A War Story: Die-ja Vu
“I’m ready for this, I’m ready for this”, I kept saying over and over to myself as the water cried down my face. The voices of hidden spirits dropped into the ears of a falsely fearless soldier causing distress, anxiety and anguish to corrode my mind just as we were sailing towards the beach at Normandy which seemed miles away. Very suddenly, the boat began to rock due to the rapid shivering of the young boys and trembling of their hands and feet. Extreme fear trampled on the previously blank faces of the bravehearts that surrounded me like a flock of sheep on a steep hill that feared their shepherd. The mist lingering among the sea blinded the eyes of all that could see above and beyond their frightened and troubled facial expressions, whilst carrying a scent which resembled smoke from a lit candle stick. My nostrils identified the unimaginable horrors of battle as blood, fire and disease were closing over the boat like a sheet over a dead body that has been found.
The slightly quiet atmosphere vanished. Soldiers were screaming and shouting as loud as the constant crashing and pounding of the waves against the boat. It got louder and louder. It seemed to get faster and stronger as the boat got closer to the so called beach. Bang, bang, boom! I didn’t exactly know what I was hearing due to the amount of horrific images I witnessed and the distortion and dizziness it had caused me to feel. The images gripped my hand and squeezed it like a stress ball, not letting go, not going away. Images of bleeding bodies and drowning dummies were corrupting my thoughts and were as obscene as a child that disliked toys and sweets. We’d passed and achieved our first sub-obstacle which was the journey. My eagerness and thirst for partaking in combat at battle deteriorated dramatically very quickly. Our head leader, Drake Williams, seemed rather forceful and determined as he stood with the posture of a greatly geared giant.
“All right lads this...