Chapter 1

25 May Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Providence, Afghanistan Jeff

After a long day and half the night, me, Sgt Jefferson Alexander Davis USMC, and my twin brother, Sgt Jackson Andrew Davis USMC, foster brothers HM2 Martinez Sanchez Davis USN and SSgt Alexander Boone Davis USAF are taking a late-night walk (0300) along the runway and talking about the mission coming to an end soon, and our future. I am an assistant warehouse chief with MALS 14 Dragons (Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron). Jackson is a Drone Pilot (RQ-7Bv2 Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Operator) with MUV-2 Night Owls (Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2).

Martinez is a Corpsman with MWSS 272 (Marine Wing Support Squadron 272). Alexander is a 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary autocannon Technician with the 104th Fighter Squadron Maryland ANGB (Air National Guard Bureau). We Four had joined the Military to earn money for college.

Our family had fostered Martinez and Alexander since they were little. Their mothers would not give up custody for dad and mom to adopt them. My dad has said one of the proudest days of his life is when they both turned Eighteen, they took the family name of Davis as their own.

Our father John Robert Davis Sr runs a successful ariel agriculture application business (crop dusting) with older brothers John Jr and Michael Flying 2-502B Air Tractor and a 504 Air Tractor Twin seat trainer. We all have Commercial Pilot Licenses and have worked in the family business prior to joining the Military. I am working on a Business Degree in Material Management and moving the world in an orderly manner. Jackson an Engineering Aero Space Degree to design better autonomous drones.

Martinez is working on a degree in Environment Health to keep us from poisoning the planet and each other. Alexander is working on a degree in Robotic Engineering machines to do the necessary work that we have to do but is too dangerous for people to do up close and personally.

We talk of home, the future, and the friends we have made and lost. It was time to call quits for the night.

Boom in coming mortars and rockets. Lights and flares lit the sky and perimeter. Having our body armor and helmets with us we tightened up our gears, you go nowhere without body armor, helmet and personal wepon. The Regimental Sargent Major who is always looking, no matter what service or unit you belonged to. You and your superior will catch hell with EXTRA HARD DUTY if he catches you without all of it on you. We started running back to our work areas for the personal check formation that we know will happen. We spotted 15 or so Black outfitted armed men coming through Two breaks in the fence coming at us. With our personal weapons we locked and loaded to stop the enemy. Our load of Sixty rounds each would not last too long.

I saw A MV-22 Osprey was up a head with Two loaded MA Duces (M-2 50 caliber heavy machine gun) set up for tomorrow’s operations. Jack and Alex each grabbed the 84-pound weapon, I and Mart each grabbed 2 cans of ammunition at 35 pounds each. Setting up an improvised position on some sandbags Jack and I covered One gap in the fence as Alex and Mart covered the other. We begin to engage the enemy killing or wounding several.

The outgoing fire caused the enemy to pay attention to us. A mortar round hit to out left showering us with fragments and wounded each of us. I went to get more ammunition from the nearby aircraft, and an AK-47 round hit me in the thigh. Hirt and burned but missing any bone. Bandage from the first aid pouch and get the ammunition to the gun.

Jack

A sniper hit my helmet putting some shrapnel into the side of my head. Wounded but not serious.

Having trouble seeing clearly. Keep the gun running. Jeff returned with more rounds dragging his bleeding leg. Jack, aren’t you supposed to avoid AK rounds bro? He replied yes and what about you keeping your head down?

The reaction force was coming but would we still be alive and fighting when they got here?

Grenades were now coming in closer now; the enemy was that close. BOOM a grenade landed on top of us. The concussion and fragments are causing my head to spin, blackness.

Mart

Alex handled the M-2 as I feed rounds into it. I ran to an aircraft to get more ammo. I saw enemies trying to get right of Jack and Jeffs position. I armed the gun in the aircraft and stopped their movement permanently. I heard rifle fire from Alexs’s position realizing he needed ammunition. I grabbed Two cans and ran to him. He had moved the gun to cover a Third gap created in the wire. Thanks bro he replied as I dropped both cans. I saw he was bleeding from the shoulder and bandaged him up. We could hear the reaction force coming. A hammer hit my head that spun me around and then nothing.

Alex

We had all learned the only non-combatant in this war were Chaplains. They always had the biggest guys around with the highest rifle range scores around as assistants, drivers, and bodyguards. The rest of us depended on the guy on our left or right when bullets started to fly. Mart was a Corpsman, but he did know how to shoot. All of us Davis boys did. Dad taught us from an early age to fire rifles and pistols.

Mart left to get more rounds. I heard outgoing fire from behind me and saw Mart had engaged people coming through a Third brake in the wire. I hauled my gun to a new position to cover both gaps. I fired the last of my M-2 rounds and returned to rifle fire.

Then a round hit me in the shoulder it burned. Mart arrived and bandaged my shoulder to slow the bleeding, then reloaded the gun. I heard a bang and saw his helmet fly off as the round spun him around. Before I could act there was an explosion in front of me, mortar fragments hit me. I reached of the M-2 trigger to go down fighting when a voice said easy guy. A Corpsmen pulled me aside from the gun and a Marine started firing it. I felt a stab as the Corpsmen said morphine. Out I went.

Jeff

Started to feel the pain. Cannot see, reaching for my eyes I felt the bandages, want to take them off. A hand stopped me and said you are awake I see. You are on an Air Force C-17 medical evacuation aircraft bound for Germany.

Where are my brothers!

I am here bro both Jack and Alex called out. Jack said Mart is still out. I am glad you are all still with me I Replied! I then asked Jack what happened. I do not know I woke up only about an hour ago myself. A nurse came by and gave all Three of us pain medication and back out we went.

I came back to consciousness as I felt the jet start landing procedures, pilots know and feel aircraft flight changes and what those things were about. Casualty clearing at the airport was serious ones first. We are in the middle of the pack.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center -Kaiserslautern, Germany Jeff

The Hospital put us in a quad room not on a ward. All kinds of senior people come and ask questions. An Army Bird Colonel asked Jeff; what were we doing before the attack, how did we react to the attack, what were we doing when the enemy wounded us? He got so tired of the questions and replied to which wounds 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.

My brother Jeff just likes to make people angry. Mart said just tell him the answer to his questions and stop being a smart ass. The doctor in our room told the Colonel that was all the questions today. A Marine Major saw us about 2 hours later and chewed Jack out, and then told us to please play nice with all the people that come and question us. Aye, aye, Sir Three bags full Sir, we replied and promised to play nice.

We got to call Dad, Mom, and the Family. Let them know that our actions had not critically wounded us. The wound in my leg hit no bone but did damage some soft tissue. Took about 20-25 small pieces of grenade fragment from my arms and face. Mortar fragment from my shoulder, I did not even know when it hit me. Jeff has a new hair crease line on his head where the sniper round scrapped it.