Last Man
"Man, I am exhausted," Johnny said to Simpson as they slowly dragged up the stairs.
"Man, I am exhausted," Johnny said to Simpson as they slowly dragged up the stairs.
"Yeah, you're telling me. This was a
hell
of a long, tiring day," Simpson replied. The men had been out in the
hot sun, training since 0430. The time was now 1900, seven p.m., and
they were just getting back in. They were all anticipating the story
that SFC Jones had promised them.
"I wonder what this story is gonna be about," Simpson said. Johnny looked at him and replied somewhat sarcastically,
"Dude, I have no idea what this story is gonna be about. In the past two days I have heard several stories and I am not sure which ones are true or not. I hope this one is a to-the-point story."
"Yeah, you're right. First the stress card story got bunked, then the saltpeter story was neither confirmed nor denied. I am still not sure what to believe about that. I just really can't wait for the story to be over so we can get some shut eye." All of the men had showered, gotten in their shorts and t-shirts and were ready for SFC Jones to come in. Just the the door opened and the man closest to
"I wonder what this story is gonna be about," Simpson said. Johnny looked at him and replied somewhat sarcastically,
"Dude, I have no idea what this story is gonna be about. In the past two days I have heard several stories and I am not sure which ones are true or not. I hope this one is a to-the-point story."
"Yeah, you're right. First the stress card story got bunked, then the saltpeter story was neither confirmed nor denied. I am still not sure what to believe about that. I just really can't wait for the story to be over so we can get some shut eye." All of the men had showered, gotten in their shorts and t-shirts and were ready for SFC Jones to come in. Just the the door opened and the man closest to
the door yelled,"AT EASE!" All of the
soldiers in the bay stopped what they were doing and simultaneously
snapped to the position of parade rest. This is a modified position of
attention. The soldier puts his hands, one inside the other, in the
small of their back. The feet are shoulder width apart and you are not
allowed to move from that position. This is done to show respect for
the non-commissioned officers that have been given the task of teaching
soldiers how to do their jobs. SFC Jones, walked in and looked around
for a few seconds. He seemed to do this every time he walked in, just
to
make the soldiers stand there for a little bit. "Relax," said SFC
Jones. "You guys all gather around. You gals worked hard today. I
promised you a story, so a story you're going to get. This is not
really
a story as much as it is an educational experience. How many of you
guys know where, or even what Building One is on every Army post in the
world?" One timid private, toward the back, raised his hand. "Tell me
what you think it is private," said SFC Jones. The man stood up, went
to
the position of parade rest and said, "Drill sergeant isn't it the
flagpole, in front of the post headquarters building?"
"It sure is, smarty pants. Now why don't you knock out 20 push-ups for being so damn smart? Building One on every Army post is the main flagpole. This is the also the most important "building" because it holds the post colors. Now since Mr. Smarty Pants has probably already heard this story, I'm just going to tell it. If for some reason something ever happens, and the post you are on gets overrun by the enemy, you kill as many of those bastards as you can. You use whatever means you have to get the job done. Now if you have done what you can and you notice your ass is the only one still around fighting, you get to Building One as fast as you can. In front of the flagpole there is a stone marker. Buried directly behind that marker is a box with a .45 caliber pistol in it. Now I know what you're thinking: what the hell am I going to do with a pistol that has no ammo? You are going to climb the flagpole, unscrew the truck off the top and climb back down. Now I know there are some stupid people in this room right now. The truck is the brass ball on top of the flag pole. Inside that there is a razor blade, some matches and a single .45 bullet. Your sole purpose in life at this point is to get the flag down and destroy it so the enemy cannot take it and desecrate it. You take the razor blade and cut the stars out. Take the pieces and light them on fire with the matches. Now the last part is very important. Take that single round and load it in the gun. Once you have depleted all the ammo in your rifle and killed as many people as possible, take that loaded .45 pistol and shoot yourself. That's right, ladies. I said shoot yourself."
"Why wouldn't we use the last bullet to kill one more person and just let them capture or kill us?" asked Johnny.
"Because, private, this is what I told you to do. Now story time is done, and I don't want this to turn into a question and answer period. Get your asses in your bunks. I'm hitting the lights in 30 seconds. Good night, ladies."
"GOOD NIGHT DRILL SERGEANT!"
SFC Jones left quietly and turned out the lights. "Do you think that is true? How would you have time to do all of that stuff while you are trying to fight the enemy? I call BS," Simpson said as he kicked Johnny's bed. Johnny looked down from the top bunk and replied, "I don't know, man. I am sure it is just another one of those stories meant to keep us wondering. It is probably like the story about the kid that killed himself last cycle. I talked to several guys that went to basic training at different times and they all heard a story that was similar."
"What story is that?"
"Man, I'm going to bed. I'll tell you another time."
Author's notes
I had fun telling this story, just as I have the last two. The urban legend of this story is in fact not true. I still hear this story when I am around Army guys. Some believe it, some don't, but either way all of them have heard it. The story plays into the love of not only our nation, but the colors that represent it. The fact is that so many men and women have laid down their lives to preserve the freedoms that the flag represents. The thought of a post in the United States being overrun just seems ridiculous. If for some reason it was happening the flag would be taken down and hidden from the enemy or given to a courier to safely remove it from that location. The men would be ordered to fight until the commander felt that he was just sending his men to slaughter. He would call for a retreat and the post would be taken. If you were the last man for some reason, you would not be expected to kill yourself. The Army's policy on that is to try and escape.
Coverpage
Introduction
I. Stress Cards
II. Saltpeter
Image Information: Raising the flag at Iwo Jima. (1945) Web Source Montney
Story Title: Finial Duty
Author: Barbara Mikkelson
Website Name: Snopes.com
Web Source: gold ball story
"It sure is, smarty pants. Now why don't you knock out 20 push-ups for being so damn smart? Building One on every Army post is the main flagpole. This is the also the most important "building" because it holds the post colors. Now since Mr. Smarty Pants has probably already heard this story, I'm just going to tell it. If for some reason something ever happens, and the post you are on gets overrun by the enemy, you kill as many of those bastards as you can. You use whatever means you have to get the job done. Now if you have done what you can and you notice your ass is the only one still around fighting, you get to Building One as fast as you can. In front of the flagpole there is a stone marker. Buried directly behind that marker is a box with a .45 caliber pistol in it. Now I know what you're thinking: what the hell am I going to do with a pistol that has no ammo? You are going to climb the flagpole, unscrew the truck off the top and climb back down. Now I know there are some stupid people in this room right now. The truck is the brass ball on top of the flag pole. Inside that there is a razor blade, some matches and a single .45 bullet. Your sole purpose in life at this point is to get the flag down and destroy it so the enemy cannot take it and desecrate it. You take the razor blade and cut the stars out. Take the pieces and light them on fire with the matches. Now the last part is very important. Take that single round and load it in the gun. Once you have depleted all the ammo in your rifle and killed as many people as possible, take that loaded .45 pistol and shoot yourself. That's right, ladies. I said shoot yourself."
"Why wouldn't we use the last bullet to kill one more person and just let them capture or kill us?" asked Johnny.
"Because, private, this is what I told you to do. Now story time is done, and I don't want this to turn into a question and answer period. Get your asses in your bunks. I'm hitting the lights in 30 seconds. Good night, ladies."
"GOOD NIGHT DRILL SERGEANT!"
SFC Jones left quietly and turned out the lights. "Do you think that is true? How would you have time to do all of that stuff while you are trying to fight the enemy? I call BS," Simpson said as he kicked Johnny's bed. Johnny looked down from the top bunk and replied, "I don't know, man. I am sure it is just another one of those stories meant to keep us wondering. It is probably like the story about the kid that killed himself last cycle. I talked to several guys that went to basic training at different times and they all heard a story that was similar."
"What story is that?"
"Man, I'm going to bed. I'll tell you another time."
Author's notes
I had fun telling this story, just as I have the last two. The urban legend of this story is in fact not true. I still hear this story when I am around Army guys. Some believe it, some don't, but either way all of them have heard it. The story plays into the love of not only our nation, but the colors that represent it. The fact is that so many men and women have laid down their lives to preserve the freedoms that the flag represents. The thought of a post in the United States being overrun just seems ridiculous. If for some reason it was happening the flag would be taken down and hidden from the enemy or given to a courier to safely remove it from that location. The men would be ordered to fight until the commander felt that he was just sending his men to slaughter. He would call for a retreat and the post would be taken. If you were the last man for some reason, you would not be expected to kill yourself. The Army's policy on that is to try and escape.
Coverpage
Introduction
I. Stress Cards
II. Saltpeter
Image Information: Raising the flag at Iwo Jima. (1945) Web Source Montney
Story Title: Finial Duty
Author: Barbara Mikkelson
Website Name: Snopes.com
Web Source: gold ball story