by Bob Kranich
No Name Key, (Part 4)
There was an old wood table, three old chairs, and over in the corner of the back wall two U. S. Army camo-green rucksacks. There were also three dark green U. S. Army rolled-up sleeping bags.
“It looks like some of them are actually holed up here. I guess they are out on maneuvers,” Hector stated.
“What do we do?” Manuel questioned.
“Let’s go outside and have a look around,” Hector suggested.
They stepped outside into the bright sunlight, blinking as their eyes adjusted. The house was set back only a little ways from the sandy beach. A couple of coconut palms on either side stood between them and the water. That was when Hector noticed something, “Look, there’s a couple of coconut husks lying around the tree.” He walked over to them, “These coconuts have been opened recently.”
They were both bending down looking, when a voice rang out, “Hey boys! Who are you?”
Both Hector and Manuel swung around, startled. They stood up.
“Hold it right there you two! Move slow and put your hands up!”
Three men were standing in front of the house. They were dressed in Army green camouflage. One man, short and stocky, was moving towards them. The other two had what appeared to be M-1 carbines, not pointed at them, but they were certainly in a ready position.
The man moving towards them stopped about ten feet away. They could see that he had a U. S. Army .45 in a holster on a web belt. It was unsnapped.
“Who are you two? What are you up to?” he demanded.
“We are looking for the Freedom Fighters. We came here to join up and train.” Hector said.
Manuel added, “Yeah, we want to kick Castro out of Cuba.”
“It sounds pretty noble,” the guy said. “But I have to ask you, are you connected in any way with the law?”
“No!” they both said in unison.
“Why do you ask?” Hector questioned.
“Sometimes they don’t take too kindly to us training out here,” the guy answered. “If you two don’t mind, I have to see if you’re armed, and we’ll have to frisk you. Just a precaution.”
“Go ahead,” Manuel said.
“Slim.”
They knew now that this guy was definitely the leader.
One of the other two, a tall thin fellow, slung his rifle over his shoulder, came around behind, and patted them down.
“Clean,” Slim stated.
“OK guys, you can put your hands down. Sorry I was so abrupt at first, but we can’t be too careful,” the leader said. “If you want to, we’ll go inside, out of sight, and talk.” The leader headed towards the house with Manuel and Hector following, and the two others bringing up the rear.
He stopped at the door and turned around facing them. “We’ll do the introductions now because Joe will be keeping a watch outside. You know Slim, and I’m Roy. We only use first names. I’m sure you guys understand. Slim and I are over from the Keys, and Joe, the mainland. How about you guys?”
Manuel answered, “I’m Manuel, and my young friend here is Hector. We’re Key West Conchs. We got laid off a month ago.”
Hector added, “We’d like to do something for our homeland, and here we are.”
“Joe, keep an outside watch. Slim, the door. Let’s go to the back room.” They went in. Roy sat down at the table.
“Pull up a chair, and we’ll talk. First I can’t sign you two up as Cuban Freedom Fighters. You will have to go up to Miami for that. We’re training on our own. We do have a couple of contacts, but I can’t talk about that. What I can give you is about two days of good hard survival training and some M-1 basics. We don’t shoot much, don’t want to alert anyone. But you’ll each get a couple of shots. We’re out of here after that.”
“What do you think, Hector?” Manuel asked. “Sounds like we can learn a lot from these guys.”
“Ya, sure, I’m in,” Hector answered….
“Manuel, Hector, let’s get started.” Roy went over to one of the rucksacks, opened a pocket and took out a U. S. Army FM 21-76 Survival Manual.*
“You guys can have this. Read it when you have time. I’ve got more back in the car.”
“Thanks,” they both replied.
“We’ll spend an hour or two here, and then we’ll move out. First item in survival is water, good potable water. We’re lucky here. This island is made up of oolitic limestone, and you can find fresh water in its formations. So we look for fresh water holes. Now food, that’s another problem. If we were desperate we could shoot a Key deer. But here that is illegal. However, we have rabbits, land crabs, crawfish, fish, and birds. As far as plants, occasionally we find old cultivated fruit trees, sapodillas and limes. There’s coconuts, some berries, and pine needles for tea.”
“I’m going to take Joe’s place, and he will come in here and show you how to break down and clean an M-1 carbine.”
He went out where Joe was and said, “Joe, will you show Hector and Manuel the essentials of an M-1?”
“Yes sir.”
Joe came in, laid his M-1 on the table and pointed it away from everyone. “You guys ever use a firearm?”
Hector replied, “.22 rifle.”
Manuel answered, “Hunting shotgun, a few times.”
“At least that’s something,” Joe noted and then went on.
No Name Key, (Part 4)
There was an old wood table, three old chairs, and over in the corner of the back wall two U. S. Army camo-green rucksacks. There were also three dark green U. S. Army rolled-up sleeping bags.
“It looks like some of them are actually holed up here. I guess they are out on maneuvers,” Hector stated.
“What do we do?” Manuel questioned.
“Let’s go outside and have a look around,” Hector suggested.
They stepped outside into the bright sunlight, blinking as their eyes adjusted. The house was set back only a little ways from the sandy beach. A couple of coconut palms on either side stood between them and the water. That was when Hector noticed something, “Look, there’s a couple of coconut husks lying around the tree.” He walked over to them, “These coconuts have been opened recently.”
They were both bending down looking, when a voice rang out, “Hey boys! Who are you?”
Both Hector and Manuel swung around, startled. They stood up.
“Hold it right there you two! Move slow and put your hands up!”
Three men were standing in front of the house. They were dressed in Army green camouflage. One man, short and stocky, was moving towards them. The other two had what appeared to be M-1 carbines, not pointed at them, but they were certainly in a ready position.
The man moving towards them stopped about ten feet away. They could see that he had a U. S. Army .45 in a holster on a web belt. It was unsnapped.
“Who are you two? What are you up to?” he demanded.
“We are looking for the Freedom Fighters. We came here to join up and train.” Hector said.
Manuel added, “Yeah, we want to kick Castro out of Cuba.”
“It sounds pretty noble,” the guy said. “But I have to ask you, are you connected in any way with the law?”
“No!” they both said in unison.
“Why do you ask?” Hector questioned.
“Sometimes they don’t take too kindly to us training out here,” the guy answered. “If you two don’t mind, I have to see if you’re armed, and we’ll have to frisk you. Just a precaution.”
“Go ahead,” Manuel said.
“Slim.”
They knew now that this guy was definitely the leader.
One of the other two, a tall thin fellow, slung his rifle over his shoulder, came around behind, and patted them down.
“Clean,” Slim stated.
“OK guys, you can put your hands down. Sorry I was so abrupt at first, but we can’t be too careful,” the leader said. “If you want to, we’ll go inside, out of sight, and talk.” The leader headed towards the house with Manuel and Hector following, and the two others bringing up the rear.
He stopped at the door and turned around facing them. “We’ll do the introductions now because Joe will be keeping a watch outside. You know Slim, and I’m Roy. We only use first names. I’m sure you guys understand. Slim and I are over from the Keys, and Joe, the mainland. How about you guys?”
Manuel answered, “I’m Manuel, and my young friend here is Hector. We’re Key West Conchs. We got laid off a month ago.”
Hector added, “We’d like to do something for our homeland, and here we are.”
“Joe, keep an outside watch. Slim, the door. Let’s go to the back room.” They went in. Roy sat down at the table.
“Pull up a chair, and we’ll talk. First I can’t sign you two up as Cuban Freedom Fighters. You will have to go up to Miami for that. We’re training on our own. We do have a couple of contacts, but I can’t talk about that. What I can give you is about two days of good hard survival training and some M-1 basics. We don’t shoot much, don’t want to alert anyone. But you’ll each get a couple of shots. We’re out of here after that.”
“What do you think, Hector?” Manuel asked. “Sounds like we can learn a lot from these guys.”
“Ya, sure, I’m in,” Hector answered….
“Manuel, Hector, let’s get started.” Roy went over to one of the rucksacks, opened a pocket and took out a U. S. Army FM 21-76 Survival Manual.*
“You guys can have this. Read it when you have time. I’ve got more back in the car.”
“Thanks,” they both replied.
“We’ll spend an hour or two here, and then we’ll move out. First item in survival is water, good potable water. We’re lucky here. This island is made up of oolitic limestone, and you can find fresh water in its formations. So we look for fresh water holes. Now food, that’s another problem. If we were desperate we could shoot a Key deer. But here that is illegal. However, we have rabbits, land crabs, crawfish, fish, and birds. As far as plants, occasionally we find old cultivated fruit trees, sapodillas and limes. There’s coconuts, some berries, and pine needles for tea.”
“I’m going to take Joe’s place, and he will come in here and show you how to break down and clean an M-1 carbine.”
He went out where Joe was and said, “Joe, will you show Hector and Manuel the essentials of an M-1?”
“Yes sir.”
Joe came in, laid his M-1 on the table and pointed it away from everyone. “You guys ever use a firearm?”
Hector replied, “.22 rifle.”
Manuel answered, “Hunting shotgun, a few times.”
“At least that’s something,” Joe noted and then went on.
From the author: My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book on Don Browne’s Southwest Florida Online, A Walk Across Florida.)
As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. Website: bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
No comments:
Post a Comment