Proud to Be an American

"Sargeant!" Corporal Baker wailed over his left shoulder. "We got another one!! Sargeant!"1

Sargeant Gray came tripping out of the make-shift guardshack he and his boys threw up with the help of two other squads in their battalion the night before. It was pitch black on the outskirts of Baghdad at two in the morning. The only light was a single bulb suspended from the corner of the eave that was attached to a hand-crank generator. 2

It was still 85 degrees in the desert after dark and without air conditioning it was hard to sleep in full gear. Only half awake, James Gray staggered to the sand bag roadblock and struggled to spot the possible intruder/probable target coming down the country road toward them.3

They hadn't seen much traffic or any action since taking their post. The boys were bored. Hurry up and wait. Their assignment was to secure the road and turn around any civilians that tried to cross the blockade. Standing orders were shoot to kill if they encountered any suspicious activity. 4

Roger Baker carried a CD player around with him. He could sacrifice humping the extra weight in lieu of being denied his precious music. An Eminem fan by nature, the 8 Mile CD he brought with him to the line had gotten scratched to oblivion when the player got knocked out of his jacket pocket. The rapper went rapping the asphalt behind the truck as it bounced down the road about a month back. Desperate and despondent over its loss, he traded the ration of smokes he usually reserved to acquire batteries for a Lee Greenwood CD. Back in the states he wouldn't have listened to Country if you tied him down and tortured him. Now, he laid the player up on a sand bag next to his head and turned the volume all the way up so the headphones acted like miniature speakers. Music was music so far from home.5

"What we got?" the sargeant demanded, sweeping his M-16, peering through the site into the darkness. 6

"Davis heard a car...listen."7

"Davis, are you sure? I don't see nothin'" Gray snapped.8

"Baker heard it too, Sarge!"9

The two corporals had been through bootcamp together and had formed quite a bond in the process of being brainwashed, dehumanized, and traumatized since being overseas. They had become like brothers. And Sargeant Gray was their new daddy. Maybe there were no hugs and goodnight kisses, but they had each others' backs in a pinch. You didn't put your life in someone else's hands without feeling the trust. They were a family, no doubt about it. Gray led and they followed--to death if necessary.10

On the CD player, faint notes and words drifted through the stillness. "If I had to start again with just my children and my wife..."11

The tune was familiar, but playing so softly it didn't spark recognition to any of the three until the chorus played, "Proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free..."12

A grinding sound up ahead, in the distance. The sargeant strained his concentration to determine how far off and what type of vehicle.13

"...And I won't forget the men who died..." wafted through the air.14

"BAKER! Shut that thing OFF, DAMN it!!" Gray ordered.15

Baker obeyed with his right hand. With a press of a button, all that could be heard was the approaching vehicle as it neared.16

"We oughtta see headlights by now. I don't like the looks of this," Gray remarked. The two corporals were more distraught over the fear in their sargeant's voice than by the still hidden speeding car coming their way.17

"...And I'd gladly stand up...next to you..." Baker sang softly to himself.18

"...And defend her still today..." Davis joined in, unconsciously.19

"DAMN you two! You're makin my nerves bad! Shut up!!!" Gray demanded.20

A chorus of dejected "sorries" were the only music from the mouths of his companions. Then silence. 21

Except for that now screeching engine. The vehicle finally came into view. Gray's eyes had finally adjusted enough to make it out. A compact foreign job was careening toward them.22

"Here we go, boys. Cover me while I check it out. Any suspicious activity, anything suspicious whatsoever, open fire," Gray said as he stepped through the sand bags toward the oncoming vehicle.23

"Sarge, you're not going out there?" Davis asked with his hand clutching Gray's sleeve.24

Without looking back or halting, Gray responded simply, "Cover me."25

The two corporals watched nervously as their young leader began hiking down the road. They watched silently as they noticed the car didn't slow as it reached him. But in their minds, as they opened fire they heard the voice of Lee Greenwood bellowing, "...for there ain't no doubt I love this land...(ratt-tatt-tatt-tatt)...God Bless the USA!!!!"26