“Remember the end of WW2 when the Nazis put their children into the field. A lot of GIs, who couldn’t envision a little kid being deadly accurate with a rifle, didn’t come home.”
— CHURCH 10●19●62 Chapter 62
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His team was on patrol. The LT was in back, Top was in front, Jimmy from “Hicksville” somewhere was his buddy. They came upon a Raghead Boy beating a puppy with a stick. No ROE for this. Jimmy took the pup; I administered a boot butt. And we moved on.
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Months later, one night, evening really, the dog went nuts. Jimmy was up; I was dozing our hole. “The kid’s in the wire. Coming for his dog?”, he whispered. ROE was to waste him. Jimmy was still from “Hicksville”. The Raghead Boy made it in; as did his unseen friends. Suicide bombers. Carnage. What was left of Jimmy went to “Hicksville” for burial. No one made it but me. LT, Top, the the team, even the dog. All wasted. I got hit; shrapnel and some pieces of the Raghead Boy. Maybe even his friends.
Really, they should have killed me. They did kill me. Just was taking a while to die.
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Back in the world. Partial D. Paid for room and booze. Even some weed. Family mostly didn’t understand. Unks and Unks in law who’d been to the “Republic of” did. Just drifting. Trying to save the unsavable. Why me?
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One night, drifting, found an “urban yute”. Beating a puppy with a stick.
I flashed.
Saved the puppy. Beat the kid with the same stick. His momma was watching and called the cops.
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I was convicted of misdemeanor assault by virtue of diminished capacity. Quietly shipped to a VA hospital for whatever. Doing an indeterminate stretch of at least 15. No big deal. Just waiting to join my team.
Year later, I heard that the “urban yute” had done a home invasion robbery. With some friends. Tied up the family. Got the goods. His friends left; he didn’t. Stopped to rape the kids, made the parents watch, then beat them all to death with a stick. He got juvee until he was 21.
Guess I was “Jimmy”. I should have killed both “Raghead” boys. What could they have done? Given mey 30. Sent me to my patrol. No good deed ….
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Reinke Faces Life 