“I miss waking up to the smell of coffee and the sound of the kids running up and down the stairs. I miss the warm sun shining down on our faces as we sit outside and enjoy the nice summer day. I miss the smell of fresh cut grass and sound of laughter. Back when everything was better, safer, and normal. I am sorry I am away, I will be home soon to see you and the girls….” Before I could ever finish writing my letter to my wife a sound of gunfire startled me. I tucked my notebook and pen underneath the pillow and grabbed my gun. My head was in one place dreaming about being home but it was time to snap back into my new life. The air was filled with dust and my ears rang with the noise of gun shots coming from all different directions. The ambush lasted about 20 minutes but felt like 2 hours. We head back inside and right as I was picking up my notebook to send home to my wife someone came on the radio. “Sergeant Bailey is down, I repeat Sergeant Bailey is down”. My heart racing and palms sweating. We grabbed our gear and ran to him, I didn’t care how far I was running I couldn’t feel a thing. My heart stopped racing as we approached Sergeant Bailey. He laid there cold, and still. In fact, I think my heart might of stopped as well. We picked him up and carried him back to base. We tried everything to bring him back but nothing worked. We packed up his stuff and while cleaning up his final belongs it appeared we had forgotten something. A small brown puppy ran up to my feet and jumped on me. It was Sergeant Bailey’s dog Buster. I scooped up Buster and brought him back to the unit. The dog walked around trying to find his owner but little did Buster know, his owner wasn’t coming back. I kept Buster and took care of him just like I did with my daughters back home. It felt good to have something to come home to after a long day of work. Buster brought me joy to my life and especially when I had those nights that I missed being home. The nights I missed going on dates with my wife, missed coming home to them everyday, missed hearing my girls laugh. Buster kept me sane, at least when I needed him too.
Months passed and Buster grew older and got trained to be a military dog like Bailey always hoped he would. He always talked about going on missions with Buster because he wasn’t scared with his best friend by his side. I never understood what he meant when he called a dog his best friend, but now I do… It was October 19th and a siren went off on base. A siren usually meant two things; either the enemy was on base or the enemy was close by. Nobody knew which one it was but we got dressed and threw on our rucks and headed outside. I looked down and Buster stood next to me, we were in this together. The only thing that was in my mind was the thought of my family back home and that I was leaving Afghanistan in less than 2 months. The battle was called Rock Avalanche and is now known as one of the most deadliest battles at the time. It was gruesome and outrageous. The enemy ambushed us and killed 7 of our soldiers, almost 8….
My heart raced and my ears rung. I looked around and smoke was all around me. The last thing I remember before hitting the floor was seeing a bullet heading right toward me. My eyes focusing in and out I checked my arms and legs to see if I had gotten shot, nothing. My friend, Private Carlson ran up behind me yelling “Get up man this isn’t over yet!!” He held his hands out for me, I grabbed it and pulled myself back together. I continued to fight for my country, my unit, and my family. But I forgot something, I looked everywhere but he was nowhere to be found. “Buster!” I yelled, my voice shook afraid of what happened to the furry bundle of joy that I called my best friend. Carlson and I walked back to the place I almost got shot down at, laying besides where I was at was Buster. Buster laid there curled up in a little ball just like how he fell asleep on my bed. I got down on my knees and picked up my best friend. Giving him a kiss on the head. That night the boys and I buried the 7 soldiers and Buster all together on the battlefield that we fought on. My mind raced, that night my boys could have buried me.Buster jumped in front of the bullet for me being the brave animal Bailey and I knew he was. There was a side of happiness knowing that Buster would be back with Bailey. I can already picture Buster running up to him and scratching his legs just like he did with me. His tongue out and small brown tail wagging in excitement to his owner again.
2 months passed since Buster had been gone, I thought of Buster as I packed up all my clothes. Today was the day I was going home to see my wife and daughters smiling faces. It’s been a year and a half since I have last seen them. I left my dorm and before I shut my lights off for the last time I grabbed the dog collar hanging on my door handle. I thought back to the nights I spent with Buster telling him about my daughters and wife. I thought back to counting down the days on my calendar and keeping him updated on when we were leaving. Although I wasn’t leaving with Buster I still will never forget him. Without him, this day I have been waiting for would never of come. I put the collar in my pocket, and closed the door behind me.