Chapter 13Christ it was hot.
Even for Corporal William Bear, brought up in the stifling heat of New Orleans, the temperature was unbearable. He could feel the energy seeping out of his body, through his sweat-soaked fatigues, under his grey-green helmet, in the soles of his sand-covered boots.
They had been travelling for four hours but it felt like four days. The heat from the sun was cooking the air, and the tank’s fumes made them nauseous. Their troop commander, Major Grover, had said it was a simple recce exercise, but nobody believed him. Just to see if the way is clear for the B Division convoy, he had said. So how come they needed a convoy themselves – three troop carriers, four tanks, and two short-range missile launchers?
They were making slower speed than they should. The heat
