War
Content
Little do I know that my life would end up this way. It was during the World
War II when I was drafted into the army. A man with a match stick like figure like me
was taken into the military due to my language skills. Confrontation with the whole
world calls up for my expertise in Russian and German in the battlefield to deal with
the extraction of information from the numerous prisoners of war. Thinking back
about it, it was really a stupid a decision for me to join the army for I was really in
most part of my life, a pacifist. But the roaring nationalism spirits that was blew into
our ears through the radio made my lose my mind and earn me a place among the
21st Brigadier Squad under the leadership of Major Sephiroth.
There is more joy and smiles to be found in a graveyard than to be amongst
the 21st Brigadier Squad. There were 10 of us and we were constantly thrown in the
frontline of battles. The first week I spent with this company was nothing short than
a surprise. Not a day goes by without avoiding a shower of bullets and grenades
and clinging on to dear life from being separated from this humble body. It was then
I really learn the fact that life is indeed fleeting and temporary. Though I thread
every skirmish with fear and worry my comrades ploughed through the battlefield
with a smile carved on their face. Every kill they score would bring such joy to these
emotionless soldiers. I resented them, I felt like there is no more trace of humanity
left in them especially Major Sephiroth. He seemed to enjoy the whole massacre like
a sport and would never hesitate to take another life away.
“What’s the matter Big Brain? Cat got your tongue?” Clark seems to enjoy
calling me that nickname. The grin on his face annoyed me but I was hardly in any
position to demand respect especially when they have been keeping me alive all
these while.
“No nothing… I’m just thinking how nice it is for all of you to enjoy a war so
much without thinking about your family at home”
There was a sudden silence that loomed and the air went still. In my 1 month
of experience on the battlefield I’ve never felt this threatened before. The whole
squad was throwing daggers of look to me and even without saying a word I felt
cornered.
“So that is what you think of us huh, Big Brain?”
“With all due respect sir, that was just my opinion. You seem to genuinely
enjoy all these bloodshed Major.”
To my surprised, everyone then suddenly burst out a deafening laughter. It
just doesn’t make any sense, at one moment they were all scary and now they are
all laughing at me. Perplexed by the laughter I left the room in distress.
On the next morning we were assigned to extract an important informer who
was stuck in Berlin. It was an awkward morning, everyone looked so drained away. I
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Of War and Men
told myself that they must have had too much drink last night and brushed the
thought away. We used a local truck to infiltrate inside Berlin. Unfortunately lady
luck was not on our side that day as a random Nazi checkpoint was established at
the road towards our destination. With our cover blown, we had to fight back. When
the Major threw a rifle to me I had a premonition that this will be the end of me.
Normally the whole squad is composed enough during any encounter with the
enemy but this time it was different. There was no more a look of joy on their faces.
It was a side of them that I had never known.
The fight for survival at the North German Plains was a real definition of hell
on Earth. The deafening sound of bullets and mortars filled my ear and numb my
hearing. Clark managed to get us away from the checkpoint but we were not
without a loss. James, Ethan, Mark and Donovan was killed inside the truck with
numerous bullets going through their head. The inside of the truck was no more
than a pool of blood and the stench of it made my stomach twist and turn at the
same time.
“Hey Big Brain..”
As the voice recalled my sanity back to Earth, I looked towards the major who
called me. He was sweating profusely but still he was wearing that emotionless face
that he always had.
“Get the letters… from their body….”
“What letter? I don’t follow you sir…”
Sephiroth reached the inside of his uniform and revealed a blood stained
letter. No word was uttered but I took the letter from him in total agreement of the
importance of the letter. Slowly I waded through the bodies in the truck in search of
letters inside their uniform. As I was done with the assignment, Clark told me that
he is going to drop me at the extraction point. I was confused at first as to why am I
being sent there but he said that I will understand.
I will not forget the soft smile on Clark’s face when I was taken away by a
chopper at the helipad. It was a smile with tenderness and hope and these two
words were the last word in the dictionary if I were to ever describe the 21 st
Brigadier. As I contemplate my fate, I take a look at the letters and discovered the
addresses were already written on it. Some of it was smeared by blood but I could
make out the words written.
“Those are farewell letters, Rookie. You’re in charge of delivering them now.”
The man with the name tag “Alex” explained to me.
It took me weeks to getting around delivering the letters. As I reached my
final destination, my eyes widened. I double checked the address and it turned out
to be correct and I was not dreaming. Major Sephiroth’s letter was addressed to an
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Of War and Men
orphanage. I expected his letters to be sent to his mother or wife just like the rest of
the team but this was beyond my imagination. As I approached the entrance, a
woman in her mid-20s caught a glimpse of me and smiled. Her eyes wandered
about my uniform and once she was done she slowly walked towards me.
“Its Sephiroth isn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am. He died an honourable death Ma’am! I’ve never seen a man as
fearless as he!”
Just when I was about to hand her the letter, rain started to fall. The girl
however was fixed to the ground reading the letter. Her eyes were definitely
wandering off to a distant land. The loneliness reflected inside the iris sucked every
senses out me. I believe that the rain was still falling but I couldn’t tell anymore
“Honourable death you say? What is the use of “honour” when you are
“dead”?”
I stood there motionless, not knowing what to say. Realizing my predicament
the girl placed her hand on my chest.
“Good sir, honour doesn’t feed children nor does it make the world run.”
Suddenly the door of the orphanage flung opened and a group of kids ran
towards my direction. The girl was still oblivious towards the rain that has soaked
her dress but she was quick to realize that the children were worried of her.
“Daddy Seph won’t be coming home anymore, he has to work overseas for a
very long time.”
“Awww! I wanted to show him my drawings!”
“Hush~!”
The scene that I saw that day will ever be engraved in my mind. I have no
idea about their background at all and I assumed that all of them were nothing but
bloodthirsty mercenaries. The look of joy on the children’s faces when they talked of
the major and the hollow smile of the girl in front of me was that final blow that
struck my mind of how guilty I am of placing such shallow judgment on all of them.
As I took my leave, the girl was just standing there watching me go under the
shower of the pouring rain and my heart shattered.
3 | Page
Of War and Men
War II when I was drafted into the army. A man with a match stick like figure like me
was taken into the military due to my language skills. Confrontation with the whole
world calls up for my expertise in Russian and German in the battlefield to deal with
the extraction of information from the numerous prisoners of war. Thinking back
about it, it was really a stupid a decision for me to join the army for I was really in
most part of my life, a pacifist. But the roaring nationalism spirits that was blew into
our ears through the radio made my lose my mind and earn me a place among the
21st Brigadier Squad under the leadership of Major Sephiroth.
There is more joy and smiles to be found in a graveyard than to be amongst
the 21st Brigadier Squad. There were 10 of us and we were constantly thrown in the
frontline of battles. The first week I spent with this company was nothing short than
a surprise. Not a day goes by without avoiding a shower of bullets and grenades
and clinging on to dear life from being separated from this humble body. It was then
I really learn the fact that life is indeed fleeting and temporary. Though I thread
every skirmish with fear and worry my comrades ploughed through the battlefield
with a smile carved on their face. Every kill they score would bring such joy to these
emotionless soldiers. I resented them, I felt like there is no more trace of humanity
left in them especially Major Sephiroth. He seemed to enjoy the whole massacre like
a sport and would never hesitate to take another life away.
“What’s the matter Big Brain? Cat got your tongue?” Clark seems to enjoy
calling me that nickname. The grin on his face annoyed me but I was hardly in any
position to demand respect especially when they have been keeping me alive all
these while.
“No nothing… I’m just thinking how nice it is for all of you to enjoy a war so
much without thinking about your family at home”
There was a sudden silence that loomed and the air went still. In my 1 month
of experience on the battlefield I’ve never felt this threatened before. The whole
squad was throwing daggers of look to me and even without saying a word I felt
cornered.
“So that is what you think of us huh, Big Brain?”
“With all due respect sir, that was just my opinion. You seem to genuinely
enjoy all these bloodshed Major.”
To my surprised, everyone then suddenly burst out a deafening laughter. It
just doesn’t make any sense, at one moment they were all scary and now they are
all laughing at me. Perplexed by the laughter I left the room in distress.
On the next morning we were assigned to extract an important informer who
was stuck in Berlin. It was an awkward morning, everyone looked so drained away. I
1 | Page
Of War and Men
told myself that they must have had too much drink last night and brushed the
thought away. We used a local truck to infiltrate inside Berlin. Unfortunately lady
luck was not on our side that day as a random Nazi checkpoint was established at
the road towards our destination. With our cover blown, we had to fight back. When
the Major threw a rifle to me I had a premonition that this will be the end of me.
Normally the whole squad is composed enough during any encounter with the
enemy but this time it was different. There was no more a look of joy on their faces.
It was a side of them that I had never known.
The fight for survival at the North German Plains was a real definition of hell
on Earth. The deafening sound of bullets and mortars filled my ear and numb my
hearing. Clark managed to get us away from the checkpoint but we were not
without a loss. James, Ethan, Mark and Donovan was killed inside the truck with
numerous bullets going through their head. The inside of the truck was no more
than a pool of blood and the stench of it made my stomach twist and turn at the
same time.
“Hey Big Brain..”
As the voice recalled my sanity back to Earth, I looked towards the major who
called me. He was sweating profusely but still he was wearing that emotionless face
that he always had.
“Get the letters… from their body….”
“What letter? I don’t follow you sir…”
Sephiroth reached the inside of his uniform and revealed a blood stained
letter. No word was uttered but I took the letter from him in total agreement of the
importance of the letter. Slowly I waded through the bodies in the truck in search of
letters inside their uniform. As I was done with the assignment, Clark told me that
he is going to drop me at the extraction point. I was confused at first as to why am I
being sent there but he said that I will understand.
I will not forget the soft smile on Clark’s face when I was taken away by a
chopper at the helipad. It was a smile with tenderness and hope and these two
words were the last word in the dictionary if I were to ever describe the 21 st
Brigadier. As I contemplate my fate, I take a look at the letters and discovered the
addresses were already written on it. Some of it was smeared by blood but I could
make out the words written.
“Those are farewell letters, Rookie. You’re in charge of delivering them now.”
The man with the name tag “Alex” explained to me.
It took me weeks to getting around delivering the letters. As I reached my
final destination, my eyes widened. I double checked the address and it turned out
to be correct and I was not dreaming. Major Sephiroth’s letter was addressed to an
2 | Page
Of War and Men
orphanage. I expected his letters to be sent to his mother or wife just like the rest of
the team but this was beyond my imagination. As I approached the entrance, a
woman in her mid-20s caught a glimpse of me and smiled. Her eyes wandered
about my uniform and once she was done she slowly walked towards me.
“Its Sephiroth isn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am. He died an honourable death Ma’am! I’ve never seen a man as
fearless as he!”
Just when I was about to hand her the letter, rain started to fall. The girl
however was fixed to the ground reading the letter. Her eyes were definitely
wandering off to a distant land. The loneliness reflected inside the iris sucked every
senses out me. I believe that the rain was still falling but I couldn’t tell anymore
“Honourable death you say? What is the use of “honour” when you are
“dead”?”
I stood there motionless, not knowing what to say. Realizing my predicament
the girl placed her hand on my chest.
“Good sir, honour doesn’t feed children nor does it make the world run.”
Suddenly the door of the orphanage flung opened and a group of kids ran
towards my direction. The girl was still oblivious towards the rain that has soaked
her dress but she was quick to realize that the children were worried of her.
“Daddy Seph won’t be coming home anymore, he has to work overseas for a
very long time.”
“Awww! I wanted to show him my drawings!”
“Hush~!”
The scene that I saw that day will ever be engraved in my mind. I have no
idea about their background at all and I assumed that all of them were nothing but
bloodthirsty mercenaries. The look of joy on the children’s faces when they talked of
the major and the hollow smile of the girl in front of me was that final blow that
struck my mind of how guilty I am of placing such shallow judgment on all of them.
As I took my leave, the girl was just standing there watching me go under the
shower of the pouring rain and my heart shattered.
3 | Page
Of War and Men
