Trapped+behind+Enemy+Lines

**__Trapped Behind Enemy Lines__** After three grueling days of being trapped in the caved-in bunker, the exhausted squad of soldiers crawled out into the open air. It was their third week in the jungles of Vietnam. They had been in their bunker playing cards and telling stories when the first mortars collided with the muddy ground. They dove for cover as the enemy guns tore through the small opening that provided them a clear line of fire. As they prepared for the fight of their lives, a lone mortar struck a weak point in the roof, causing the cave-in. For the three days that followed, they could only hear thundering mortars, and the enemy troops charge up, and over their bunker. They were surrounded and trapped behind enemy lines. Their radio was smashed, and they had no way to communicate with their base.  As the squad leader crawled towards the small opening that let to the outside world, he was on edge. He had no idea what waited for him beyond the tunnel. He knew that he had only 30 rounds in the magazine of his M-16. He could now see what lay were his camp had once been. What he saw made him stop completely. He looked out into what once had been an open field. Now it looked much more like a nightmare that somehow made it into reality. The buildings that once stood strong were now only smoldering ruins. All of the other bunkers were completely destroyed. The jeeps that were parked next to the road were now only scrap metal. Suddenly, from behind the shade of the trees and shrubs, there was movement. The squad leader retreated back into the tunnel and raised his weapon to his shoulder. He watched as three enemy patrolmen entered the field, and stopped to inspect their allies work. He watched as they probed the bodies of his fellow servicemen. He suddenly felt a wave of anger and hatred swept over him. He took aim and opened fire. Two of the three men dropped instantly the other fired randomly in his direction as he backed up towards the forest. With his last 4 rounds, he shot his enemy in the leg. The wounded Vietnamese soldier stumbled and mustered all of his remaining strength and began crawling to the tree line. Without thinking it over, the squad leader grabbed his magnum pistol, left his cover, and ran towards the wounded man. He stopped about four feet from the enemy soldier. He was now face to face with his enemy. He hesitated as he stared down the barrel of the gun; he then looked about his surroundings again. He felt the anger once again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and then emptied the gun. 10 shots echoed throughout the jungle. After he had expended his clip he continued to pull the trigger 5 more times before he realized that he was out of ammo. By this time the remaining three members of the squad had heard the shots and ventured out of the bunker to join their leader. They all returned to their bunker and grabbed all of the gear and ammo that they could carry. Once they were ready they started their long trek towards safety.  As they began journey, they were constantly on high alert. As they ventured deeper, and deeper into the jungle, they encountered light resistance. They easily fought off the small number of enemy troops. They had killed 25 enemies without having a single member of their squad wounded. They traveled for 8 exhausting hours. They hiked up and over mountains, down into the deepest valleys and across leech infested rivers before they finally came within 5 miles of the American front lines. During their journey, they grew as a team. They saved each other’s lives on numerous accounts. They had helped their friends when they were injured. All of their hard work had paid off. They cautiously hiked to the end of the Vietnamese line. As they reached the end of their adventure, a sense of relief swept over them all. They ran with all of their remaining energy towards the American line. They were almost home when it happened. The team leader took the lead. The remaining three squad members followed close behind. They had reached the line when the first gun fired. One of the squad members screamed and fell. All of the others stopped and looked around franticly to determine were the gunfire was coming from. Suddenly, another gunshot rang out. The second member of the squad was knocked off of his feet. He was dead before he hit the ground. The remaining two members were slow to react. As they readied their weapons, the whole forest came alive. Guns roared from every direction. The two team members fell simultaneously. The team leader slowly fell into a daze. In two minutes, they were both dead.  From the jungle shadows 15 men emerged with their guns still smoking. They came within 10 feet before they realized what they had done. They all stood staring at the lifeless bodies that lie just in front of them. There was a long, quiet pause as the 15 American soldiers looked upon their dead brothers. Eventually, one of the American soldiers broke the silence with a long quivering sigh. Then, he turned and walked to the radio. He called for a medical helicopter to extract the bodies, and told the man on the other end what had happened. Soon there after, on their grave stones was written their names, date of birth and death, and a sort sentence at the bottom that read, “These brave men died honorably while defending their base from attack. May they rest in peace.”