“You trying to kill us on that run this morning, Captain Long?” snickered his XO, a good-natured first lieutenant from Idaho.
“You guys are just out of shape, that’s all,” Long replied with a grin. He pulled out some ibuprofen from a bottle on his desk and tossed four tablets down his throat and then passed the bottle to his lieutenants. As he chased the pills down with water, they all broke out in laughter, though the new guy stayed relatively silent. Captain Long realized that he was the odd man out. The rest of the officers had all fought and bled with each other, but the newbie would still be unsure of where he fit in.
Checking his watch, Long turned serious. He took a seat and stared briefly at his platoon leaders. “Today is the start of day three we’ve been back in camp,” he began. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready for what may be coming next. First, I need you to get on your NCOs to submit any award packets they want to write up from the Taiwan campaign. I also want the squad leaders and you platoon commanders to get me your AARs by the end of the day. During the regiment meeting last night, I was told the award packets from the Philippine campaign had all been approved and will be handed out in a ceremony on Monday by the division commander.”
A few of the men smiled at the news. They were glad to see their Marines being recognized.
Captain Long looked down at his notes and then back at his lieutenants. “We have fourteen guys receiving the Silver Star, and two of them had their medals upgraded to Navy Crosses. Fifty-two Bronze Stars and sixty-seven Purple Hearts as well. Sadly, twenty-three of these medals will have to be awarded posthumously. Here’s the official list of those receiving an award; make sure everyone knows who’s getting what. Before I hand this out, I want to let each of you in this room know you’re being awarded Silver Stars. That was a hard-fought campaign and we lost a lot of guys, but you held your platoons together despite some terrible losses. I want you each to know that I went to bat for you guys to get those awards, and every one of you earned them. You brought great honor to yourselves, this unit, and the Marines. Those paratroopers fought like demons.”
Sighing, he passed the list over to his XO and then continued, “We’re still short nine Marines. I was told the replacements should be arriving today, so when they do, make sure your sergeants get them integrated into their new fireteams and squads ASAP. Figure out with your NCOs what you want to do for team building exercises next week. We have a lot of new faces in the company, and we need to get them synced up with our veterans, so everyone starts to work as a team.”
The leaders nodded.
“Today is Friday,” Captain Long continued. “At 1800 hours, you’re to dismiss your platoons until 1900 hours on Sunday. If they want to sleep in, go to the MWR, gym, or whatever else they want to do on base, let them. These guys need some downtime. Come Monday, we’re going to be right back at it, training for the next mission.”
First Lieutenant Buck Conlon, his XO, asked the question that Long realized must be on all of their minds. “Do you know when the mission is? Are we going to invade the Mainland?”
The others sat silently, waiting to see what Long would say. “I’m supposed to meet with Colonel Tilman tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll know more after I see him. What I can say is we are most certainly invading the Mainland. Shoot, the Army’s already invaded the Mainland in northern China — us Marines can’t let the Army get all the glory.”
Looking at his newest platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Miles Johnson, Long asked, “So, Lieutenant, why don’t you give us the ten-second version of who you are and how you ended up in the famed Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines?”
Lieutenant Johnson stuck his chest out. “I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, and I joined the Corps right after graduating college. My brother served in the 2/3 Marines in Korea before he was killed. I asked to join Echo Company because I was told this unit saw more action than any other unit in the brigade.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your brother, Johnson,” Captain Long said. “I was in Korea when it all started, though I was in a different unit. Right now, Second Platoon is missing an officer, so that’s where I’m going to stick you. You have an outstanding platoon sergeant, so basically listen to what he tells you as you get your bearings. We’re going to run through a lot of drills and exercises the next few weeks, so that’ll be a good time for you to learn how to lead the platoon before we’re thrown right back in the fire. Just don’t try to rush things right away; take your time to get to know your men and your sergeants. You’ll do fine. If you have any problems or questions, ask any of these guys for help, or you can ask me.”
With the company business out of the way, Captain Long passed things over to his XO while he and the first sergeant got caught up on the few remaining details — mostly promotions and award packets that had to be finalized for the battalion.
“There may be a war going on, but by God, your paperwork had better be in order,” Long thought, nearly laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.
The following evening, Captain Long found himself sitting next to Lieutenant Colonel Noble, his battalion commander. Colonel Tilman had invited his battalion commanders and a couple of captains to come along with him to a newly opened restaurant just outside the camp, and he’d reserved a large table for them in a private room, his treat.
“Gentlemen,” Colonel Tilman began, “we’ve gone through hell together and lost a lot of friends along the way. I wanted to take some time out of our busy schedules to just relax, eat, and drink some beers together before we worry about the future. Right now, just enjoy this moment and the comradery we have with each other. When this war is over, these are the memories you’ll look back on and long for again.” He raised his beer, taking a very long chug before he sat down and joined his men as they broke bread together.
Long wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d ended up being seated opposite Colonel Tilman. He tried not to overthink the seating arrangement and downed a beer like everyone else. After some good grub and another beer, he was starting to have a great time, just like everyone else. Then Tilman suddenly leaned forward. In a very serious tone, he asked, “Captain, do you plan on making the Corps a career, or are you going to get out at the end of the war?”
Judging by the seriousness of the colonel’s question, Long knew his immediate future probably rested on his answer. He’d been thinking about that very question for a few months now. He was on year eight in the Marines, and usually at year ten you had to make a firm decision as to whether you were going to stay in until retirement or get out. This conversation felt like it was speeding up his timeline a bit.
“At first, I planned on getting out when the war was done,” Captain Long admitted. “However, I’ve given that a lot of thought, and I think I want to stay in and see where my career takes me.” The colonel’s demeanor immediately changed from serious to happy, and he knew he’d given the right answer.
“Glad to hear it,” said Tilman. “With your record and all those medals, you’ll go far. As a matter of fact, I’m going to promote you to major. I’m short staffed officers right now, and I need some people I can trust to take command of a new battalion we’re forming up. As we near the final stage of the war, the size of the Marines is still growing. All the Marine divisions are being given a new regiment, and the regiments are being given a new battalion, and the battalions are getting another company. It’s all part of this massive buildup leading to the invasion of China. I’m sure once this is all over there’ll be a huge demobilization like they did at the end of World War II, but for the time being, this is a great chance for you to get some higher-level command experience. When the time comes, I’ll do my best to shield you from any demobilization.” Tilman spoke like a father whose son had just joined the family business.