Two days later I was put to the test and my inexperience showed. Our job was to respond immediately to any incoming fire and, as happened in other actions, we had no time to put on helmets or flak jackets. I pump hard, stamping the pedal on the floor of the turret, gripping and turning the handles as I traverse and fire. The recoiling gun pounds and shakes the turret. Rounds explode in the wire and just beyond.
Acrid smoke stings the nostrils.
We are under fire. Now the radar dome beside us to our right is under attack. RPG rounds fall short in bright popping explosions, like flash bulbs going off, right in front of our positions. This was not my first time in action, but it was the first time I ever had to aim and fire the guns. Old Mike behind me is loading away.