As the waves hit the boat, Miguel could feel his stomach churning. He shouldn't have eaten that much for breakfast, he thought, as he lurched forward to paint his neighbor’s shoes a new color. A few hours ago he was at the cafeteria with his accomplice, Garrett, chowing down on the chef’s banquet. The chef’s for today’s invasion fixed the soldiers a smorgasbord to keep them in high spirits. The intentions were good but it seems they were in vain. Almost everyone in Miguel’s boat was puking from sea sickness, but they were almost to their destination, almost to shore. As they got closer they started hearing the sound of gunfire and the repetitious blare of the Nazi’s heavy machine guns. When the latch fell for the soldiers to get out, the first couple of Miguel’s comrades were torn apart by the high caliber bullets raining down on the boat. Miguel, out of fear, took the guy in front of him and used him as a shield. The soldier was in raged but not for long as he suddenly had his life taken from him by the enemy gunner.
Garrett yelled to Miguel to jump overboard, the only thing that they were told not to do. Miguel saw his friend unclasp his pack and leap over the side of the craft. Miguel, already having killed his comrade by using him as a shield decided to not have his death be in vain and continued to use his body as he exited the boat. He then dropped it and seeing Garrett hiding behind a German hedgehog, ran over to him while keeping his head down and covering it with his hands. Garrett told Miguel to wait with him for the other soldiers to come up but after only a few moments, Garrett was struck by a ricochet bullet in his left hand. Garrett being a field medic, grabbed a bandage out of his pack and wrapped it around his hand while telling Miguel that they need to move. They spotted a nearby rock on the beach and ran towards it. When they reached the rock, they saw more soldiers coming their way and were surprised when they saw the mark of a general on one of their arms. This unknown man told them that with this rush, they were going to break through the enemy lines. Miguel, thinking of his family back home in Arizona, decided to follow the man into whatever he chose to do. The general’s words of encouragement apparently mustered some strength in Garrett too as he saw his friend get up from the sandy ground to participate in this last suicide mission. The man then told them to follow him and, with this new company of soldiers, ran up to the cover of the sea wall. One of the men pulled out wire cutters and started making a way through the barbed wire while staying close to the ground for protection. It was relatively fast but felt like an eternity to Miguel as they waited under enemy machine gun fire. Looking at Garrett too, Miguel saw his friend no longer had that rush of adrenaline and was looking pale from the blood loss of his wound. The bullet had actually ripped traveled through his hand and hit a vein below his wrist.
Just then the soldier finished cutting the wire and having done so, cleared a path up to the top of the cliff. They were still under heavy fire from the enemy turret however, so they were going to have to wait for an opening. Two minutes went by and one more of his fellow comrades were shot and killed in the process. Miguel looked to the General for orders but he had no ideas on what to do next. Suddenly, the gun fire stopped and Garrett, after not talking for awhile told the General he would make a path up to the top of the cliff. The general not having any other ideas, gave him the green light to do it and after telling Miguel to take his dog tags back to his wife in Martinsburg, made a mad sprint past the barbed wire up to the top of the cliff. Just as he made it about halfway up, the blare of machine gun fire started back up again and Miguel saw his friend drop. In a mad frenzy, Miguel, having normally being cowardly, told the soldiers and general to not wait any longer and charge up the hill. The general agreed and in a charge of men, they breached the enemy lines after heavy casualties. Miguel, after that, was always the first one to charge or breach a room or bunker, never forgetting his friend’s sacrifice.