Mindoro, Philippines—Then
“Lieutenant, let me tell you something.” Marine Gunner Shake Davis popped a lemon-lime Charms candy into his mouth and chased it with a swig from his canteen. “I’m more than a little disappointed. This patrol leader of yours couldn’t find his ass with a ten-man working party.”
“We didn’t get what was promised.” Lt. Ignacio Felodon paused in rolling one of the homemade cigarettes he smoked with cull tobacco wrapped in a bit of cornhusk. “We asked for the best men and the unit commanders sent us their problems.” Shake’s Philippine Marine counterpart on the Mobile Training Team had more to say but the discourse was interrupted by a raging torrent of Tagalog from deep in the bush to the right of their position.
“Sounds like Sergeant Mariano is ripping off another p
