Shattered Jade by Larry Alexander

Author:Larry Alexander [Alexander, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub

The day passed quietly along the Second Battalion front. Off in the hills, where Mount Tapochau loomed ominously, the rumble of 105mm and 155mm field pieces blending with the karump of heavy mortars could be distinctly heard as men of the Twenty-Seventh Division fought to get into position for the concerted push to the north.

“Sounds like the Army is having a bad time of it,” young Pfc. Perkins said, staring off to the east.

“Yeah,” said his foxhole partner, Rosie Roseblum, as he took advantage of the lull to clean his BAR. “My hemorrhoids bleed for the Doggies.”

Steve Aldrich, crawling on all fours to avoid making a sniper target of himself, approached. He checked in with his team.

“We’re fine,” Rosie said.

“Okay,” Aldrich said. “It’ll be dark in a few hours. Fifty percent alert.”

“Sergeant,” Perkins said. “I heard that you attended college.”

“Two years,” Aldrich said. “Maryland State Teachers College in Towson, Maryland. Then the war came along.”

“You wanted to be a teacher?” the boy asked.

“Actually, I was taking psychology courses to become a licensed psychologist,” Aldrich said. “I went to Towson because it’s in Baltimore County, just across the Chesapeake from Rock Hall, my hometown.”

“After the war I want to go to college and become a teacher,” Perkins said. “My mom’s a high school teacher back home in Florida, in Eagle Lake—that’s in Polk County. I was thinking about starting at the Jacksonville Junior College for two years, then going on to the university.”

Perkins was quiet for a while, then rather tentatively asked, “Have you known our sergeant very long? You guys fought together on Tarawa, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” Aldrich said. “Me, Rosie, Honeybun, and Pete. The four of us are all that’s left of the original squad.”

“Gosh,” Perkins said, clearly impressed. “He seems like a tough cookie. He’s awfully hard to get to know.”

“Yes, and he likes it that way,” Rosie chimed in. “But you have the toned-down version. Hardball was a real loner when he joined the squad. The Professor here . . .”

Aldrich cut Rosie off.

“It’s not important whether you get to know him or not,” Aldrich said. “What’s important is that you listen to him and do what he says. You do that and you’ll better your chances of making it through this war.”

He returned to the foxhole. As he did, Pete walked up to Aldrich.

“Have everyone get comfy,” Pete said. “Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a day or two.”

“I told my team to go to fifty percent alert,” Aldrich said.

Pete nodded and said, “I want the squad settled in, but I don’t want them to get sloppy.”

“I saw you chatting with that reporter earlier,” Aldrich said. “You guys got pretty chummy on Tarawa.”

“He’s interesting,” Pete said. “And he’s a good source for confirming scuttlebutt.”

He told Aldrich about the sea battle and how Sherrod introduced him to Edson.

“It was embarrassing as hell,” he said.

Aldrich chuckled.

“He did give me one bit of news but told me to keep it hush-hush. This is between us for now, but Howlin’ Mad fired the top Army general because the Doggies were dragging their feet.

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