In My Mind's Eye by Yezall Strongheart (best historical biographies .txt) 📕

The night was dark. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The sounds around us were unfriendly. Gunshots, shouting, moaning, and explosions all assaulted our ears and fear rose in our hearts.

My platoon had been assigned the task of infiltrating enemy lines and taking out snipers who had been picking off our troops like tin cans at a carnival. The closer we got the slower we moved. There was a mine field between us and our goal.

“Lieutenant, what’s your orders?” my platoon sergeant, whispered softly near my left ear.

Staring straight ahead into the darkness I replied, “As soon as I figure that out, you will be the first to know, sergeant.”

He patted me on the back, and settled back down beside me giving me time to think. I was there because I love my country. I would die to defend it. Doesn’t mean I have to.

In the short time I had, I tried to make sense of things. I tried to come up with a plan that would not only save our lives but the lives all those around us. How did it get this way? Where did we go wrong as humans to want to kill each other? It was the bigger question we all wanted to know the answer to. Kill or be killed, it was our only choice; we didn’t have to like it. This was a job; I had taken an oath to do what I needed to do.

I rolled onto my back and tried to find a star, nothing but pitch black. I felt alone in the midst of about sixteen men. I closed my eyes and my head rolled to one side. As my eyes closed, visions came into view. Visions from home, of my family, my friends, I needed to be able to go home and be safe, and I needed to ensure the safety of all those that depended on me.

With a sigh I opened my eyes with new resolve. I focused again on the task before me. As I turned and looked over the blackness, ‘stars’ started to appear on the ground. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. I think I’m seeing the mines!

I gathered the men quickly and proceeded forward. I told them, “Single file men, do not vary from my steps, follow the man in front of you, and stay low.”

It was working, how my eyes could suddenly see the mines were a mystery. As we approached the snipers, their hiding places were revealed to me in the same manner. They glowed in darkness. No one else spoke of seeing anything odd that night. The men followed me in trust. We completed our task and returned to safety that night, all of us.

Publication Date: 10-02-2011

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