Tomorrow is Veterans Day. I am not a veteran. I was offered a chance to redeem myself and avoid prison by working with the government in 1979. I served with many great men in my day.
I had one event that I haven’t mentioned. I had a hop in Afghanistan, where I met most of the men with which I eventually became very close friends. I had been on a short hop, about two days, when the Special Ops showed up to take me home. It was a caravan of two jeeps and a transport truck.
The rear truck was hit by an RPG. Some sort of a bomb when off in front of the front truck. I jumped underneath the transport truck and witnessed a fierce fire fight. I left my Remington in the truck, so I was pretty much useless. The CO called in for support and was told tha this mission was to get me out.
We were then ordered to leave the dead behind and move out. That was when I heard a noise. One man in the rear jeep was still alive. I mentioned this and was told the orders again. As pops bounced all around me I ran back to the rear jeep.
He was alive, but had no feeling. Bullets were banging all around us. He asked me not to move him as he felt his back was broken. It was about that time that a bullet hit his thigh. He never felt it. So I picked him up and in the middle of a fire fight I carried him back to the truck.
He lived, but was paralyzed from the waist down. I gave him my real name which is Raylan. He never gave me his name. I went back to my job with a stern warning from the president. End of story
About 7 years ago I received a package. In the box was two Special Ops pins and a letter from the son of the guy I saved. He told me his dad died of cancer, but if I hadn’t gone back for him he never would have been born. I was touched.
I gave one pin to Briana as a good luck charm. She never mentioned the pin again. It probably doesn’t mean anything to her, but I really thought she was different when I gave it to her.
[Life sucks sometimes]
Anyway, Veterans Day means a lot to me. It’s a day when I feel like I contributed,
So do me a favor and pray for our soldiers, whether dead or alive. The all made your world.
Good luck and God Bless America!
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