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Les wasn’t much for small talk, so he dove right in. “She’s Grace Garcia. A Marine. Honorable discharge. I found the first sergeant from her old platoon. He thanked us for calling. Seemed she hadn’t been receiving help from the VA for a war injury, and she’s cashed only about half of her benefit checks. She’s been off the grid for a while. Apparently, some of the guys in her old squad were fixing to come hunting for her. They think she’s a hero or something. Got the limp in a firefight on the streets of Ramadi.”
Ex-military. That explained her careful surveillance in front of Mom’s house. “What the hell was she doing riding around the streets of the deadliest city in Iraq?”
“She was outside the wire with five other Marines in an APC.”
“Les, I don’t speak Marine. What’s an APC?”
“Armored personnel carrier. Sorta like a tank, but it transports people. Things seemed hinky, and they went out to do a little recon to see what was going on in the area. Whenever there’s a chance of interviewing a female citizen, the custom is to bring along a female Marine.”
“Did the tank run over a roadside bomb or get hit with an IED?
“Nah, they encountered a confrontation of some sort in town. A couple of the guys got shot up pretty bad. She grabbed an M-4 and protected them until reinforcements could get there. They want to honor her for being a hero, but during the firefight, one of the bastards came out of a house using a child as a shield. I don’t have the details, but the kid died and Garcia got hurt. She hasn’t been right since, and she’s refusing any type of commendation.”
This information should have awed me into silence, but I had to ask, “Are you sure she wasn’t out playing Pied Piper with the boys in her platoon?”
He grunted. “Yeah, happened the day before they transferred the area to the Army. Some sorta shindig was scheduled the next day where the Marines handed over control of the city and shifted the flags. The insurgents planned an attack during the ceremony. Thought everyone would be preoccupied. Their little joy ride forced the rats outta their hidey holes.”
He took a swig of coffee, and I waited for him to continue. “There had been plans for a full-scale war the following day. Their outing put a stop to it. Saved the lives of an unknown number of our military, both Army and
Marine.”
Ex-military. That explained her careful surveillance in front of Mom’s house. “What the hell was she doing riding around the streets of the deadliest city in Iraq?”
“She was outside the wire with five other Marines in an APC.”
“Les, I don’t speak Marine. What’s an APC?”
“Armored personnel carrier. Sorta like a tank, but it transports people. Things seemed hinky, and they went out to do a little recon to see what was going on in the area. Whenever there’s a chance of interviewing a female citizen, the custom is to bring along a female Marine.”
“Did the tank run over a roadside bomb or get hit with an IED?
“Nah, they encountered a confrontation of some sort in town. A couple of the guys got shot up pretty bad. She grabbed an M-4 and protected them until reinforcements could get there. They want to honor her for being a hero, but during the firefight, one of the bastards came out of a house using a child as a shield. I don’t have the details, but the kid died and Garcia got hurt. She hasn’t been right since, and she’s refusing any type of commendation.”
This information should have awed me into silence, but I had to ask, “Are you sure she wasn’t out playing Pied Piper with the boys in her platoon?”
He grunted. “Yeah, happened the day before they transferred the area to the Army. Some sorta shindig was scheduled the next day where the Marines handed over control of the city and shifted the flags. The insurgents planned an attack during the ceremony. Thought everyone would be preoccupied. Their little joy ride forced the rats outta their hidey holes.”
He took a swig of coffee, and I waited for him to continue. “There had been plans for a full-scale war the following day. Their outing put a stop to it. Saved the lives of an unknown number of our military, both Army and
Marine.”
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