II Desperation: War and Heroes

In April 1969. 
High School is over for me,
But not the war that took a friend
I used to wrestle in school.
Coach knew Frank was meant for trouble,
Like a puma refusing to be caged,
Restless and reckless.
But he won many matches for the team. 
I only won one all year on the B squad.
Frank encouraged me and helped me make moves.

And then, he went to war, Vietnam,
And the rest is not a dream, but a horror from far away.
Where leaders went insane at the price of the men they led.
A squad leader on a mission to assess the damage done;
A B-52 bomber strike at Dau Tieng.
Sergeant Saracino, a point man with hand grenades and a gun.
Pull the pin and launch it upon the bunker of the other side.

Perhaps wrestling moves raced through his mind, which one to choose?
Switch reversal would be good in this clash.
Life passes in a flash.
Double leg takedown, spawl, fireman’s carry.  Save your men,
Throw the grenade at a bunker, stall them ‘til the period ends.
A headlock would help here. Try to pin them down.
Allow your men to withdraw.
The enemy fire machine guns, bullets like swarms of bees.
How to flee? Switch, whizzer, sit out.  Face to face,
Are full Nelsons and choke holds legal on the battleground?

The air is full of war: grenades and screaming guns
Exposed to a hail of bullets, Sergeant Saracino, a master of takedowns,
Placed suppressive fire on the enemy until his comrades
Reached a safer space.  Is that the bell or the door to hell.
And did we win the match? Who could tell, each side took its toll.

The world is brutal clatter: and does it really matter?
Air strikes from above and machine guns rattle on the ground
Both sides desperate now, crazed only to win.
No referee can be found to stop this thing.
All the rules have been shattered, and does it really matter?

Frank charged again in a one-man assault
Upon a bunker, killing its two occupants with hand grenades.
Perhaps he thought: It’s not my fault.
To hell with earthly crusades.  No worries, end of story.

Then somewhere a heavy caliber gun fired on the platoon.
In the smoke of doom, Frank saw his men open to the deadly volley,
He exposed himself to save them by engaging the hostile fire,
As he strove to throw one more grenade.
at the machine gun emplacement, he was killed by the enemy barrage
“Sergeant Saracino's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”

Frank, destined for trouble, won the match, and died in the rubble.
But both sides lost the war. Did we learn anything?
All the rules have been shattered, and does it really matter?

C. S. Cholas
12 October 2023