Under two minutes

The following incident occurred in the Iraqi town of Fallujah during a "cease fire" with the Mujahadeen (what the press called "insurgents") called by president Bush in the run up to the 2004 presidential Election.
Our fire team, 2/4 along with fire team 2/2 had been holding a position in a two story building at the end of a street that over looked the street's length and immediate surrounding area. We had a marine at every window on the second floor on watch and two on the roof. When you weren't on watch you tried to sleep which was difficult but not impossible. You can reach a state of exhaustion so severe you can fall asleep anywhere for a few hours.
I wasn't on watch when it happened. I was on the second floor sitting up against the wall in a half sleeping stupor when I heard the loud, distinct crack of a Sniper's rifle followed by an agonizing cry. I jumped up to the window with My M-4 and peered through the scope. Down on the street was a man lying on the ground bleeding out onto the road with an older man kneeling next to him shaking the dying man's head while sobbing hysterically. I started counting the seconds for the second shot to kill the crying man but the shot never came. I had counted up to 74 when two women came out of the building the scene was playing out in front of and after some struggle with him, lead the older man into their building. Then they came back out and collected the dead man's body. After we talked about what we had all just witnessed I lied down in a quite corner of the room  and slept for a while.
Out of the hundreds of tragedies I witnessed during my three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan this one stands out as a microcosm of sudden violent death and the shock and horror of a loved one all in under two minutes. Why this scene stands out as vividly as it does I'm not sure. At the time it seemed nothing more than another dead Hajji. I'd not thought to much about it until I was home and started having recurring dreams about it. I still do sometimes. I don't know why this impacted me the way it did. I've come to realize we don't pick what our sub conscious picks up on. It just does what it does

Reviews

[Annabelle Lee]

Scary stuff.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you for the review Annebelle

[Michael G.]

Good write, BR.
My immediate thought was why was the shot fired in the first place? Didn't you say there was a cease fire? Perhaps that could explain some of this... just a thought.

[Baby Ricochet]

The man that was shot was shouldering a weapon so it fell within ROE. He wasn't the only Hajji shot by snipers before we were ordered to withdraw.

[Michael G.]

Figured it was something like that. Thanks, BR.

[Richard Man]

May be It's because you expected to hear a second shot and witness a second death which never came.... you are still waiting for it to happen. I imagine you were trained not to be susceptible to such things but having just been in a semi-sleep condition your psyche was vulnerable. You were, at that instant, a stationery non-combatant watcher with your mind's camera on a tripod with the scene in perfect focus. The clarity of the picture and your total unconnectedness to the intent and outcome of the incident has made it such a repeated image. Well written piece, evoking empathy in me, the reader.

[Baby Ricochet]

Maybe. THank you for the review

[quinfinn]

there was something in this whole scenario which you subconsciously found very kindred to your own life experiences, perhaps only a fleeting second of your past was to but one second in this whole two minutes, so very identifiable and real for you...who the hell knows? i know that when your mind hits replay over and over it is often for emotional reasons...some of which we never understand. i do it in my mind with regrets, for the most part. i am impressed by your honesty and the impact of this write. it is one i shall never forget.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you

[quinfinn]

i am beginning to really appreciate your gift for writing, with each new read i am more impressed

[poeticpiers]

Flash backs can linger in the mind far longer than would seem possible Recording a fleeting moment in time forever frozen