dante, in this life and the next.” I was devastated by this, and until this day I always thought I had bad luck. I never loved any one for the rest of my life. Today I think I want to see Frank and Jessica so I am going to hang myself right when I’m done writing this. I just want to say I love my mother and the rest of my family, and I hope frank and Jessica are ready to see me. Goodbye cold cruel world I’m going to miss you.
The End
My friend Frank and I would talk about what it would be like to be in the army. We talked about it all our lives, but the last day we talked about it was the day we decided to join the military. That day was October 30th, 1939, and I will never forget it. Frank was the kind of guy who would worry about every decision, and he said “Dante do we really want to do this?” I smile to him and said “Frank this is what we have been talking about for a long time; I don’t want that to just be talk.” We went to training camp the next day, and it was hell. We had the worst bunks ever, and you could barely feel comfort from them.
Also, Frank and I had the meanest, scariest drill sergeant ever. But I always thought to my self that I wanted this and at least I have a friend with me along the way. After training was over, Frank and I were informed that a war has started that day, and I believe that day was September 1, 1939. Adolf Hitler has become ruler of Germany, and has formed the Nazi party. He also has taken over Poland and killed a lot of people, and he is condemning Jewish people to death or work camps. That period in time was called the Holocaust. I got a letter on that day saying I have been chosen to go to war, and Frank came over telling me had got the same letter.
We flew to a military base in one of our allies homes. I was not sure where I was, I was just psyched to fight for my country. Frank had weak knees, but he also wanted to fight for our country. For a couple of months we saw no action but my girlfriend Jessica wrote me letters every day telling me how much she missed me, and how she can’t wait to see me again. A few weeks later the army through a party for the soldiers to thank them for fighting. I wrote a letter back to Jessica telling her about the dance. The day of the dance I stood outside of the plane waiting for her to step out. The moment I saw her, it was as if time stopped for us. I was enchanted by the way she looked, the smell of her perfume, the way she smiled at me would light up a room. She ran in to my arms and hugged and kissed me like she never had before. “Oh my god, it’s so great to see you Dante” said Jessica with the most loving and sexy smile on her face. Then I said, “It is so great to see you too, I’ve missed you more than anything.”
After that we went to the dance and had the best time of our lives. I did not want her to leave, and before she left the next day I proposed to her, she said YES. A few months later I got another letter from my mom saying Jessica had cancer and she is dying from it. When I read that I fell to my knees in tears, the only woman I have ever loved was dying in a hospital somewhere and I could not come and see her. For the rest of the war I wanted to go home just to see Jessica, Frank was at my side the whole time. He was my best friend, and I did not know what I would do with out him or Jessica. A few months later, the year was 1944, and Frank and I were on a boat to a beach where a German or Japanese base was, I’m not sure which one it was.
We crawled up that beach with our guns and screamed with all our air “ For America!!!” There was gun fire everywhere you looked, and shells were all over the ground. So many of the soldiers were being shot with over a hundred bullets. I crawled up the beach and shot at one of the enemies operating the gatling guns. I looked over after killing the man, and saw Frank had been shot in the chest by the guy I just killed. I ran over to Frank, and as I was running I got shot in the leg. I fell to the ground right in Frank’s blood, Frank was screaming in pain.
I yelled for someone to help, but all of the medics were busy at the time. As Frank was dying he said he saw a woman in a huge black dress with some kind of metal around the bell looking part of the dress. He said she also wore a gray gas mask, and her hand was reaching for his. Behind her, Frank said he saw a huge black city with what he said looked like parts of buildings on the ground and a bunch of people with black outfits on. Frank had claimed to see the city of the dead. At the time I just thought he was hysterical so I tried to stop the bleeding until someone came, but by the time any one came Frank was dead.
My best friend was dead and it was all my fault, I was the one who made him join the army, I was the one who told him it would be fun. A few more months passed by and the war was over. I talked at Frank’s funeral, and I stayed there for a long time, way after everyone else left. After the funeral I ran to the hospital to see Jessica, but by the time I got to the hospital Jessica was dead. I did not believe the doctor when he told me, and I ran to her room to see for myself. My mother was there crying, and she gave me a note that Jessica wrote before she died. It said “I will always love you Dante, in this life and the next.” I was devastated by this, and until this day I always thought I had bad luck. I never loved any one for the rest of my life. Today I think I want to see Frank and Jessica so I am going to hang myself right when I’m done writing this. I just want to say I love my mother and the rest of my family, and I hope frank and Jessica are ready to see me. Goodbye cold cruel world I’m going to miss you.
The End