Our Today for Your Tomorrow

"For duty, honor, and our Country, we will give all."

“When I spoke to Lieutenant "A", I sensed he was doing his best to be strong for his men. His voice was a bit shaky but sounded determined. I informed him that we were already in the area. He then asked: ‘Sir, malapit na ba kayo? Saan na kayo? [Sir, are you near? Where are you?]”

Cpt "C" referred to his GPS device to let 1Lt "A" know where he was. “I was giving him my grid coordinates so he could picture where we were. Pero hindi na n’ya masabi kung saan talaga s’ya kasi wala na pala s’yang GPS [But he couldn’t say his exact location because he no longer had his GPS]. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack because there were so many houses in the area that stood one after the other. We will really have to look for them.”

1Lt "A" and his men were holed up in one of the many houses in the kill zone. With their GPS long gone, soldiers looking for them would have to search without any grid coordinates pointing to their whereabouts. Around the trapped MechBn troops were shattered glasses and other debris. Houses and structures peppered with gunshots, and the grim sight and stench of decomposing human remains, most of which were charred beyond recognition. It was a zone never for the faint-hearted.

Cpt "C" assured 1Lt "A" and the rest of the MechBn troops that they would do whatever it takes to rescue them.

The commander of the 1st Scout Ranger Company (1SRC) realized that the trapped men were already disoriented from their ordeal, moving from house to house to evade the enemy. They were weak with fatigue, hunger, and lack of sleep.

“I was really affected by the fact that our fellow soldiers were trapped and vulnerable to the enemy,” Cpt "C" said. “Kaya gusto ko talagang palakasin ang loob ni [I really wanted to boost the morale of] Lieutenant "A". I restrained my emotions and just kept giving him encouragement. I knew he was doing his best to remain strong for his men.” 

--NO MAN LEFT BEHIND (2018)