Operation Musketeer by David Lee Corley

Author:David Lee Corley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical fiction, cold war, military history, military fiction, war history, war fiction, colonialism, history 1950s, suez crisis, suez war
Publisher: David Lee Corley

El Gamil Airfield, Egypt

The battle for Port Said raged in the distance. Two wounded British soldiers lay by the side of the airfield waiting, as a helicopter was unloaded. They were from the same home town and had known each other since childhood.

As teenagers they competed against each other on their secondary school football team. Both were talented centre forwards and for years, they vied for the spot, one winning one semester and the other taking it away the next.

When they came of age, they both join the army. It was the best way to leave their small town and see the world, not to mention that their uniforms attracted good looking girls. They fought over girls too, especially when they drank. They didn’t see their competitiveness as bad. It made them try harder and kept them sharp.

Both had jumped on the airfield that morning and both had been shot; one in the chest and the other in the lower leg. The medics did what they could, but the war was clearly over for these two soldiers. They had done their duty and suffered the consequences.

The one with the chest wound found it hard to breathe. The bullet had pierced his lungs and they were filling with blood. The medic came by every thirty minutes and slid a long syringe into his chest to draw out the blood from his lungs. It made his breathing easier until they once again filled. The last time the medic became concerned when he took the soldier’s blood pressure. He was losing a lot of blood and the pressure was dangerously low. He was in bad shape, but so were others. He would have to wait his turn to be evacuated.

His friend had been shot in the lower leg. The bullet had shattered the bone and cut the artery. The medic had to use a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. It hurt like hell. There was a tag on his shirt that read “Amputate.” He knew his fate. “Hey, can I have your cigarettes? I don’t think you’ll be needing them anytime soon.”

“Bugger off, ya vulture. They’re mine,” said the soldier with the chest wound. “I’ll give ’em to my dad when I get home.”

“When you get home? By then they’ll be stale and no good.”

“Ya gotta good point,” said the soldier with the chest wound, gasping for breath. He opened his shirt pocket and handed his friend a pack of cigarettes. The soldier with the leg wound lit one. “Blow the smoke in my direction. It won’t be same but at least I’ll get something.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Ya can hardly breathe as it is.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I’m completely snookered this time,” said the soldier with the leg wound. “What girl’s gonna want a one-legged man.”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about a one-legged girl?” said his friend.

“Get stuffed, ya bastard.”

They laughed and fell silent for a few moments, then… “Ya think I’ll be able to buy shoes at half the price? I’ll only need the one.

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