combat writing badge C O M B A T
the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones
ISSN 1542-1546 Volume 04 Number 01 Winter ©Jan 2006



Progress



"This is where we fought the invaders," the old man said to the little girl holding his hand.

The little girl looked in awe at the field. She expected to see a place with soldiers and flags. Instead, it was a pretty place with wild flowers and bushes dotted amongst the yellow green of a meadow in the first days of autumn. A simple dirt road wound through the center of this place like a snaking stream. This was the kind of place she dreamt of – a place for playing and riding horses. Not the kind of place her Grandpa told stories about.

"Where are the soldiers, Grandpa?" she asked.

"Gone," he said in a hushed tone. "I'm all that's left."

He saw the faded line that marked the trenches he and his friends spent days of their lives in. Scanning along the line, he saw the remnants of the crater where his sergeant died. The sound of shells whistling through the air, the screams of terror, and the moans and sobs of the dying. This was a place where heroes walked the earth.

He felt the tug on his hand. Looking down he saw his granddaughter was bored with the place. Her mind was on toys and seeing other things. War and remembrance were too complex for her to comprehend. Relenting to her wishes, he let her lead him back to the car. As they passed, he read a NEW HOMES at the mid-100's placard. A contractor's trailer and bulldozer announced that soon no one would remember this place for what it really was.




by Joseph J. DeRepentigny III
... who is a military intelligence veteran now working as a security screener; with more than fourteen published essays and short stories, principally in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, to his credit, including previous works in this literary magazine.




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C O M B A T, the Literary Expression of Battlefield Touchstones