Creative Writing
Saving Private Ryan – A soldier’s perspective.
It was seven in the morning. It was Black. Tension building clouds loomed overhead, as we inched closer to our destination. Beads of salty sweat appeared on my forehead, and rain water dripped slowly down to the end of my nose. Sea water crashed against the side of the landing craft where me and my fellow soldiers stood. I felt sick. The frantic rocking of the craft made my stomach lurch violently. I vomited; as many others were doing. The putrid stench hung in the air. It was a horrific reminder of the hell that lay ahead.
I could barely stand still, it was like hundreds of men were pushing me at once, side to side I went not able to control which way I was tossed about. I looked down at my feet. The constant drone of the engines was driving me insane. I felt I had to try and get my mind off this terrifying task, that we were about to undertake.
Everyone on the craft was shaking uncontrollably we were not far from the shore. I couldn’t think straight. Everywhere I looked. Panic. Would they notice if I didn’t get off when the craft landed? My eyes flitted side to side watching all of the soldiers around me.
I could smell the fear coming off every single one of them. They were silent. Not a word was spoken. We waited so patiently for the command; it felt like a lifetime had passed. Suddenly it came “Clear the hole, I’ll see you on the beach” The words I had been dreading the whole journey. The prolonged escape from the preluding panic.
The water sprayed over the side persistently as we got closer. I was saturated. It was such a depressing situation. I could hear the splattering of machine guns in the distance, guns and bombs waiting to obliterate every one of us. Grown men flinched all around me as the sound of death approached; each bullet forced me into a crouched position. The walls of the craft my only protection, my armour, my saviour.
Suddenly the incessant drone of the engines died down into a new and terrifying tone. I knew what was coming. Bombs blasted through the water next to the boat where we were positioned. It was intense now, I gripped tight hold of my gun, it was my only friend. The only thing that could drag me through this nightmare.
The shrill sound of the whistle pierced my ears, as the deck wheel spun frantically, straining a little, as though to keep us safe in the walls of the craft.
We braced ourselves as the ramp lowered. Our fate was completely unknown. “SPLASH” The ramp had hit the water, our ordeal had barely begun. I felt like it should be over already.
It was horrendous. Complete and utter chaos. I was frozen still; my feet were glued to the floor. The first five rows of soldiers were destroyed; mown down with the first intense blast of the machine guns. They did not stand a chance. I knew it was an absolutely terrible thing to think, but I was so glad to be positioned at the back of the craft, away from death.
The spatter of machine guns made me numb all over, it was if I had been plunged into a bucket of icy cold water. My chest tightened. Breathing became a great struggle; it was almost as if I had forgotten how to use my lungs. Bullets raced past my head as I struggled to climb over flailing bodies. The pinging on the metal made survivors wince. I felt like a child again, when I used to play war games in the street with my friends. But this was serious, this was genuinely terrifying, this was a matter of life or death!
I struggled desperately to break free from this packed environment. We were easy targets and being packed in like sardines made it impossible to escape. The craft groaned at the weight of soldiers hitting the freezing cold floor. A devastating image.
The rancid smell of bullets piercing unprepared flesh was disgusting. I felt as though my own body had been a victim of gun fire. Innocent as I was if felt horrendous to be a witness to so many deaths. What had I done to deserve this? Men flung themselves uselessly overboard in desperate attempts to escape. Whilst I was unable to move, still glued to the floor, my eye transfixed on the beach ahead.
I couldn’t believe the hell that had been unleashed on us. Soldiers, my friends, the people whom I trusted with my secrets, my emotions and even my life. Gone. Slaughtered animals in an abattoir.
In seconds the cold, hard deck of the craft had been transformed into a carpet of death, limp bodies piled on top of one another. Blood staining everything it touched.
A hand grabbed me from behind, and someone screamed “Jump!” My legs were paralysed, it was impossible, I couldn’t jump overboard. Suddenly I realised, I needed to survive. Struggling, I clambered over the left side of the craft, my legs and arms fumbling for places to hold on to, like I was in the dark, trying to find light. It was so quick, but the next thing I knew, I plunged myself into the murky, icy cold waters of the channel.
What I had just thrown myself into - I had no idea.
The water was freezing. One thousand knives pierced my skin as I came in contact with the channel. It was horrific.
The vague, murky water made seeing difficult. It ran red with fresh blood and morsels of dead flaky flesh floated in front of me.
I struggled to kick to the surface. My gun and armour weighed me down. All around men were drowning, disappearing into the unknown, black depths of the channel. Not able to swim to the surface for air. It seemed even the elements were the enemy. The channel’s waters seized our bodies, preparing to swallow us whole. We didn’t stand a chance.
Bullets sliced through the water’s surface, zipping past my suspended body. Flesh exploded into an opaque cloud of red, like an unprepared firework, only this was disgusting and far worse. Men desperately fumbled for straps and clips on their packs. Uselessly throwing themselves around. Determined to break free from this tangled death trap. More soldiers dropped into the dark waters of the channel. Bewildered, confused and dumbfounded.
Men stood on others, trying to escape. Using helmets as stepping stones and people as floats. Grabbing and scratching at the sides of the craft, as if they were trapped in a metal box desperately trying to escape.
I kicked my way to the surface, clutching my fellow comrades to help me up. Not caring if people were sinking beneath me. I needed air; I couldn’t afford to waste any more precious time underwater. A second later I flew to the surface, like a fisherman’s float bobbing on the water, going under with the occasional bite. Only it wasn’t a bite, it was a soldier helplessly clinging to my leg for safety.
I gulped in a vast amount of essential air and froze. The noise. The horror that lay just in front of me on the beach. This was the worst nightmare I had ever had. Screaming everywhere, grown men crying like babies wanting their mothers. The deafening noise grew louder and louder. Bombs exploding into a downpour of sand. Death was everywhere I gazed. Sheer panic.
I took hold of my gun, squeezing it tightly, “It’s ok” I whispered “We’ll get through this”. Somehow reassuring my friend made me stronger. It really was every man for himself now!
I desperately made my way over to the beach. Ducking and diving at every explosion, every bullet, everything that would stop me. I lunged at the barricade taking cover from death. A man lay about two foot from where I was positioned, half of his insides sprawled out on the beach. “BOOM” Sand showered everywhere. The body which had lay there seconds before had now, disappeared; vanished into thin air. Like a magic trick.
I scanned the beach terrified of what devastating things I might encounter next. It was a rubbish heap. Littered in dead bodies and stained by blood. Limbs covered the ground like a carpet. Soldiers shouting and screaming in pain.
Instructions were being given to move forward, but once again I was paralysed. The fear that raced through me, made me nauseous inside. Everything was happening in slow motion. Men fell to the ground every second. Screaming and crying in agony. The sheer terror on their faces was barely visible under layers of blood and sand.
Smoke filled the lungs of so many men, as they stumbled around. Blind. So many were ablaze. Flames enshrouding bodies into ash. While men frantically tried to douse the flames, they had been smothered in.
This was hideous. I couldn’t stand it anymore, watching behind a glass screen as my innocent friends were destroyed.
I knew that proceeding up the beach was the only option I had left.
I crawled along the floor, slowly at first, hiding behind corpses. They were my only protection and now part of my armour against the incessant machine guns.
The sand was saturated with blood. My hands sunk into the stained surface. It felt like quick sand. Sucking me in. Once again there was another force, stopping me from surviving.
I ducked as a speeding bullet raced past my head.
I was near the sandbank now just a few more yards. Scrambling on my hands and knees I scurried along the sand to safety. Like a rat running down a sewer. The sandbank took the full force of my body and armour. My body imprinted in the sand beneath me.
Relief rushed down every part of me, I had made it, but it wasn’t over yet. More soldiers hit the bank. Survivors of the horror we had just encountered. Bombs still scattered sand everywhere, raining down on the corpses below. Constant firing of guns, stunned more soldiers. Deafening others. Causing chaos everywhere.
Medics attended to wounded soldiers, hopelessly fumbling with bandages and morphine. Dissecting limbs from screaming bodies. Hurried attempts to save lives. Heroes, risking their own lives to saves others.
I heard the captain muttering things. He seemed miles away, bewildered by it all, planning the next move. Everyone around me was murmuring. Going over what had just happened. Preparing themselves for the next step. While the enduring gunfire in the background remained.
Soldiers continued to make it. Casualties everywhere. Like a hospital without any doctors. Diffused all over the beach. A carpet of corpses, of death, of extermination.
My body trembled as a Bangalore torpedo emerged. Terror struck through every one of us, passing down the line. Like a flu virus infecting everyone it touched.
Chaos took hold as the torpedo was pushed over the sandbank to disorientate the enemy. I gripped tight hold of my gun once more. My life was the most important thing. Instructions were shouted at us, but I was deafened by a bomb nearby. Shell shock. An incessant ringing pierced my ears as the most important part of the task was explained. Soon enough my hearing developed again.
Screams of dying men filled my head. The wind screamed with them, making the noise almost unbearable. Unfortunately it was essential that they were ignored, so we could concentrate. Naughty children who needed to be taught a lesson. It was appalling.
Suddenly it came “Fire in the hole” I ducked, cramming my face into the sand under me and sheltering under my hands. “BOOM” The torpedo exploded into the air, like one thousand fireworks. Sending a vast amount of sand soaring up into the sky. Then raining back down on us like filthy snow.
Half of the sandbank had vanished; disappeared in a second, with no chance of returning.
I hurried over to the other side of the bank with the rest of my unit. We had succeeded. The German army was on the retreat.