First Battle

To big guns and destroyer men The alarm sounds like a dull clanging bell. Sailors in their battle gear run for posts. “Hatches are closed and zebra set!” we yell. A surprise in store for Iraqi hosts. The towers rose from the sea like islands. They were made of steel, rubber, and plastic. Arab men scrambling to flee in bands, their boats speeding away, faces frantic Big guns sound, blazing fire and metal fly, metal islands reduced to flaming spires. Retaliation ordered from the sky, mission complete, we leave ocean afire. Our first taste of battle went as was planned. New sea stories to tell when we hit land.