Future excerpts will follow him throughout Operation Desert Storm, battles, capture, torture, and recovery. His return home leads to romance and a new life. Eventually terror interrupts. But for now Starr must deal with survival.
"Starr first needed to tend to his wounds which had stopped bleeding. Next would be a fire to dry his clothes, followed by a search for a meal. The final objective would be a plan which would include making his way home perhaps to discover what this had all been about. A firm resolve began to take hold of him. They had tried to kill him and he intended to find out why, but they had also tried to kill his dog. For that they would pay.
"He began to take
inventory. All of his packs were gone along with the shredded canoe. The wind
had shifted and everything that did not sink, had been blown far away. The only
gear that he had left was what he had in his pockets and on his belt.
The first important
tool was the Combat Magnum. It was loaded, and he had two speed loaders in his
jacket pocket. Eighteen rounds. They were still there. Whether or not the
rounds would fire was another matter, still to be determined. He spread all the
ammunition on a rock to let the sun dry and heat the cartridges. He removed the
gun from its holster, wiped it off as well as he could manage, though not of
much help with all of his clothing still damp. He laid it in the sun and would
wipe it clean when he had a dry cloth.
Next came his
Randall Knife which definitely was indispensable and was still in its place on
his belt. This Randall was designated modestly as their Model #18 “Attack
Survival.” This was the second Model #18 that he had owned; the first had been
lost in Iraq. In John’s opinion, and in the opinion of many others, Randalls
were the finest knives made in the world.
The heavy survival knife could make all things in this situation
possible. The 7 1/2” long blade, was made of thick 1/4” stainless steel stock.
Sharpened on both top and bottom, with a long saw tooth section along the top,
the blade could saw through the hardest wood. The blade was nearly
indestructible and could handle any job. The hilt was oblong brass with flared
holes designed to accommodate a wrist thong and to facilitate placement of a
shaft in the hollow grip for conversion to a spear. The grip was knurled
stainless steel which John had wrapped with black parachute cord for an even
better grip and served as a handy place to carry the extra cord. The handle was
fitted with a threaded and knurled butt cap which also had a rubber “O” ring to
provide for a waterproof storage compartment. When removed and inverted, the
butt cap displayed a highest quality
compass. John had chosen to load the storage compartment with fifty feet of ten
pound monofilament line, several hooks and a couple of split shot sinkers. He
also had squeezed in a small packet of aspirin and a tube of Neomycin Sulfate Polymyxcin B Sulfate
Pramoxine Hydrochloride, or in simpler words, antibiotic/pain relieving cream
under the brand name of Neosporin. The sheath came standard with a second
pocket which held a Soft Arkansas sharpening stone. Without the knife and its
contents, he would be in serious trouble. With the knife in hand, he might
survive. Thank you, “Bo” Randall." 
No comments:
Post a Comment