In my youthful days, I often sat and marveled as the older folks told stories of which they were a part. Quite frankly, some of the tales seemed beyond what reality would afford a normal person. But I have since learned that reality can be much stranger than fiction. Oftentimes, reality far exceeds the imagination.

 

 

     “Hit it!!!” The chorus of shouts from the company commander to the squad leaders came. The explosion possibly meant many more to follow along with the pop-popping of the AK-47s, the roar of the machine guns, and the eerie sounds of rocket propelled grenades whizzing by their heads.

      Within a split second of the frightening sound, the soldiers blended as much with the rice paddy as they possibly could. Adrenaline heightened the senses and they listened intently while their eyes scanned the tree line for any movement or weapons flashes.

      There were no more explosions or other sounds. It was probably a mine.

      “Check for your buddies and fellow soldiers!”

     

     Two young soldiers, possibly risking their lives, ran to where they thought they should be. They came upon the unthinkable. The awful smell of burned flesh and rice paddy mud churned their stomachs and made them want to discharge the morning’s breakfast. They did not.

      “They’re gone – no hope!”

      Such a pronouncement meant the soldier and the dog both had met their final fate.

      “Get them out of there! Don’t leave anything behind! Take them both to a   clearing nearby so we can load them on a chopper!”

 

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     "The young soldier was given up for dead twice in Vietnam. As his contracted body lay woefully in a coma, the best trained medical professionals at Walter Reed Army Hospital, who had seen thousands of horrendous wounds, gave him no chance of recovery. “Your son may live fifty years. He will not improve. We believe he will always need constant care.”

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     A strong faith mother who refused to accept the grim prognosis as she stared down the medical staff at Walter Reed Army Hospital, “I believe my son will get better. You are not the final authority. I believe in a higher power. I believe he has come back home for a reason.”