For God and Country

20  November, 1943

Private First Class Peter Jacobs enlisted back in the summer of  ’41.  He’d considered being a soldier before in his life, but that was long ago.   Now in his early 20’s, he stood at the bow of the transport ship and stared into the abyss of the early morning sky, as it mingled with the invisible horizon of the vast pacific ocean.  “War is hell,” he’d heard before.  His father had fought in the first world war, his grandfather with Theodore Roosevelt at San Juan Hill.  Now he found himself in the middle of the greatest conflict known to man, and searching for some kind of meaning.   “Was it in the genes?” He asked himself.  “Why did he need to do what was being done?”  Too many question would confuse him, and he didn’t want that now.  A cool breeze swept across the ship’s hull, relieving the tension of his mind’s pursuit, but how long would that delay the inevitable tide of uncertainty about his present endeavor?

Had a whip cracked behind him, he’d have been more understanding, but the Sergeants shrill voice was all that he would receive to let him know that it was close to disembarkment, and that he wanted all heads focused on his instructions.  The  words of a Non Commissioned Officer could be very daunting for a private, but he tried to rationalize that they would help him face his duties.  The men around him stood wide eyed, and foreboding, as the coming activities loomed large over their heads.  Every man was alone.  The solitude offered the last measure of peace before the storm ahead.  He’d been briefed and rebriefed, and couldn’t help but feel like a grade schooler before an intense final exam.  Even now, with his father dead, and away from his mother, he felt as if he had to measure up to their expectations.