Combat Ineffective
Page 34
“So I guess you’re not finding it too worrisome anymore that we’re supposedly outnumbered four-to-one in this sector?”
“Worrisome for who, sir? Them or us?”
Jock expected to see that brief, tight-lipped hint of a smile that meant his old friend was joking. But there wasn’t any smile, just the enduring scowl of a man who’d suffered the fantasies of one high command or another for a long, long time.
“No, I’m serious, Top. What’s your assessment of our situation?”
“I think you and me have been in worse scraps, sir. And I ain’t so much worried about the gooks as I am about ol’ MacArthur thinking up new and exciting ways to get us all killed.” He paused, scanning the river valley once more. Then he said, “I reckon this Pusan Perimeter is a little too big for the headcount we got at the moment, sir. But I like seeing all that heavy artillery of ours that’s showing up and them airplanes that kick ass when the sun shines. Once Bubba Moon gets back with some real tanks, well…things just might start to get a whole lot different around here.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Top. I’m thinking the same way.”
Patchett wasn’t finished, though. “Of course, the replacements we get are gonna be even more useless than the dumbasses we already got.”
“Wait a minute, Top. I think we’ve turned a lot of these men into decent soldiers in the last few weeks. Last night was a good example.”
“Maybe so, sir. But something’s different about these boys than the ones we had in the last war. They think if they don’t feel like being a part of this, they don’t have to be… and the stupid bastards don’t feel no shame in that. It’s like nobody ever told ’em, Cowards die many times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once.”
“Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch, Top. I didn’t know you read Shakespeare.”
“I ain’t never read any of that shit, sir. But Shakespeare? He said that?”
“Yeah. Where did you think it came from?”
“From some captain back in the first war who was trying to light a fire under a bunch of us scared-shitless doughboys.”
“Did it work?”
“Not at the time, sir. That man couldn’t knock a hole in the wind with a sackful of hammers.” But then that hint of a smile finally crossed Patchett’s lips as he added, “But I reckon with a little more head-banging, we can convince the greenhorns to see the light.”
“We’d better, Top, because there’s something else Shakespeare said: Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
* * * * *
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Jock Miles-Moon Brothers
Korean War Story
Available Summer 2019
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About The Author
William Peter Grasso’s novels explore the concept change one thing…and watch what happens. Focusing on the WW2 era and beyond, they weave actual people and historical events into a seamless and entertaining narrative with the imagined. His books have spent several years in the Amazon Top 100 for Alternative History and War.
A lifelong student of history, Grasso served in the US Army and is retired from the aircraft maintenance industry. These days, he confines his aviation activities to building and flying radio-controlled aircraft.
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