Chapter 28 was pretty short and includes a transition to a backstory chapter about Jean's grandfather in WW2, so I included Chapter 29. It's about a place called Bloody Ridge (also known as Edson's Ridge) on the island of Guadalcanal. My great uncle was there during the battle as a Navy Seabee. The stories he told about the "raggedy-assed" Marines there were why I decided to join the Marines myself.
Since I started the first draft of the story on the anniversary of the battle, I felt I had to include an homage to those that fought and died there, and I had to include mention of one of the Marine Corps iconic weapons- the Kabar fighting- utility knife. I carried one myself for many years.
Anyhow I hope you enjoy the interlude. The fighting was taken from factual accounts, but the names are fictitious.
Cheers,
Charlie