by Martin Kufus Excerpted from Plow the Dirt but Watch the Sky: True Tales of Manure, Media, Militaries, and More, by Martin Kufus. And the sign said YOU ARE LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR. Our Mercedes bus idled at Checkpoint Charlie, the tightly controlled Allied crossing through the Berlin Wall into the …
Read More »A Contractor Goes Back to the Fray: ‘I Went to Touch the Elephant’
by Babatim I couldn’t take being out of the game anymore, so off I went to touch the elephant. I had just cracked open the first beer of the afternoon when I heard the rockets coming in. Wise now to the ways of war I stayed in my lawn …
Read More »Soldier of Fortune Jumps Into the Unknown With the Phantom Airborne Brigade
by Heath Hansen The wind within the body of the bird blows me back and forth as I try to maintain my balance. “Thirty seconds!” the jumpmaster yells, before telling the man at the front of the stick to “Standby.” Then, a loud “GO!” gets us moving towards the door. I cover …
Read More »‘The Mother’: A Soldier’s Haunting Encounter in Iraq
by Cliff Wade Iraq, 2006 We found ourselves in the home of an Iraqi family during a massive clearing operation in an area characterized by terrain varying between urban landscape, farmland, palm groves, and small villages. We had been clearing routes of improvised explosive devices all morning. We had been …
Read More »Death in the Desert: A Texas Cowboy’s Gruesome Encounter
by Bobby Dee Editor’s note: Bobby Dee first made his appearance in SKK’s previous story about Bodies and Gunfire in the Texas Wilderness. Now Bobby writes about his encounter with a bad scene at sunrise. The sun wasn’t even high yet, but the heat was already pressing down on me. …
Read More »At War in Iraq, I Faced One Last Incident Before I Went Home
by Greg Chabot The beginning of February 2005 was a busy time in Baqubah. Insurgent activity had picked up considerably, keeping all of us at the Police HQ on our toes. With the end of the deployment coming, I had tried multiple times to extend my tour but was denied. …
Read More »Our ‘Death Angels’ Helicopter Crew Flew Against All Odds in Iraq
by Fred A. Ganous, SGM, USA (Ret) The departure point was LZ Washington in downtown Baghdad, which stayed busier than the Atlanta airport. The pilot in command was a Chief Warrant 4 who was well-trained in his aviation duties. He saw a convoy of five U.S. army vehicles come under …
Read More »Humbling Reflections on Memorial Day
Precious time is the most valuable thing any of us will ever possess. by Heath Hansen As I reflect on what today’s holiday means, and remember the sacrifices so many American servicemen and servicewomen made for my freedom, I’m humbled. I think about the buddies I lost – the guys I knew …
Read More »‘I Wanna Jump From a Big Iron Bird’: Following in Dad’s Boot-Steps to Become a Paratrooper
by Heath Hansen I looked up into the big, blue sky. Far in the distance, I spotted a C-130 Hercules headed towards the open grass field I waited in. For a few moments, I watched as the plane continued in my direction. Suddenly, from the tail-end of the aircraft, paratroopers …
Read More »‘The Deer Hunter’ Came to Town on a Cold Night in Denver
Depressed over the April 30, 1975 fall of Saigon, this Army veteran went to see a new movie. by Jack Hawkins Released in Los Angeles in 1978, The Deer Hunter was already becoming a legendary film by the time it hit “flyover country” a few months later. I was between …
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