The Wounds of War

Gary Blinco

Description

Gunships suddenly descended, fanning out from a central point around the Iroquois and sending streams of machine-gun fire and rockets into the jungle below. The Iroquois peeled away from the main formation and dipped below the tree line under the cover of the assault, dropping swiftly to a small paddy field. They spilled from the chopper and crouched low to the ground. The machine lifted and was gone . . .
Six allied soldiers on an impossible, secret mission in Vietnam to find and report on the enemy's supply lines on the motor roads in 'neutral' countries. For Australian Gary Bishop the assignment is one that takes him on a physical and emotional journey into hell.
Back in Australia, Gary's new wife Leanne is facing challenges of her own. Alone, pregnant and fighting an attraction to another man, she finds herself drawn in directions that she never anticipated.
The wounds of war run deep and Leanne and Gary will need all their strength to survive.

Sujets

• Histoire
• History

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 28 janvier 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456600327
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Wounds of War
 
By
 
Gary Blinco
 
 
Second Edition
Cop y ri g ht Gary Blinco 2005
 
Published by Z eus Publications 2005 h tt p :/ www. z eus - pub li ca ti ons.com P.O. Box 2554
Burlei g h MDC Qld 4220
A u stralia
 
Published for the Internet by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
Fir s t editio n p u bli sh ed b y Sea v ie w P re s s 2000
 
 
E d ited b y : Ma r y W ea v er
All Ri g hts R e s e rv e d
I SBN13: 978-1-4566-0032-7
National Library of Australia Listing: Blinco,G.
The W ounds of W ar
 
No part of this book m ay be reproduced in any for m , by photocop y ing or by any electronic or m echanical m ea n s, including infor m ation stora g e or retrie v al s y ste m s , w ithou t per m issio n i n w ritin g fro m bot h th e cop y ri g ht owner and the publisher of this boo k .
T his is a work of fiction and any rese m blance to any persons li v ing or dead is purely coincidental.
 
About the author
 
G a r y B lin c o is a Vi e t n a m V e t e r a n, h a vi n g c om p l e t e d two tours of du t y a s a n inf a nt r y soldi e r af t e r b e i n g c onscript e d during the National S e rvice era of t he sixti e s and ear l y s e v e nties. This i s h i s second book and he has two fur t her novels for release soon.
 
W hile his work to date has been l a r g e l y about so l diering and the Vi e tn a m W a r, his writing shows a de e p insi g h t into the hum a n condition and deals with personal relationships, including co n f lict and romance, which pr o vides a solid balance for the harshness of milit a ry c omb a t.
 
G a r y works in s a l e s a nd m a rk e ting in the fin a n c i a l s e rvi ce s industry and lives on the central coast of New South W a les.
 
You can visit his W e b site at: www. g a r y -blinco- books.webcentral.com.au
 
 
Ded i ca ti on
 
T his book is dedicated to those w ho continue to hurt, nursing the wounds of war, long after the last soldier sleeps.
 
 
A l so by G ary B linco
 
Down a Country Lane - Published by Zeus Publications
 
Under the Harvest Moon - Published by Zeus Publications
 
A no v e l se t durin g th e firs t bul k w h ea t har v es t o n th e D a rlin g D o w ns in 1957. Relationships, ro m ance and m urder in a si m ple rural co mm unity in a ti m e of prosperity and chan g e.
 
The Mystical Swagman – Published by Zeus Publications
 
Set i n earl y colonia l A u stralia , B r ennan is an orphan who g oes on the Wallaby T r ack about the bush with two old swa g m en. As he g r ows to m anhood he g ains m y stical powers and a collection of stran g e co m panions.
 
A Place in Time – Published by Zeus Publications
 
 
A ckno w l edgments
 
I w is h t o than k m y fa m il y fo r the ir patience and tolerance as I sat for hours at the k e y board w hene v er the story flo w ed and m y m ilitary co m r ades ( y ou k now who y ou are), who g a v e m e t he expe ri ence t o m a ke a w o r k li k e thi s possible.
 
 
T han k s to Mary Wea v er for editing the m anuscript.
 
 
D isclaimer
 
Thi s stor y i s entirel y fictitious , th e e v ent s described , an d the characters depicted ne v er existed, except in the i m a g ination of the author.
 
Any rese m blance to persons, li v ing or dead, is purely coincidental. A ny relationshi p t o si m ila r e v ent s tha t m ay ha v e occurre d i s also coincidental.
 
 
The Wounds of War
 
Ol d sol d ie r ca n yo u tel l me,
Why you’ve lost the gentle touch?
T hat bloomed like desert f l o w ers a f ter rain,
A nd the dreams you dreamed so s w eetly,
While they spurred your heart so much,
Seem broken now and b l ackened by your pa i n.
 
F orget the w ar they say, the past is over,
T he w r ongs of yesterday w ill slip a w ay.
Ti m e heals the deepest wounds, at last forever,
A nd your pain recedes behind another day.
But I’ll be here beside you,
When you wake up with the dawn
A nd I’ll hold you if the n i ght beco m es too long.
 
E ach day I’m searching deeper,
F or the one I knew so w ell,
When youth w as ours and simple pleasures gre w ,
A ll the joys of li f e w ere s w eeter,
Where hopes and dreams could d w ell,
A nd a f uture f ree of w ar w as calling through.
 
F orget the w ar they say, the past is over,
A world of love and peace is here to stay.
B ut soldiers know that peace is not forever,
And the future’s just a friend of yesterday.
But I’ll be here beside you,
When you wake up with the dawn
A nd I’ll hold you if the n i ght beco m es too long.
 
N ow I see the look so haunted,
In your eyes and on your f ace.
As I hold your s w eat-soaked body in the da w n,
And t he peace of mi nd you ’ ve w an t ed,
Since you le f t that w i cked place,
Now mocks you in a w orld of silent scorn.
 
F orget the w ar they say, the past is over,
T he w r ongs of yesterday fill hearts w ith sha m e.
O l d soldiers no w , just like a secret lover,
Are best put out to rest without a na m e.
But I’ll be here beside you,
When you wake up with the dawn,
A nd I’ll hold you if the n i ght beco m es too long.
 
So t he ques ti ons go unheeded,
T hey lie etched upon your f ace.
As your tired eyes burn f eebly in your head,
What you thought your country needed,
Somehow f ills you w i th d i sgrace,
‘Til you envy those old soldiers w ho are dead.
 
Don’t talk about the war, the past is over,
And righteous hearts regret our sinful ways.
O l d soldiers are a bitter sad re m i nder,
O f the follies of our blinded yesterdays.
But I’ll be here beside you,
When you face your final da w n,
A nd I’l l ho l d yo u ‘til l a t las t t he pai n has go n e.
 
 Gary Blinco, April 1998
 
 
C H A P TE R O N E
 
‘And that, quite si m pl y , is m y dile mm a’, General Landsdown said flatl y , hi s fac e re d w it h an g er an d frustration . ‘ I canno t reall y trus t the securit y o f th e A m erica n m ilitar y m achin e i n thi s case ; an y security lea k s w ill under m ine the operation co m pletel y . Public a w areness back in the world is beco m i ng strong about this war, and the balance is swin g i ng the w r ong w ay for those w ho ha v e to fi g ht the bloody battles. T he sli g htes t slip - u p w il l b e use d t o discredi t ou r acti v itie s an d cos t us resources and political support; and G od k no w s w e are fi g hting w ith one hand tied behind our back as it is.
 
‘And the ne g ati v e i m a g e of the war is fuelled by contri v ed reports from the v arious ne w s hounds w hom m y political m asters allow to infest the bases around the countr y . Left - w ing j ournalists who are only after sensationa l stories , no t necessaril y the truth. T he bastards would not reco g n is e th e trut h i f i t sa t o n thei r faces.’
 
T he A m erican w as a lar g e m an. T he h i g h do m e of his bald head drew attentio n a w a y fro m hi s rathe r m o r e interestin g , florid face. H i s hu g e sa gg i ng j owls and s m all, sharp, poin t ed teeth m ade him look li k e an E n g lish bulldo g . S m all w atery g r ey e y es co m pleted the i m a g e. L i k e m ost A m erican officers, his chest was f e stooned with rows of ribbons, m ost of which m eant nothing to the Aus t ralian, Bri g adier Anthony J acob, who sat opposite him across the des k .
 
T he Australian was a s m all m an by co m parison, co m pact and fit loo k in g , his s m all head cropped with ti g ht, curl y , g r ey hair. He s m iled at the m ental i m a g e he had for m ed of his co m panion, and the m an’s arro g ant definition of A m erica as ‘the world’. T he term was popular with the A m erican enlisted m en, exposing a v i ew that the g ood old USA was the centre of the uni v erse. But J acob had ne v er heard a senior officer use the term before.
 
‘So j ust what do y ou want m e to pro v ide, General?’ J acob as k ed. T he big A m erican rose suddenly fr o m his chair and wal k ed across the room to stand thou g htfully before a lar g e m ap that hung on the wall. J acob took the opportunity to study the rather la v i shly appointed roo m . Unli k e the austere conditions endured at the Australian base at Nui Dat, the A m erican A r m y clearly en j o y ed a wide ran g e of creature co m f orts. T he building had a feeling of per m anence about it, not the te m porary m a k eshift nature of the de m ountable, Conex - st y l e buildin g s of the A ustralian T ask Force.
 
This building w as constructed of soli d ti m ber , w it h rea l g lass windows and a pea k ed iron roof that h e lped k eep the room cool. A s m all air - conditioning unit finished the j ob and the inside te m perature was deli g htfully bracin g . T he decor was subdued and co m f ortable, with soft ru g s o n th e floo r an d bri g h t print s co m p le m e ntin g th e m ilitary photo g raphs on the walls. J acob loo k ed with en v y at the fa m ily portraits on the A m erican’s des k , and the hi g h - bac k ed s w i v el chair that still rotated slowly from the big m an’s sudden v acating of the leather seat.
 
‘Well, Mr J acob’, the A m erican said, startling J acob a little as he had been concentrating on the furnishin g s and not on his co m panion, he had al m ost for g otten the question he had as k ed. ‘As we ha v e already discussed, we k now that the Cong are snea k ing supplies, a mm unition and troops down throu g h Laos and Ca m bodia. But I need to be able to pro v e it.’
 
‘Why not send so m e of those nosy j ournalists y ou m entioned into the place?’ the A ustralian said, cutting the A m erican short. ‘ T hey are al w a y s afte r a bi g stor y an d the y ca n g o prett y m u c h w h er e the y li k e in this sector; not li k e w e poor silly bloody soldiers.’
 
General Landsdown turned to peer a t hi m w it h hi s s m al l w a tery bulldog e y es. ‘You are ri g ht on both counts’, he a g reed. ‘But finding infor m ation to discredit