Chapter 2

I reported to my unit and found that my orders had been changed. My performance in all my training had ended up drawing the attention of Delta not to be mistaken for Special Forces. I excelled again and was one of the top candidates all through the selection process, oh I was now SGT E-5 don’t know when I was a SPC E-4? I never got a promotion ceremony just handed my new rank and told I was now that rank. I didn’t care as my pay just went up and I was not spending much of anything. I had just turned 19 when I went on my first mission. We were in South America, I was not really good at Geography, so I was not sure which country we were in, we moved around so much and so fast it didn’t matter anyhow. All hell broke out as we just secured the guy we had come for. The guy to my right slammed into the wall behind him as the gun-fire was heard. Something punched my right shoulder at the same time. Then I couldn’t move my right arm and my rifle just hung from my tactical vest. I don’t even remember pulling my pistol. Everyone called me a freak because I could do everything with either hand; write, draw, throw, catch, shoot. I was ambidextrous as the professionals called it. Everyone else just called it weird. So, it was no problem for me to start shooting bad guys with my left hand as my whole right arm was just hanging useless. When my pistol was empty, I just holstered it and picked up my rifle with my left hand and fired one-handed. When that was empty the fight was over. I was trying to reload my rifle when our team medic got to me and found I had been shot in the shoulder, and it had dislocated my shoulder too. The bullet was a through and through which meant it went straight through my deltoid. Small hole going in bigger hole coming out, but not fatal. So, he put my shoulder back into the socket and bandaged the wound. I immediately felt the pain but now could move my arm a little. We had two KIA Jonesy on my right and Arnald three to my left. There were over 50 bad guys dead when we left with our package wounded now but alive.

A month later I found that I now had 5 ribbons on my uniform. Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, Army Achievement Medal x 2 (1 from Basic/AIT top 10 & 1 for Airborne/Ranger top 10), Army Commendation Medal (South America after being wounded I still engaged the enemy and protected my team ensuring mission completion), Purple Heart (nobody wants one). Since I was wounded, I could not go on any missions, so I was sent to school, which is considered light duty. Driver training, commo school (different types of radios) not the Military Occupation Specialty. So, I now had Jump Wings, Driver’s Badge, and expert marksman badge, three across under my 5 ribbons. And 10 days leave. First, I bought a truck nothing special just a little chevy luv 4x4 (had to be 4x4 to park at my unit lol) then I headed for CSU. I wanted to surprise Angel so I didn’t tell her I was coming. I did contact Rose who was sworn to secrecy and allowed into the house and Angel’s bedroom. So, when she came home from classes, undressed, and went to shower, she didn’t even realize I had gotten her suitcase out and attached all the chains again. I of course hid behind her bed when she came in and I realized she had no idea I was there. “Kneel”, I said as soon as she returned from her shower. Her squeal and jump were enough to cause her towel to fall leaving her naked except for her collar still locked around her beautiful neck. The pause was only a few seconds, then she was on her knees smiling so big I was afraid it would hurt her face. Several hours later someone knocked on her door and said dinner was ready and that we needed to eat if we were doing to keep all the noise up. Very embarrassed we dressed and went to eat with the rest of the women.

It was as we were eating that Angel noticed the bandage on my deltoid, at first, she assumed it was a tattoo as most military types got them. But she noticed there were two one on the front and one on the back. All of them wanted to know what happened. I told them that I was on a mission and had been shot. A bomb could have gone off and none of them would have noticed, they were just staring at me in shock. They all knew military life was dangerous but had never been confronted with it first-hand. Then I realized they were all nursing students. Diner was over and my wound was now the item of importance. They all wanted to see and change the bandage. The stitches had come out and I just had the bandages to keep it protected. I got to go to class with Angel the next day as her show and tell item. The instructor was glad to have a real gunshot wound for the nursing students to see before they faced one that was bleeding all over. It was actually fun; how many guys get to have 30 women pawing their bare chest and arm? My time went too fast and I had to drive back, this time I had both keys on my dog tags. I put one in my footlocker just in case I lost my dog tags. I went on several missions over the next year without getting another purple heart! And now I was SSG E-6, this time there was a ceremony as a few of us were get promoted. Angel was able to come and pin on my rank (still wearing her collar) nobody said anything about it either. I had a four-day weekend after the promotion and was going to Columbus with Angel when she got a call that her dad had had a heart attack. He was in Atlanta at Wellstar Medical Center in the Cardiac Care Unit. My unit put me on leave not pass and said to call with how long I needed to be. On the drive to Atlanta, I found out her mother died 3 years ago from Breast Cancer and she was an only child. She told me she was checked every year to ensure she did not get Breast Cancer herself. Her dad was not going to make it, he had coded 3 time in the CCU and each time more damage to his heart occurred. He was glad to see her before he died as she was too. Bill (not William) was glad she had someone who loved her and cared for her, he did notice the collar and in private confirmed its meaning. Angel just smiled with her hand on the collar as she told him that it did mean what he thought and that she had found out about them at age 9, and loved them both. Bill died the next night in his sleep peacefully. Angel cried but was happy he passed peacefully. Suddenly she was scared as her dad’s retirement was paying for her college. I told her she didn’t need to worry, I would pay from now on, she cried again. As with her mom, Bill was cremated. The ashes were added to her mother’s. The house sold in less than a week and the money was put away for college, it would be just enough to pay for the rest of her college expenses, I would provide her with spending money. Then I goofed up and asked her if she would marry me. The really long pause, followed by crying, then after getting her emotions back under control, Angel told me not until she had finished college, she promised her parents, but would marry me if I told her too, because she belonged to me. I recovered brilliantly, I had a small box made from stainless steel that was 1”X1”X ½” and a flat metal loop on the back that fit perfectly over her collar, the box could only be opened if it was taken off the collar and after she picked out a ring, I put it in the box and locked her collar on her again. When she finished college, I would marry her. All the women were crying after this, and I was back at my unit after 45 days leave. We did a few missions in Central and South America, a small island down there. I fired one shot the whole time we were on the island, and it was a warning shot that worked. I was later educated that I had fired “MY ONE AND ONLY WARNING SHOT!” for the rest of my military career.