His death was not by hostile fire, as his lifeless body lay in a far remote country called Vietnam. Maybe it would be recorded as an accident or by hostile fire. But this would not alter the fact or bring comfort to the love ones left back at home. As life fading and the world that he once knew grew dark. He felt that some how he found peace in this land so far away from home. It was like a new birth, for the first time in his life, he felt no pain, no fear, and the earthly laws that bound us to our mortal existence seemed to no longer exist. He felt free and towards the heavens a light shone down as if to guide him as many lighthouses have guided ships to a safe passage. His curiosity was over whelmed and, he floating towards the light as a moth to a candle. He heard the men under his charge calling his name, at first, it went unnoticed, but they were persistent until it could no longer be ignored. His trip towards the light came to a halt as he turned toward the voices.
The morning started out normal, hot, humid and looking forward to a trip to the mess hall for something they called food. It would be a few hours before it was time to be deployed. It gave us time to clean weapons, and stock up on supplies then plan out the nighttime operation. If there was any time left, write a letter home and tell them how safe and sound you were. These letters were mostly lies; you always felt that maybe the next time in the field, death had you on his list to be claimed. The lies in the letters, maybe the love one’s back home would believe but more than likely they knew you were hiding the truth. It was the time of the month when the squad was deployed to perform a joint operation with the Navy. As the day grew into darkness, our trip down the Mekong River began, when the radar on the swift boat found a promising location we would be drop off to set up an ambush. A man on the bow used a starlight scope to try and avoid being ambushed. The scope was design to amplify the light from the moon but for the most part it displayed a hazy green world and a false sense of security. This trip would be a little more trying than most, a trial under fire for three soldiers that just arrived in country. It would take a few trips in the field before a trust could be built between them and the rest of the squad. Over come with fear they might start shooting at any thing that moved including the rest of the squad. A Navy Swift boat transported us down the River, these trips always felt like a life time. Too much time to think, remembering the friends that have falling, ones that lived and the ones that died. Always having fear of making new friends just to see them die, Will I be next or see another day. Please God let us all go home. We were dropped on the riverbank, on one side a rice paddy and the river at our backs. We set up as we did a countless time before. Side by side with a few feet between us, staring into the darkness and straining to hear any type of sound. I heard my name whispered and started to towards the voice. The patch of land that we sat upon was about six feet off the water, and very narrow. Before I could reach the source of the voice a blunt object struck the back of my neck, I fell face first into the rice paddy and was unconscious
As I walk among living I feel sadness
I have died twice and no long feel that I fit
The living will one-day will find their just reward in the heavens above
But for those who are damned but pure of heart will find no such reward
We will walk among the living and try and make up for the wrongs that we have committed
Just a few hours prior I made a promise, I gave my word, to bring the men under my charge back safe and alive. The light from above also made the earth beneath as bright as day. A body laying face down in the water caught my attention. A fear was struck, one of the men had been lost, and another friend had died. Floating beneath the body, it was a face seen countless times before in a mirror.
The eyes were lifeless; it appeared that he gasp for the last breath air that was no longer within his reach. Some where in the darkness he screamed a silent scream and the next moment he and his body were one. The pain was greater than he ever experienced before, he expelled from his lungs what felt like the contents of an ocean. Once he was on solid land he laid half in shock and totally confused. It would be a few more days before the full impact of the experience would be comprehended. At first fear set in, then grief, he wished that he had continued the journey toward the light instead of to his body. This wonderment of the light would haunt him the rest of his life. Also, the fear of sharing his near death experience grew as the days of his life passed. As he watched his love ones grow old and on the thresh hold of death. He was afraid to share with them not to fear death because death is not the end but the beginning of a new life with out pain, without worry, an experience that cannot be described by mere words.
This is the start of the first chapter of the book entitled His death was the beginning of a long journey.
The book can be purchase at Amazon.com for $5.99 and at Kindle e-book for $2.99. The story will leave you spell bound, the story has a surprising ending that is total unexpected.