Hunter Sniper

They found the rest of Patrol Easy gathered nearby, diminished by one from the loss of Alphabet. They had also lost one of the patrol members back on Guam, but that felt like years ago, before the bonds had really grown between them all. It was not to diminish the man’s death but to be honest about the fact that they hadn’t had the time to get to know him all that well. Maybe that had been for the best.

Egan was there, too, with his war dog, Thor. He was a beautiful German shepherd mix, mostly a golden tan, with just enough black markings on his coat to give him some natural camouflage. As the breeze ruffled his fur, the dog almost seemed to smile with enjoyment, pink tongue lolling between strong white teeth.

Deke had grown up with dogs on the farm and always had a soft spot for them. The way that Deke figured it, you could trust a good dog more than you could trust a human.

“He’s the smartest dog I’ve ever known,” Egan was fond of saying. “Sure, he’s a mutt, not a purebred, but I like to say he’s part German shepherd and part Albert Einstein.”

He’d lost his first dog, Whoa Nelly, during the fighting on Guam, and had taken it as hard as if he’d lost a human buddy.

In Ormoc, Thor had been busy sniffing out any Japanese who had been hiding in the city’s ruins. For the dog, it had all been a game, but one with a deadly outcome for the enemy troops who were discovered. The Japanese had come to despise the war dogs. Given the choice between shooting an American officer or one of the hated war dogs, they would target the dog every time.

The dogs were certainly useful, but more than that, they were also a psychological weapon. The message seemed to be that the Americans planned on using dogs to hunt the Japanese like beasts. Sure, Thor was friendly toward the GIs, but one look at those teeth and you could understand why the Japanese might both detest and fear the war dogs.

Glancing at the dog stretched out at Egan’s feet, sound asleep, Deke felt a pang of envy. Talk about a dog’s life. Given half a chance, he would have liked to do exactly the same thing and snatch a few minutes of sleep, but that was not to be.

Deke felt his spirits lift at the sight of Lieutenant Steele approaching, carrying his trusty combat shotgun, ugly and brutal as a stump. It appeared that Honcho had escaped his duties as an officer, at least for a short while. His familiar grin had even returned.

Among the GIs laboring at the docks, word had gotten around that one of their own marksmen was taking care of the Japanese sniper. They had heard the crack of a rifle on their side of the street, and the Japanese sniper had troubled them no more.

Some of them spotted Deke and Philly returning, Deke conspicuous with his Springfield rifle and its telescopic sight. They had cheered and whooped.

“Nice shooting!”

“You got him, Deke!”

Deke felt a sense of surprise that some of the soldiers knew him by name.

“You’re getting famous,” Honcho said, grinning.

“Watch out or the Japanese will put a price on your head,” Philly said. “Hell, I might shoot you myself if the money is right.”

“Yeah, I’d shoot Deke for a hundred bucks,” Rodeo agreed.

“I was thinking that I’d do it for twenty,” Philly said. “Hell, there are times I’d do it for free.”

Deke snorted. “Keep it up and you won’t be around to collect the reward.”

“Listen up, you degenerates,” Honcho said. “We’ve been summoned to HQ. Word is that General Bruce has another mission for us.”

“Uh-oh, I don’t like the sound of that,” Philly said. “Last time we got sent on a mission, taking out that big gun on Hill 522, we almost got killed.”

“How is that different from any other day?” the lieutenant asked.

“Good point, Honcho,” Philly said. “I can see why somebody put you in charge. What is it, do you think? Are there more snipers they want us to deal with?”

“There’s always going to be more snipers, Philly. The Japanese are good at it, and that’s not going to change. No, this is something different, but I’m as much in the dark as you guys. I guess we’ll find out.”

Deke nodded. Whatever it was, he and his rifle would be ready.

NOTE TO READERS

Thank you for once again choosing to follow the adventures of Deacon Cole and Patrol Easy in the Philippines. I didn’t plan to spend so much time in the Philippines but have found it fascinating with many stories to tell. I have enjoyed exploring the era and bringing to life what the troops went through, at least in some small way.

The inspiration comes in large part from reading the unit histories and memoirs of those involved. Several actual events and actions have been used here, although they have been fictionalized for the sake of the story.

Speaking of story, the armchair admirals and generals out there may notice that the date of the sea battle of Leyte Gulf does not quite mesh with some of the events on land. In reality, the sea battle took place earlier in the Leyte campaign, but it worked better for the book to include it later in the timeline.