Triangle of War

January 14, 1957 (My grandfather, Phil Templeton wrote this as a class assignment)

War separates the men from the boys. The man in boys and the boy in men are many times brought to the surface during the course of a battle. This is not the only thing that was often done to those who are unfortunate enough to be thrown into its rage and torment. Sometimes good is magnified, but more often evil springs up from this abyss of death and destruction. 

Somewhere in the vast ocean a ship was quietly plowing the dead still waters not from the island of Milia. The troops on the ship were given the quiet signal as the island came into view. Among the troops which in a few hours would be invading the German island were two boys just out of high school. Carl Bryant and Bert James were part of the forces which were to wade onto the beach to face the blazing guns of the German forces. These two boys had played football together. Bert was a terrific runner and was large enough to gain that extra yard. His senior year he had been named the best player in the state. Carl was just an average lineman. He was small in size but many times he had thrown blocks on men much larger than himself in order to let Bert gain more yardage and another pat on the back. One he had received a broken rib as a result of a good block but he was not regretful of it because Bert had made a long run on that play. Carl had to make his way in life, but Bert just seemed to have everything go his way with no effort at all. 

Both Carl and Bert had dated the same girl in high school. Jane was a fine girl and both boys were fond of her. The fact that Bert was the better football player made no difference to Jane and so both boys hid their jealousy and shared her affections.

At the outbreak of war Carl had volunteered for the service. Bert was looking forward to the day Carl would be gone because then he would have Hane all to himself. He was sure he could persuade her to marry him then. This moment was never to arrive. The day before Carl was to leave Bert received a letter from the draft board saying that he was to report for induction on the next day. 

Now the boys sat side by side as the small boat was nearing the shore. Their faces had even tanned by the golden sun glistening down upon them the day before, but now in the darkness of the night their faces were pale as the stars in the heavens. Fear is a horrible thing, but they were not alone in their fear. Everyone in the battle area was scared and tense, awaiting the hail of flying bullets. After the battle is over the men will probably look back and blush with shame at their being afraid but fear is nothing to be ashamed of; the shame is on those who let their fear cause them to neglect their duty. Neither Bert nor Carl was thinking of home or Jane now; but of the inevitable hell which they would most surely invade once they had reached shore. 

The boat gate was lowered, and everyone remained still until the soft whisper of the caption told them to move out. The water was at once alive with the bullets from German guns. The water which was at first a deep blue had now turned to a wine pool beneath the troop's feet. Bert would not carry the ball across the line now, and neither could Carl block for Bert to try it. Each man was on his own now, and only fate could help them make it to the group of trees where they would receive protection. Fate was good to the boys, and they now sat down under the palm tree and viewed the riddled bodies of their fellow soldiers. The blood from their still warm bodies was swallowed by the sandy beach. Here and there a pool of blood was formed by the heel trach of someone who had gone on before. 

Day after day the boys fought side by side. One day Carl received a telegram from home saying that his father had died. Two days later Carl attended the funeral and was packing for the trip back to Milia. He had been away from Jane twelve months and she had realized now for the first time that she really loved Carl. She called Carl and that night they were married. The next day Carl left home to return to the torment of battle. 

Bert was not told of the wedding because his nerves were bad, and this news would perhaps destroy the real desire he had to live at this time and in battle the desire to live is the most effective weapon a soldier can carry. 

A scouting trip was to be made to discover enemy positions. Carl and Bert were elected to go, and just as they were ready to leave the mail car came in and each boy took his mail and started to read it. Carl, realizing that the wedding announcement would probably be on the front page, persuaded Bert to wait until they returned to read the mail. Bert stuck the paper into his coat pocket and walked with Carl into the dense jungle. His every thought the last few days had been of Jane back home sitting before an open fireplace just waiting for him to return. 

Before they had walked very far, they were attacked by a sniper's gunfire. One of the bullets struck Carl's rifle and now it was useless. Carl laid behind a tree stump and Bert was sheltered by a palm tree about ten yards from Carl. As Bert looked at Carl he realized now that there lay the only thing which could possibly prevent him marrying Jane should he live to see her again. It would be very helpful if the sniper's bullet could pierce Carl's heart. Carl called to Bert to take aim on the spot where the sniper's head would be when he came up to shoot. Carl was to stand up and draw the man's attention as the sniper rose to aim Bert was to blow him to pieces. The plan worked well, except that Bert did not fire until the sniper had pumped two bullets into Carl’s body. Berts bullet was true to its mark and the German tumbled to the ground.

Now Bert had nothing to worry about. Jane would be waiting for him at the dock, and they would be married at the first church in town. It was too much to look upon Carl’s blood-soaked body, so Bert started back to camp. When he was safely across the enemy lines, he pulled the paper from his pocket to see if he had been selected service man of the week. As he read the wedding announcement his heart turned with a flame of hate. He had to go back and make sure Carl could never breathe again. His knife was drawn from its holder as he neared the place where Carl lay. Bert was unaware of the gun barrel pointed at his heart by the dying sniper who lay a few yards away. The sniper was an expert show and Bert slumped to the ground under the impact of the bullet. The blood from his heart flowed freely down his chest and was now absorbed by the newspaper which had now become a deep red sponge. 

Many weeks later Carl lay in a hospital in Chicago. Jane was sitting at the bedside reading him the article of how Bert had died trying to save his pal Carl Bryant. No one but Carl will even know that Bert had come back to finish killing him.