Tunisia-1942

My Grandfather was in Tunisia in 1942 and he tripped a gas can during an air raid. He was offered a Purple Heart as a result which he turned down. Nonetheless, thinking about that incident led me to create this little piece which I may using in an upcoming book.

Smoke filled the air on the horizon. It's blackness blotting out the blue sky. Whiffs of burnt gasoline and metal filled Neil's nose.

The low brown hills to the south looked rather forlorn and desolate. In no way did they look anything like the hills back in Illinois. Part of a Messerschmit sticking up into the sky at the peak, fuselage burnt and blackened.

Off to the left he heard someone exclaim "what the hell are you doing".

Looking over to where the voice came from he could see a jack had slipped on the Jeep. The one under the vehicle was rather lucky in fact Neil could see. A little knob of dirt saved him from being crushed.

Neil began to walk over to see what he could do and then the Klaxion sounded. A voice cried out "Air raid, air raid".

Scanning the sky quickly to see where the airplane was he didn't see where he was going for a second. As he ran his foot caught on a gas can and he fell landing hard. His lip split open from its hitting a rock.

As he began to get up he could hear the plane but still couldn't tell where it was. Getting up to his feet Neil ran to the nearby Wadi and dove in. Just as he leap the plane came over the hills strewing bullets. Screams and cries greeted his ears even as he ducked down.

Explosions greeted his ears in the Wadi as he stayed hidden. Then the buzz of the airplane zipped by overhead and looped around. It then headed back towards the hills with it's black and white cross displayed.

Getting up from his hiding place Neil walked towards the vehicles. He got really sad when he noticed that one of the vehicles that was destroyed was the Jeep. A burning hulk left in it's place, a skull looking out from under the side.