Surveying the newly-minted Marines, the colonel continued, “Like the Marines after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, and the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, we too shall overcome our grief and sorrow, rising up to answer the call of our nation and defend our country, family, and friends from this vicious enemy. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Marine than I am right now. To see your young faces and know that you will be the avenging angels protecting our nation and bringing the fight to the enemy gives me great joy. I’m proud to call you fellow jarheads and leathernecks. Dismissed!” said the colonel. With that, the official celebration and R&R began.
Captain Long’s troops were being given a four-day pass to be with their loved ones and family before the entire division was shipped out to the Northern Mariana Islands and the eventual invasion of Taiwan or the Philippines. No one knew exactly which country they would be liberating first, but secretly Long believed his regiment was most likely slated for Taiwan.
As Long made his way through the crowds of well-wishers and family members, one of the young Marines happened to grab his attention. “Dad, this is our company commander, Captain Long,” he said excitedly. “He’s already fought the Chinese and the North Koreans.” He was clearly proud of his commander.
Long blushed a little as he tried to play it off. “I just happened to be in the Corps when the war started, that’s all. We had a duty to do, and we did it, just as these fine young men will do theirs,” he replied, trying to be as reassuring as possible to the parents.
Just then, Captain Long noticed a Marine tattoo on the father’s forearm. “I served with the Marines in Afghanistan,” said the Marine’s dad in a gravelly voice. “My son may still be a bit naïve in his view of combat, but I know better. Judging by the two Purple Hearts on your chest, you do as well. Just do your best to keep these young boys alive and win this thing, OK?” the father said sternly. He shook Long’s hand, and the group turned to walk away and enjoy the next few days together as a family.
Long watched with a certain sense of longing as the family walked away. He wasn’t married himself, not really having found the time to look for a girlfriend. He had put most of his time into learning what it took to be a good Marine and getting as much of his college done as he could while the military was still willing to pay for it. His ultimate goal was to get out and use the GI Bill to finish paying for the rest of his degree and do what everyone else does — find a job, get married, and start a family. Of course, those plans had been interrupted by the war, but his personal philosophy was that when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade. Besides, being an officer for the next few years would certainly help him polish up his resume.
With no family living nearby to spend time with, Long did what most Marines would do — he spent time at the beach or doing something fun outdoors and having a good time hitting a few bars and restaurants in the evening with a few of the other single officers he had become friends with. Many of these other newly-minted officers hadn’t seen combat yet, so they had latched onto Long to learn from him and gain as much insight as possible before they eventually shipped out. Captain Long, for his part, tried to spend as much time as possible with his young lieutenants. Most of them had the same amount of time in the Corps as the young Marines they would be leading into battle.
A few days after the ceremony, Long and a couple of his young lieutenants went over to Miss B’s Coconut Club on Mission Boulevard in San Diego for some strong drinks, and possibly also to gawk at the pretty college girls at the beach nearby. Knowing this would be one of the last times he and his officers would be able to have some fun and relax, he wanted to take them somewhere fun and give them a chance to create a few pleasant memories to help them get through what would undoubtedly be a challenging time ahead.
Snagging one of the outdoor tables, Long waved down the waitress and placed an order for a round of shots and some appetizers to get them going. They started out with a seafood ceviche, crispy calamari that the Yelp reviews said were to die for, and finally, some jerk-rubbed chicken wings, followed by their world-famous Chester Copperpot drink, which was essentially a large chest that took up a good portion of the table. The sharable drink was filled with enough alcohol to subdue a rifle team of Marines.
As the officers chowed down on some good old-fashioned food and started to become undeniably drunk, Long sat back and surveyed the scene. He knew this would be a memory he’d hold on to for some time to come. Captain Tim Long was a country boy from Iowa, so being this close to the ocean was a real treat — and the good-looking women walking by didn’t hurt anything either. After all the horrors he had seen in Korea, he just wanted to focus on having a good time while he could.
He did have to remind himself that he wasn’t an NCO anymore — he was a Marine officer and a company commander, so he had to remember to not get too carried away. A lot more was expected of him now, and he had to be the adult in the room, especially as the commander to these young lieutenants. They followed his lead; if he acted crazy, they would act crazy. It was incumbent upon him to be aware that he needed to be the kind of leader and example they needed and deserved.
Long allowed himself to cut loose a little bit, anyway. He was starting to get just slightly tipsy and was enjoying a bit of flirtation with a couple of the young women at a table nearby when one of his young lieutenants put his hand on his shoulder and asked, “So, what was it like over there, Captain Long? What should we expect?”
The question caught Long off guard. He was just inebriated enough to have lost his inhibitions though, so he responded honestly. “Chaos, death, and fear,” he began. “During the invasion of Hamhung, guys in my squad were getting hit left and right as we desperately tried to get off the beach. Once the amtracks got to the shore, they started taking heavy fire. When the back hatch dropped, we had to run out as fast as we could. As soon as we were out, the amtrack left to go pick up the next load of Marines. It was bad. Explosions were happening all around us, and bullets flew everywhere. Before we made it to the seawall, I had already lost three guys in my squad — mind you, at that time I was an E-5 sergeant in charge of a squad.”
The happy chatter of the other young lieutenants had died away. They were listening to him very intently. It was the first time he had actually shared his experiences in the war in anything more than broad strokes to them.
“What happened next, Captain?” asked the young lieutenant tenuously. He didn’t seem completely sure that he wanted the answer.
“When we made it to the seawall, I saw where most of the enemy fire was coming from. There was a two-story house made of cement, maybe three hundred meters in front of us. We eventually hit the house with a couple of AT-4 rockets and then charged the enemy position. Two more guys in my squad got hit, but we pressed on. It took us an hour to fight our way off the beach, and that was just the beginning. We spent four days fighting in and around that city, even after the North Koreans surrendered. Then it was a rush to secure as much of the country as we could before the Chinese came in.”
One of the lieutenants let out a low whistle.
“Maybe a week later, my platoon leader, a guy by the name of Second Lieutenant Chet Culley, was promoted to captain and took over command of our company—”
The young lieutenant who had started the conversation interrupted. “—What happened to the other officers?” He was clearly curious how a guy the same rank as him had suddenly become the company commander.