The gate opens, leading my fellow soldiers and myself to our perhaps inevitable pain. Nearing the ramp, the sounds already unbelievably deafening, there grew a new sound: a pounding, coming from within my body. Along with the loud roar of bullets flying through the cold air, the rushing of the waters, and the shouts of the Germans from above, this sound added to the chaos.

As the soldiers in front of me waded into the shallow waters, the blue turned to red. Bodies of those I was close with floated around me. As I stared solemnly into the red liquid before me, I realized the end of the ramp was getting closer. I was being pushed into the waterbody. I tried to push back, thinking of my family; it wouldn’t make a difference if one man didn’t fight… right? But there were too many men behind me.
I tumbled into the water, breathing hard. I watched as the food stain from my previous meal slowly faded away. Perhaps it was the last trace of my final meal. I see the groups of soldiers all walking in the same direction- towards the shore. Some injured, some dragging bodies of those they refused to let go of, through the water. My chief had ordered us to get to the top of a cliff. He warned us that it was far from our boat, and that there were traps almost everywhere. Now I understand what cliff he was talking about. It looked like it was going to be heck trying to get through the traps set by Hitler. The shore itself was not far from the Higgins Boat, but it seemed as if it would take a miracle and my first born child to get there alive.

I was the farthest from shore, compared to the rest of the soldiers, and the guns seemed to have been focused on them. I pushed through, trying to catch up, although, my mind told me not to push so hard. I know it was not the right thing to do, but I needed to get to that shore alive. Then I realized, those men, fighting to get to shore are fighting to protect their countries, not themselves. I began to swim faster, and managed to push through the first half of the traps. The sharp metal spikes, and the mines, lying among them. I couldn’t have done that without letting go of my bag, which was massive in the extreme, and would most likely had detonated a mine with the slightest contact.

A mine was blown almost every fifteen seconds, and every single time I would cringe, imagining the funeral with no body. Once I approached the others, I could feel the heat of every explosion, and my ears rang after each one.

I continued to push on, and the shore seemed mildly closer. There were already allied men on the beach. “How lucky they are,” I thought to myself. They have transpired, and conquered, and may live to tell the story, unlike the men which surround me. Although there are more obstacles, they will get further than these resolute soldiers, fathers, and husbands.

My attention possessed not one target, but was drawn in every direction. From the mines, bullets, and waters, to the shouts, the doctors, and bodies falling helplessly into the water. However, the far off shores were not seeming as distant- and that procured my focus. My heartbeat grew louder, but slowed, with my confidence. I will touch the shore;I will live to witness America’s triumphant victory. But above all, I will live to embrace my family in my arms, and go home to tell my story.