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Great American Warriors, An excerpt from each short story:
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Within hours, the American naval task force would be in danger of being destroyed, leaving the west coast of the United States vulnerable to an invasion. Would the B-25 planes be pushed overboard? Would Admiral “Bull” Halsey order a retreat?
At a distance of 688 miles, the B-25’s would not have enough fuel to make it to the safe location in China. Ordering the B-25’s to launch was almost certainly suicide for the volunteers. However, it was a risk that the Doolittle Raiders had accepted all along. Showing the Japanese military that America could stand strong and strike back was worth the lives of these men.
Within minutes of learning of the imminent Japanese attack, Admiral Halsey ordered the B-25’s to launch. They had come too far to stop now. “Bull” Halsey knew what was at stake.
A calm and confident Colonel Doolittle spoke to his men one last time: “If there are any of you who don’t want to go, just tell me. Because the chances of any of you making it back are pretty slim.”
None of the crewmembers flinched. Even if they launched off the carrier, and avoided being shot down over Japan, they would have to risk crash landing in the ocean, or over a part of China that was not safe for them.
These risks did not faze these courageous men. They were going to strike back at Japan and restore America’s fighting spirit, even if it meant sacrificing their precious lives for their country. They were truly getting a one way ticket into Hell. They were willing to become the “suicide boys.”
Army Rangers to the Rescue
5PM.
The Rangers started marching out, hidden for now by trees. They were armed with automatic rifles, machine guns, and bazooka rockets. The two groups of Philippine resistance fighters marched out to their respective positions.
5:30PM.
Location: Two thousand feet from the prison.
The Rangers dropped down on their bellies, and started crawling like snakes, as quietly as they could. They could start to see the outlines of the prison.
6PM.
Location: One thousand feet from the prison.
The Rangers were nearly in position. The sun had gone down, but there was still enough twilight for them to be spotted. They were close enough to see the Japanese guards. Suddenly, one of the guards in the towers started to look out over the fields, right where the Rangers were. It looked like the guard was staring right at them! The Rangers froze in position on the ground, totally silent. This is exactly what Colonel Mucci was afraid of. Would one of the Rangers lose his cool, rise up from the ground, and charge the prison?
Out of nowhere, the rumbling noise of a fighter plane’s engines broke the silence. The black colored fighter plane started flying slowly over the prison camp, back and forth, over and over again. This made the guards very nervous. All Japanese eyes were on the plane, looking straight up into the sky. It was an American Black Hornet fighter. This was the distraction that the Rangers needed, the idea that Captain Pojota had suggested to Colonel Mucci! It worked perfectly. As the Japanese guards were nervously staring up at the plane, the Rangers crawled into their final assault positions.
7:40 PM.
Location: Fifty feet from the prison.
Lieutenant Murphy’s platoon was spread along the rear and left side of the prison. Captain Prince and his platoon were positioned directly across the front gate. Colonel Mucci and a small platoon were one thousand feet behind Captain Prince.
7:41PM.
It was dark, and there was barely enough moonlight to help the Rangers locate their attack sites. Lieutenant Murphy took careful aim at the guard in the rear tower. Sweat streamed down his face. There was total silence. His finger squeezed the trigger of his rifle, and a sharp cracking sound broke the silence. The guard was instantly killed.
A split second later, all Ranger platoons opened fire. It sounded like a million firecrackers being exploded all at once.
The Defiant Sea Captain
It worked! The Serapis was no longer able to maneuver around the Bonhomme Richard, and position its cannons to do maximum damage to Jones and his men.
The two ships were now locked together. Captain Jones shouted encouragement to his men: “Well done men. We’ve got them now!”
Massive cannonballs shot from the Serapis continued to tear holes in the bottom deck of the Bonhomme Richard. However, most of the top deck was still intact. They still had a chance.
The British commander ordered his men to concentrate their cannon fire from the top deck of the Serapis, to the top deck of the Bonhomme Richard. With enough pounding from these cannons, the top deck of the Bonhomme Richard would be quickly destroyed. Jones and his men would go crashing through to the bottom deck, which was already filling up with water, and sinking the ship.
Captain Pearson ordered a dozen of his crew to the top deck to fire the cannons.
American sharpshooters had already climbed up the tall masts of the Bonhomme Richard. From these high positions, they were able to target the men of the British ship through the fire and smoke.
The British crew was nearly ready to fire the cannons which would smash the top deck of the Bonhomme Richard, and force it to surrender. As they looked across to the top deck and the smoke and fire rising from the Bonhomme Richard, they heard the shots. One by one, the British crew manning the cannons was brought down. The Americans were positioned perfectly on top of the masts, and killed the entire British cannon crew.
Captain Pearson ordered more men to the top deck, but they refused. They did not want to die.
The cannons on the top deck of the Serapis were now useless. The British captain had tried to deliver a knockout blow, but he failed.
The Americans still had a chance.
Captain Pearson knew he had lost his advantage. He ordered his crew to cut loose the grappling hooks, so they could break free from the Bonhomme Richard. Jones’ sharpshooters shot them dead. Jones would not let the Serapis break free from this death struggle.
One of these ships was going to the bottom of the ocean. Which one would it be?
The battle had been raging for two and a half hours. Many men on both ships were injured badly, their blood turning the decks red. Dozens of other men were dead. Both ships were ablaze with numerous fires lighting up the night for miles. British citizens watched in amazement from the shoreline. It was like watching an explosive Fourth of July fireworks show.
The Rebel General
From across the Hudson River in northern New Jersey, the rebel general watched helplessly as his soldiers suffered. They had been defending the last remaining fort in New York City against the vicious Hessians. The soldiers were worn out, and many were already in pain from wounds they had received from previous battles with the Hessians.
They had retreated into the fort, and were making a hopeless last stand against the enemy. For weeks, the Hessians had been marching against them, forcing his soldiers to constantly retreat. The Hessian commander, Colonel Rall, was getting angry and tired of the chase. He was looking forward to finishing them off.
The fort was surrounded, and the Hessians were preparing to attack.
“Have the cannons finally arrived?” Colonel Rall demanded impatiently.
“Yes, Colonel.”
“Good! I’m tired of chasing these rebels, who think they are soldiers. Position the cannon to fire against the entrance to the fort. On my order, start the cannon fire until the entrance way is destroyed. I will then lead the charge into the fort, and finish off these lowly rebels.”
Once the soldiers inside the fort saw the cannon getting prepared to fire against them, they realized it was the end. High above the fort, the white flag of surrender could be seen.
Colonel Rall ignored the white flag, and ordered the cannons to blast through the front of the fort. Thunderous sounds erupted as the cannons were fired repeatedly. The explosive force of the huge cannon balls started blasting holes in the fort. The massive wooden entrance was shattered, splintering apart like it was made of toothpicks.
Hundreds of Hessians rushed into the fort, armed with rifles that had bayonets (long knives) attached to the end. They grouped into battle formation and prepared to fire. The frightened soldiers retreated to the rear of the fort, and once again tried to surrender.
Colonel Rall ordered his soldiers to hold their fire. Had he finally accepted the rebel soldiers’ surrender?
“You are not soldiers,” Colonel Rall shouted at the rebels. “You don’t look like soldiers, and you don’t fight like soldiers. You run from me like scared sheep.” He ordered his second in command to line up ten of the rebels against the wall.
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