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... The sunlight was near blinding as I stepped out onto the gantry and made my way down the stairs. The heat was a solid, dry mass that impeded all movement... James Citizen arrives in Doha, to be greeted by bullying words.
Continue reading "Chapter Five - I Come From A Land Downunder..." »
James Citizen, a US paratrooper who transferred into the infantry and is now on patrol in Iraq, imagines an airborne mission on an epic day in World War Two
Continue reading "Chapter Four - In The Air... Into Combat..." »
A Soldier's thoughts fly every which-way when he's in a danger zone. James Citizen imagines a conversation over a cup of tea with the editor of Open Writing, and muses on the characters in a novel which he is working on.
…On the television mounted on the ceiling was another movie. I had watched the first, but quickly lost interest in the selections that followed. I simply stared out of the window now, looking at the evening stars, wondering what was in store for me. What would I remember of my adventures in the desert again? What would I write about? Would the Hero and Heroine of my novel ever get to their happily ever after? Would I?
Would I even live that long?…
Here is James P Citizen, a young man willing to put his life on the line for his country, aboard a military aircraft heading for a combat zone, pondering on honor, dignity, integrity, and the dangers that lie in wait in Iraq.
James brings us the tough truth of what it is to be a Twentyfirst Century Soldier. Read his vivid words, and be thankful that there are brave men willing to stand watch for us while we sleep in our comfortable beds.
For the earlier chapters of James’s story click on Which Way The Front? in the menu on this page.
…Originally in the September of 2000, there was no war. It was not even on the horizon, beyond an abstract concept. I was just a fool idealist, wanting to serve his country and prove his mettle to the world and most of all, himself. It was as far away from my college training as was humanly possible.
I was a cartoonist, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Illustration.
Five years later, I was a combat veteran and I was going back to war.
The men who had seen me fight, the men who had seen me kill, were no longer the ones I worked with…
James P Citizen, a US Soldier now on patrol in Iraq, brings a vivid insider’s view of life in a 21st Century combat zone. His words are tough and urgent, demanding to be read. Absorb them. Think about them. Then give thanks if you are able to sleep in a comfortable bed in a quiet corner of the world.
... I have been to war once already. Here I am, at war again. There have been men that have tried to kill me, my own response being brutal, merciless and final . . . yet I am a coward when it comes to doing what is in my own best interests...
Today Open Writing brings you something very special - the thoughts and compellingly-told story of a serving United States Soldier.
He is carrying a rifle, doing his duty, serving his country, patrolling in the troubled areas of Iraq.
In earlier wars news came back from soldiers in the front line via letters to family and loved ones, often delivered weeks after being written. But in this electronic age news comes in the instant, via the Net.
The words of James P Citizen (for obvious reasons he chooses to be known by a pen-name) will alter for ever the way you think of men at arms. This searingly honest account of the thoughts of a man willing to put his life on the line deserve to be read and re-read.
James says "All I really am is just a Doughboy, Dogface, a Grunt, Paratrooper, a Screaming Eagle. I am just a Soldier, one who got lost and damned on his way to serve his country. My tale is quite sad and laughable in the end, a young idealist turned old, bitter and cynical by the realities of the modern Army. Yet still fool enough to believe in the mission, believe in what he is fighting for. Believe enough to be willing to die for it, believe in it even more to kill for it.''
This is the opening section of Which Way The Front?, the story of an army man with a rare talent for the written word. Further chapters will follow on future Thursdays. Don't miss them.
Continue reading "Foreword -The Madness Behind The Method" »
