| War and History Fiction posted August 25, 2020 |
  |
One man in the right place can matter
Next Stop Normandy
by Earl Corp
The blue light faded in and out as I leaped in.
“No matter how many times I go through that it still stings,” I thought.
It took me a minute to get my bearings. Partly because I was bobbing up and down in a landing craft. I was wearing a World War II era Army uniform and carrying an M-1 carbine.
I heard the Whoosh of the accelerator chamber door as Al stepped through.
“Ziggy says you’ve leaped into Private George Franklin of the 2nd Ranger Battalion on June 6, 1944.” Al read off of the handset.
Al’s brow furrowed.
“You’re on your way to the Normandy invasion though Ziggy doesn’t know why yet, I’ll be back when I know more.”
The chamber door opened and shut as Al stepped through it.
The sweat poured off of me as the landing craft taking me to Pointe du Hoc pitched up and down. Being a part of the largest invasion force ever assembled seemed overwhelming.
As a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion our mission was to scale the cliffs and take out the German positions overlooking Normandy and Utah Beaches.
Two landing craft were hit with artillery rounds. I started praying right then. My drill sergeant had always said, “There ain’t no atheists in foxholes.” I believe he was right.
As we continued towards shore one thought kept going through my mind.
“I wished I’d leaped into the paratroops.”
Finally we quit moving forward and the ramp started to lower. We all rushed to get off of the craft. When my turn came I jumped in and to my surprise I sank below the surface.
When I resurfaced I saw we were still almost a half mile from shore. I started slogging in. I hadn’t got two feet when we came under machine gun fire, back underwater I went.
As we moved along guys were getting hit left and right. The guy next to me got stitched across his chest. This made me stop for a minute.
“Keep moving, get to the beach!” a sergeant screamed.
I finally got to knee deep water, then I was on the sand.
“Keep moving to the cliffs!” was the order.
Not wanting to be alone, I followed the crowd. At the base of the cliff we set up the grapnel-tipped rocket which had a box containing coiled rope.
We shot the rope up. A Sergeant was the first to climb. I was fourth in line on our rope. My wet uniform and gear felt like it weighed a ton as I climbed.
I got up top and we started clearing out pockets of Germans. I saw some troops pinned down. I threw a hand grenade at the machine gun. After it blew they were freed up to move past it.
Something buzzed past my ear. All of a sudden I realized I was under sniper fire. I dropped to the ground. The only thing between me and the dirt was my buttons.
I watched the tree line then caught a glimpse of a muzzle flash. I took aim and squeezed off a shot just as the sniper did. I saw another Ranger spun around as he took a hit in his shoulder. But I watched the sniper fall.
The Germans had tied themselves in. When the sniper hit the end of the rope he bounced then hung there twisting in the breeze.
We fought our way to the Coastal Highway before dark. As we settled in for the night, I realized I’d made it through my first day of combat.
I heard the chamber door Whoosh, Al appeared.
“You did it!”
“What did I do?”
“In the original history that sniper you took out killed seven men, but it’s the one who was wounded is why you were here.”
“Why was he so special?’
“His name is Leonard Moore. Originally he died. His shoulder wound healed up and he made a full recovery.”
“What’s so special about that?”
“Moore stayed in the Army for 27 years and was awarded the Medal of Honor for keeping his platoon from being overrun by the Vietcong in 1969.”
The blue haze appeared, everything blurred.
“OHHHH BOYYYY.”
Quantum Leap Into Time writing prompt entry
The blue light faded in and out as I leaped in.
“No matter how many times I go through that it still stings,” I thought.
It took me a minute to get my bearings. Partly because I was bobbing up and down in a landing craft. I was wearing a World War II era Army uniform and carrying an M-1 carbine.
I heard the Whoosh of the accelerator chamber door as Al stepped through.
“Ziggy says you’ve leaped into Private George Franklin of the 2nd Ranger Battalion on June 6, 1944.” Al read off of the handset.
Al’s brow furrowed.
“You’re on your way to the Normandy invasion though Ziggy doesn’t know why yet, I’ll be back when I know more.”
The chamber door opened and shut as Al stepped through it.
The sweat poured off of me as the landing craft taking me to Pointe du Hoc pitched up and down. Being a part of the largest invasion force ever assembled seemed overwhelming.
As a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion our mission was to scale the cliffs and take out the German positions overlooking Normandy and Utah Beaches.
Two landing craft were hit with artillery rounds. I started praying right then. My drill sergeant had always said, “There ain’t no atheists in foxholes.” I believe he was right.
As we continued towards shore one thought kept going through my mind.
“I wished I’d leaped into the paratroops.”
Finally we quit moving forward and the ramp started to lower. We all rushed to get off of the craft. When my turn came I jumped in and to my surprise I sank below the surface.
When I resurfaced I saw we were still almost a half mile from shore. I started slogging in. I hadn’t got two feet when we came under machine gun fire, back underwater I went.
As we moved along guys were getting hit left and right. The guy next to me got stitched across his chest. This made me stop for a minute.
“Keep moving, get to the beach!” a sergeant screamed.
I finally got to knee deep water, then I was on the sand.
“Keep moving to the cliffs!” was the order.
Not wanting to be alone, I followed the crowd. At the base of the cliff we set up the grapnel-tipped rocket which had a box containing coiled rope.
We shot the rope up. A Sergeant was the first to climb. I was fourth in line on our rope. My wet uniform and gear felt like it weighed a ton as I climbed.
I got up top and we started clearing out pockets of Germans. I saw some troops pinned down. I threw a hand grenade at the machine gun. After it blew they were freed up to move past it.
Something buzzed past my ear. All of a sudden I realized I was under sniper fire. I dropped to the ground. The only thing between me and the dirt was my buttons.
I watched the tree line then caught a glimpse of a muzzle flash. I took aim and squeezed off a shot just as the sniper did. I saw another Ranger spun around as he took a hit in his shoulder. But I watched the sniper fall.
The Germans had tied themselves in. When the sniper hit the end of the rope he bounced then hung there twisting in the breeze.
We fought our way to the Coastal Highway before dark. As we settled in for the night, I realized I’d made it through my first day of combat.
I heard the chamber door Whoosh, Al appeared.
“You did it!”
“What did I do?”
“In the original history that sniper you took out killed seven men, but it’s the one who was wounded is why you were here.”
“Why was he so special?’
“His name is Leonard Moore. Originally he died. His shoulder wound healed up and he made a full recovery.”
“What’s so special about that?”
“Moore stayed in the Army for 27 years and was awarded the Medal of Honor for keeping his platoon from being overrun by the Vietcong in 1969.”
The blue haze appeared, everything blurred.
“OHHHH BOYYYY.”
“No matter how many times I go through that it still stings,” I thought.
It took me a minute to get my bearings. Partly because I was bobbing up and down in a landing craft. I was wearing a World War II era Army uniform and carrying an M-1 carbine.
I heard the Whoosh of the accelerator chamber door as Al stepped through.
“Ziggy says you’ve leaped into Private George Franklin of the 2nd Ranger Battalion on June 6, 1944.” Al read off of the handset.
Al’s brow furrowed.
“You’re on your way to the Normandy invasion though Ziggy doesn’t know why yet, I’ll be back when I know more.”
The chamber door opened and shut as Al stepped through it.
The sweat poured off of me as the landing craft taking me to Pointe du Hoc pitched up and down. Being a part of the largest invasion force ever assembled seemed overwhelming.
As a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion our mission was to scale the cliffs and take out the German positions overlooking Normandy and Utah Beaches.
Two landing craft were hit with artillery rounds. I started praying right then. My drill sergeant had always said, “There ain’t no atheists in foxholes.” I believe he was right.
As we continued towards shore one thought kept going through my mind.
“I wished I’d leaped into the paratroops.”
Finally we quit moving forward and the ramp started to lower. We all rushed to get off of the craft. When my turn came I jumped in and to my surprise I sank below the surface.
When I resurfaced I saw we were still almost a half mile from shore. I started slogging in. I hadn’t got two feet when we came under machine gun fire, back underwater I went.
As we moved along guys were getting hit left and right. The guy next to me got stitched across his chest. This made me stop for a minute.
“Keep moving, get to the beach!” a sergeant screamed.
I finally got to knee deep water, then I was on the sand.
“Keep moving to the cliffs!” was the order.
Not wanting to be alone, I followed the crowd. At the base of the cliff we set up the grapnel-tipped rocket which had a box containing coiled rope.
We shot the rope up. A Sergeant was the first to climb. I was fourth in line on our rope. My wet uniform and gear felt like it weighed a ton as I climbed.
I got up top and we started clearing out pockets of Germans. I saw some troops pinned down. I threw a hand grenade at the machine gun. After it blew they were freed up to move past it.
Something buzzed past my ear. All of a sudden I realized I was under sniper fire. I dropped to the ground. The only thing between me and the dirt was my buttons.
I watched the tree line then caught a glimpse of a muzzle flash. I took aim and squeezed off a shot just as the sniper did. I saw another Ranger spun around as he took a hit in his shoulder. But I watched the sniper fall.
The Germans had tied themselves in. When the sniper hit the end of the rope he bounced then hung there twisting in the breeze.
We fought our way to the Coastal Highway before dark. As we settled in for the night, I realized I’d made it through my first day of combat.
I heard the chamber door Whoosh, Al appeared.
“You did it!”
“What did I do?”
“In the original history that sniper you took out killed seven men, but it’s the one who was wounded is why you were here.”
“Why was he so special?’
“His name is Leonard Moore. Originally he died. His shoulder wound healed up and he made a full recovery.”
“What’s so special about that?”
“Moore stayed in the Army for 27 years and was awarded the Medal of Honor for keeping his platoon from being overrun by the Vietcong in 1969.”
The blue haze appeared, everything blurred.
“OHHHH BOYYYY.”
|
Writing Prompt Write about taking a quantum leap into someone else's life. Pick any event in history and a famous person who played a role in it. Describe how you'd change the outcome of the situation. Would you make something positive happen? Would you prevent something negative from occurring? Write about this subject in 100 - 700 words. |
 Recognized |
#420 2020 |
I know I kept a lot of the original premise from the television show. I was a big fan of the show and tried to stay true. Enjoy.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Artwork by meg119 at FanArtReview.com
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. Earl Corp All rights reserved.
Earl Corp has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
