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How I Lost My Youth

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Submitted By dctwelve1212
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How I lost my Youth. I did not know how my last second decision to join the Navy would haunt me for the rest of my life. Where I went from being an innocent kid that was invincible to the world, to bleeding for my country and losing lives of friends. There were moments that led up to this unforgettable situation. It started with General Quarters, which means to man your pre-assigned battle stations, once at your battle station; you must look for all targets while preparing your weapon. Then after all is said and done, I had a point in my life that changed who I was as a person. I had to learn to cope with taking lives and the loss of my best friends. Each of these moments had a lasting effect on me. This situation happened in the Middle East and is where I felt I lost my youth and changed who I was as a person. The day was calm and peaceful in the Persian Gulf about 12 miles off the coast of Iran, when all of a sudden general quarters sounded. The Captains voiced echoed through the hallways, “Man your battle stations; this is not a drill.” In an instant adrenaline pumped through my body as I made my way to the armory. As I was issued my side arm, Kevlar vest, and helmets, I inspected each to make sure they would server their purpose. Once my gear checked out, I moved to the port side bridge wing, where my M60 awaited my arrival. Arriving to my station I had to become alert to my surroundings and locate all targets. Before fully engaging the target I waited for my orders from my commanding officer (CO). My loader and I noticed another target just behind our first target. We informed the CO; at that point he had us fire warning shots in the general direction of our marks. These targets were literally just pirates in a Bayliner boat set for the purpose of martyr. Their intent seemed clear as they headed full speed towards us. The CO issued the command “open fire”; at that point the nerves and adrenaline were so high in my body everything seemed to be in slow motion. At about 500 yards I squeezed the trigger of my war machine, watching the tracer rounds to see if I am on target. As always my machine gun was shooting true. Feeling the power of my gun rumble in my grasps I felt the training kicking in full drive. My first target dropped, a man on the front of the boat, wearing a turban on his head aiming a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) at our ship. He dropped but not before he managed to send a rocket our way. He was too far out hit our ship or had bad aim, because the rocket hit the water about 100yrds in from of me. Then the second and then the third men went down who were firing AK47s at our ship like mad men; I could hear bullets ricocheting off the bulkheads. At this point the boat still advancing right at us; the mounted .50 Cal above me split the boat in half with its destructive rounds. When I noticed my buddy, Sully; laying at my feet gasping for air. I quickly moved to tend to his wounds for our threats had been eliminated. I saw the Sully had been shot on the left side of his chest. The exit wound was a fairly good size hole. As I turned him to his side I noticed a pool of blood around where I had been crouched over helping my fallen comrade. Then felt a shearing pain in my right leg and saw blood oozing out of a rip in my uniform. I continued treating Sully as far as I can remember.

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