They Heard Him Sing ...

Enemy forces close in on a surviving soldier ...

 

They crouched there in the leaves

each one could hear him sing

'Zippity Doo Dah … Zippity Ay …'

but they couldn't see him …

No shots fired for minutes

in the clawing Asian jungle

Oppressive heat …

stench of rotten undergrowth

Stale ponds of stagnant water

stinging, clinging vines

insects buzzing and clicking

birds staying aloft

On he came alone singing his song

'Zippity Doo Dah … Zippity Ay …'

an occasional two line chant

not easy to locate in the jungle

*

Jeff counted all seven corpses

men he'd fought with for months

They'd shared memories

shared hopes … shared fears …

The radio was down

the morale was down

most importantly …

except for Jeff, the team were down

'Zippity Doo Dah … Zippity Ay …'

he chanted and stepped slowly

stealthy except for his song

he wanted them to hear

It took fifteen minutes

the enemy platoon arrived

encircling like animals

they would enjoy the final one

From the corner of his eye

Jeff could feel them

smell them … taste them …

feel them get closer

All their weapons aimed

but nobody fired

their leader raised his sword

they advanced around him

Jeff briefly smiled

for his dead comrades

as he took hold with both hands

of the two lengths of cord

He looked around

the slit eyed stares

sweating, eager faces

and he sang loud …

'Zippity Doo … Dah …

Oh What a Wonderful

Day to kill you all … '

and he pulled on both cords

*

One man survived to talk

but only for a minute

He told of the strange soldier

and his song

He told how one man

took the lives of twenty

with a song

and six grenades …

'He say … Zippity Doo Dah …'

* * *

Author's Note

It's pure imagination although it's the way some guys would want to go out.

Reviews

[anne p. murray- LadeeAn..]

What words They lead me right into the oppressive, rotten smelling jungles.
I can't imagine the terrors and the waiting of the unknown to happen. I truly believe the men and women who fight for our country deserve so much more honor and respect.
I sure wouldn't or couldn't do that job.
Your words were riviting and so real. An excellent depiction of the horrible pictures of war.

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Tom this is brutal but oh so awesome........

[SR Urie]

Tom,
Good write sir. Interesting how you rectified the loss of all the compatriots with a song, fuzing the grenades in a booby trap that blew the crap out of the jap soldiers. Good setting and imagery, and surprise irony. Well done. BZ