Trying to sleep in the field The chill sinks in Beneath the five ton truckOut of the rain But soaking up the coldInside the bagWith head outLetting in the chill Sinking in While thoughts keep you awake Long into the early hours of the nightWhat needs to be done What must be accomplished What your troops mustComplete Stumbling to the water buffaloTrying to clean your face and mouthGroggy from lack of sleepBarely awake But...

WC: 6343   KX730, Solarian Sector Naval Command Destroyer Glimmer of Time   "Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is kilo xray seven three zero, going down. Anti-gravity fields almost destroyed, primary drive destroyed, ship integrity questionable." "Mayday, mayday, mayday, Captain Guzman, Kilo Xray seven three zero, SSNC Destroyer Glimmer of Time going down, planetary system reference Charlie four niner six. Planet three." I sai...

(This short story is graduation day for the elite of the elite, Space Marines... It is based on one of my eBooks 'Rocer Penal Colony' available at most eBook sites, but not needed for this.) "Come in, come in. Find a seat. Welcome." Four hundred new Space Marines filed in and took seats in the auditorium. Bringing it to near capacity. Either it was me or they were getting younger each year. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name...

I remember the barking and howling of the dogs. Not the average, neighborhood dog that barks at the mailman and has somehow gotten off of its chain, but wild, feral dogs. Never seen, only heard. Dark town and villages with no lights on anywhere; clouds in front of the moon making it so I literally cannot see my hand an inch in front of my face. The sand blowing in my nose and mouth, making breathing hard and smells imposs...

I have a great friend and his name is Tim McCravey.He joined the Marines instead of the Army or Navy.He bravely fought in the Persian Gulf War.It's people like him who Americans are thankful for.During the war, I wrote to him and he sent me twenty bucks.Anybody who has Tim for a friend, has plenty of luck.He and I were friends thirty years ago and we'e still friends today.It's very nice to know that he's patriotic to the...

The other day, I was reading a piece on storiesspace, titled “Choices” and was struck by the thought that certainly my life choices have had far-reaching unforeseen consequences. It was June, 1972. I had pre-registered for a summer seminar on Geomorphology of the North American Continent, so I decided to do my two week active duty for training before the summer semester began. I put in for, and was assigned to the Navy Sc...

“Missus. Missus. Missus.” said the Iraqi teenaged boy. I looked up. The sound “Missus.” Had become like a bird call, a constant background sound that came from the boys on the other side of the wire. “What?” I said. They giggled. “Jiggi-jiggi.” I shrugged and looked away. “Jiggi-jiggi . . . Jiggi-jiggi . . . Jiggi-jiggi . . . Jiggi-jiggi . . . Jiggi-jiggi. . . Missus . . . Jiggi-jiggi . . .Missus . . . Jiggi-jiggi.” this...

It had been more than ten days since I had a shower. It was a sweltering summer in South Korea. I worked the night shift, plotting points on maps and playing war games. During the day I sat at the gate and made sure that only the right people visited. The forest wasn’t too different than the ones I was used to in Montana. Some of the bugs were more like the ones I’d seen in Texas. When I wasn’t working, or on guard duty,...

It was growing light in a tiny valley a few miles from the Demilitarized Zone. This valley was the closest thing I had seen to a cemetery in Korea. Happy mounds encircled me on three sides and there was a misty, sacred feel to the place. It seems odd to call a grave a "happy mound," and a valley of graves a "happy valley," but they do. It was also a firing range. As we were unloading our M203A2 Grenade Launchers, I looked...

A bracket that holds the steering wheel to the dash came loose. The convoy of military vehicles pulled over and waited for a mechanic to come and fix the problem. We were parked on the side of a freeway in Korea, just before twenty little tollbooths, along the side of a tall cement wall. Everything was gray, the freeway with its buzzing gray cars, the wall, the sky. The trucks were technically green, but they seemed gray...

Christmas Far from Home PART ONE A cold wind swept the dirt street sending clouds of dust into the air. A few pedestrians scurried along the worn paths between the ruined buildings. Anxiety mixed with despair was the most common emotion that seemed to be etched deep into their weathered faces. Quickly they dashed across the dusty, rubble-filled street, eager to duck into the protective shadows to avoid being in the open f...

Sam trudged along the now familiar path around the storage area. Two hundred paces along the fence line, one hundred paces to the corner of the first building, two hundred fifty paces along the back of the building, and seventy-five paces back to the fence line, and then another round was complete. Forty laps, maybe even a few more, would be completed before his shift was over. Such was the life of a military security gua...

How I lost my way - Part 1This is about myself. I've never written a story, let alone about myself. I grew up in Michigan in the 50's with my older brother and parents. Grew up with a strong German mother and a workaholic Irish father. You could say we were a religious family, God fearing Catholics. As I write this I can say I had a wonderful life growing up, in want of nothing and plenty of love. At the age of nine was m...

  With a face begrimed, an old man climbed from a tattered cardboard box to a sight he knew - was an alley’s view, beneath the loading docks. The morning light would end the fight he always had to face, though just a dream, it always seemed so real it left a taste. But soon that taste would be replaced with a little shot of rye, some needed aid he took in trade at a little bar close by. On his flask was an image cast of o...