P.O.W.
by
Chapter 1
The men had been marching through the jungle for 2 days. Six marines all that were left alive from their squad. Caught in a surprise ambush by the Viet Cong, the marines who had survived the attack had been taken prisoner. Their capturers had tied them together in one long line, forcing them to march down a long secluded trail to the prison camp hidden deep in the jungle. None of the surviving men tried to escape. A couple of others had tried earlier and had been shot and killed, their bodies dumped along the trail.
Sergeant Luke Duke forced himself to keep walking even though he was exhausted. He was also terrified. He knew that as a prisoner of war he had no rights, not to the Viet Cong, and that they were notorious for their torture and mistreatment of their prisoners. Luke had been in numerous battles, had men die in his arms, seen things no man should ever have to see, but being captured by the enemy frightened him more than anything else ever had. He knew it was unlikely that he would survive the ordeal that lay ahead of him. When the time came, he silently prayed for the courage to die like a man with honor and with pride.
The worst part of all was that he had been scheduled to go home in two days, his tour of Nam would have been over and he would have been safe back in the States. Now instead, he would probably die in this god forsaken place thousands of miles away from his home and his family. The physical torment had already began none of the prisoners had been given anything to eat or drink for the past two days and they'd had very little rest.
Early on the morning of the third day, they finally reached the hidden camp. There were four large wooden cages inside the compound housing up to 40 men apiece.
Luke and his fellow prisoners were untied and then ordered at gun point to remove their uniforms and redress in the rags that the other prisoners were forced to wear. Barefoot and dressed in a pair of loose fitting pants with a drawstring at the waist and a tattered shirt with no buttons, Luke was marched over to one of the cages and roughly thrown inside.
Reeling with shock and exhaustion, Luke made his way over to a corner of the cage and sat down, drawing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his knees. He let his eyes close, partly to rest and partly to block out the horror around him. But he could still hear the sounds of the camp, the yelling of the guards, the screams of the prisoners, coughing and gagging, moaning, the sounds of men vomiting. And the smell inside the cage was atrocious. Unwashed bodies, urine, feces, blood and vomit all mixed together. Luke knew that he had arrived in hell. He was tired, he was hungry, he was thirsty, he was cold and he was scared out of his mind.
He must have dozed off because the next thing Luke knew he felt someone shaking his shoulder roughly. He opened his eyes to see a man about his age sitting beside him. Without a word, he handed Luke a wooden bowl filled with water and a few bites of rice. Luke tipped the bowl to his mouth and took some in his mouth instantly gagging on the rank taste. He sat the bowl down on the ground where it was instantly snatched up by another prisoner.
“Don't worry” the other man told him in a flat voice “You'll get used to it. It's all they ever give us to eat.” The man looked at Luke intently, sizing him up. “My name's Pete. Pete Riggs.”
“Luke Duke”
“Southern Boy, huh?” he said with a grin instantly picking up on the slow, soft drawl in Luke's voice. “Where's home?”
“ Hazzard , Georgia .” Luke forced himself to say, swallowing hard to dislodge the sudden lump that rose in his throat as he thought about home.
“I'm Newark , New Jersey myself.” Pete told him “Don't reckon I've ever get back there except in a body bag.” He leaned back against the cage wall beside Luke and stretched out his legs. “What unit you with?”
“Marines. Division D.” Luke told him, fighting to keep his eyes open and to concentrate on what Pete was saying.
“Too bad….you're really in for it….these guys don't like the marines.” Pete informed him with a short bitter laugh. “And a lot of the guards like young guys like you…they like to see how long it takes to break you down…make you beg….”
“How long have you been here?” Luke asked, not really caring that much but trying to make conversation.
“Almost a year.” Pete told him with a sigh. “Figure I won't last much longer….most of us don't…”
Luke glanced at the other man, really noticing him for the first time and seeing his emancipated body, the open festering wounds and the flat dead look in his eyes. Luke found himself wondering how long it would take before he looked like that himself.
“Take care, Georgia boy.” Pete said as he shoved himself to his feet “And watch your back….nobody else here will….” Luke watched as he walked away to mingle with another group of men on the other side of the cage.
Luke leaned his head back against the cage and closed his eyes, trying to block out everything around him. He let his mind drift free, back to memories of home and the farm where he grew up with his Uncle and his two cousins.
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Hazzard County , Georgia wasn't much to most people but to Luke it was the only home he'd ever known and the only home he ever wanted. He came from a close loving family that consisted of his Uncle Jesse, his cousin, Daisy and his cousin, Bo. Luke was the oldest of the three cousins. He had come to live on the farm with Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha after his parents were killed in a car accident. He had only been four years old at the time. He remembered being so scared and so alone. But with Martha and Jesse's love and attention, he had slowly come around. When he was five, his cousin Bo, who was only a year old at the time had come to live on the farm too. His parents had also been killed in a car accident. And the family circle had been completed when he was eight and the final cousin, Daisy, had come to live them after her father had been killed in a mining accident. Her mother had died when she was born. She had been six at the time. The three cousins had become as close as natural brothers and sisters. And Luke and Bo had become so close, in spite of the difference in their ages, that they were seldom seen apart. The bond between them was so strong that they seemed to have almost a psychic connection between them.
Bo had only been 14 when Luke turned 18 and had enlisted in the Marines. He was devastated and had cried for days begging Luke not to go. The day that Luke left for basic training, Bo refused to even come out of his room to say goodbye. Luke had been gone for three years with just a short visit back home before shipping out for Viet Nam . Bo wrote Luke almost everyday and he looked forward to his younger cousins letters more than he cared to admit. When Luke wrote home, he always wrote two letters. One to Jesse and Daisy and a separate letter to Bo. The bond between them was as strong as ever and they shared almost everything (although Luke was careful not to tell any of his family about the horrors he had seen or experienced during his combat in Nam )
The farm had been a good place to grow up as a child and Luke couldn't have asked for a better childhood. They didn't have much in the way of material possessions but they had more than enough love to go around. The boys had to work hard to help Jesse with the farm but he made sure they had time to do things they enjoyed too like fishing, hunting, camping and when Luke got older, sports and girls.
To supplement the meager income from the farm, Jesse also made moonshine. Jesse's shine was considered the best around and he had regular customers in three counties who wouldn't buy their shine from anyone but Jesse. Moonshining had been a Duke Family tradition for almost 200 years with a secret recipe that had been passed down from generation to generation. When he got out of the service and went home for good, Luke planned to help Jesse in the family business.
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Luke's thoughts of home were rudely interrupted by a guard suddenly spraying a blast of icy cold water through the walls of the cage. He kept spraying the water until all of the prisoners inside the cage were soaked and shivering from the cold. One of the other prisoners took the time to tell Luke that the guards did that frequently. It was one of their favorite pastimes when it came to tormenting the prisoners. Luke huddled in his corner, soaked to the skin and miserable. And he knew that this was only the beginning.
Chapter 2
Luke finished the slop in his bowl without gagging. Pete was right, it didn't take long to get used to the foul taste. When you're close to starving, you'll eat just about anything. Luke had been in the camp for two days and he'd already seen four men in the cage with him die. The conditions were deplorable. There was no place to sleep except on the cold, hard ground and nothing to cover up with to ward off the chill of the night air. A corner of the cage had been designated as a waste area and that was where the prisoners relieved themselves. It was one of the areas the guards frequently sprayed down, sending rivers off liquid waste among the prisoners. Luke quickly learned to get out of the way as best he could to avoid getting any more of it on him than he had to.
The days were long and sweltering hot. So hot it was hard to breathe sometimes. And the insects were a torment all by themselves. Luke's body was soon covered with bites and stings. And at night, other animals, like rats, would slip into the cages. More than once Luke had watched in horror as a rat tried to make a meal out of another prisoner's leg or arm, especially if he had an open wound.
Three days after Luke arrived at the camp, a guard opened the cage door. Flanked by four other guards with guns, he came inside and grabbed Luke by the arm, jerking him to his feet. He pulled Luke outside of the cage and shut the door, locking it securely. While the other guards kept their guns aimed at Luke, the first guard securely tied his hands behind his back with a thick piece of rope and then slipped another piece of rope around Luke's neck. Laughing, he stated walking towards a one story block building pulling Luke along behind him like a dog by jerking on the rope around his neck.
Luke kept stumbling and falling to the ground as he was led down a long hallway. The guards led Luke to a small room. The one holding the rope yanked downwards as hard as he could causing Luke to fall to his knees. Luke coughed violently and inhaled deeply trying to catch his breath. He stared around the room with wide frightened eyes. The room was filled with instruments all designed for one purpose to torture the prisoners. Luke was practically drug across the cold hard floor over to the far wall. One guard cut the ropes binding his hands behind his back, only to force his hands around in front of him where he clamped Luke's wrists together with a set of handcuffs and wove a chain through the center.
The guard hauled on the end of the chain, hefting Luke up several inches off the ground and fastening the end of the chain to the floor. One of the guards turned on a valve on the wall behind Luke which caused a stream of cold water to pour down over Luke's head. One of the other guards put on a pair of heavy rubber gloves and pushed a metal cart over in front of Luke. Sitting on the cart was what looked like a car battery, covered in a plastic box, so only the prongs showed. Luke tried to hide his fear, knowing what they had in mind but his fear could still be seen clearly in his eyes.
The guard connected a set of jumper cables to the battery. He snapped one of the clamps onto Luke's left nipple, the teeth of the clamp cutting deep into the sensitive tissue. As he snapped the other one to his right nipple, Luke screamed, his body bucking and jerking from the electrical current that suddenly surged through his body. The water on his body only heightened his pain. The guard pulled the left clamp off, stopping the surge of current. Luke's heart was pounding frantically and he was breathing in deep gasping breaths from the violent assault on his senses.
“Who are you?” One of the guards demanded in broken English.
“Sergeant Lucas Kristopher Duke. United States Marines Division D.” Luke told him. The guard gave Luke another electrical shock that left Luke's entire body shaking and his throat raw from screaming..
“Wrong. You are nobody. You have no name, you are our prisoner.” The man growled. “Where are you from?”
“ Hazzard County , Georgia .” Luke responded, only to receive another electrical shock that left him screaming in agony again.
“Wrong. You have no home. You are nothing unless we tell you that you are.”
They repeated the same questions several more times, each time shocking Luke when he refused to give them the answers they wanted to hear. By the time they finally finished with him and unchained his hands, Luke's heart was pounding so rapidly that it felt like it was going to explode and he was barely conscious. The guards drug him back to the cage and threw him inside.
Luke crawled into one corner and curled up against the wall in a fetal position as he waited for his heart beat to return to normal. He was still trembling and his muscles were still twitching from the torture he'd been put through. The other prisoners ignored him. They'd seen it all before. It wasn't anything new. It was just a normal part of their everyday existence. Once more, Luke let his memories take him away from terror of this place and back home to Hazzard.
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He was in the hayloft with his first serious girlfriend, Mary Anne Jenkins. He was fourteen and she was thirteen. Luke had been sexually active for almost a year. His first time had been with an older girl at school who had the reputation of breaking in the virgins. When you live on a farm, you learn about the facts of life early on and Jesse had explained about the birds and the bees when he was twelve.
Mary Anne had allowed Luke to do some pretty heavy making out but had refused to let him go all the way until today. With the help of some of Jesse's shine that Luke had confiscated for just this purpose, he soon had Mary Anne ready and willing to let him go as far as he wanted. They made love and it was perfect. Unfortunately, the relationship didn't last. Mary Anne and her parents moved away from Hazzard a couple of months later leaving Luke without a steady girlfriend.
But Luke was already popular with the girls at school so it didn't take him long to find another girlfriend. Luke had enjoyed dating a lot of different girls during high school never settling down with one for very long. The girls might have liked him but most of their daddies didn't. They considered him too wild and reckless to be spending time with their daughters.
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Chapter 3
Days blended one into another until Luke lost of track of time. He could no longer remember how long he had been in the camp. Lack of food, poor hygiene, poor sanitation, a lack of adequate sleep, and continuing physical torture (usually in the form of the electric shocks) were starting to take their toll on Luke's spirit and his mind. The only thing that kept him sane when things got too bad was his memories of home. He often found himself wondering if anyone at home even knew that he was still alive or if they thought that he'd been killed.
Pete, the only other prisoner he had even gotten to know, had finally died of his injuries so now Luke was really alone without anyone to talk to. The other prisoners kept to themselves, avoiding each other as much as possible. When the guards came for him again, Luke didn't resist. He knew that it was no use. Resisting would only get him a bullet in his head and even though that sounded tempting sometimes, he didn't really want to die.
He stumbled down the long corridor that was so painfully familiar by now and into the room where they would find more ways to hurt him and try to make him say what they wanted to hear. But there was still a part of Luke that resisted bending to their will and giving up his own identity. Luke jerked his head, startled by one of the guards who had stepped behind him and suddenly slid a black bag over his head, blinding him and making it hard to breath. He felt them tying the bag shut around his neck even as his hands were cuffed together in front of him. Not being able to see what they were planning to do to him terrified him and his heart pounded with fear but he refused to let them see that he was afraid. He felt his hands being pulled above his head as one of the guards pulled on the chain, pulling his body into the air and suspending him a few inches off the ground.
It seemed like an eternity passed with him just hanging there wondering what they were going to do to him now. Then he suddenly heard a swishing sound and a loud crack, following by a fiery line pain that spread across his back, making him cry out in surprise at the attack that he couldn't see coming. Instinctively, his hands clenched into fists as the whip cut across his back again and again. His screams filled the air but he knew that nobody could hear him except his captors and they enjoyed hearing him scream.
Luke could feel the blood running down his body as the whip sliced across his back. He lost count after twenty lashes. Luke felt a blanket of darkness start to slip over his mind and he fought to remain conscious but it was a losing battle as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. The guards finally let him down and drug him back outside to his cage, throwing him inside. It was no longer any benefit to them to torture a prisoner who wasn't awake so they could hear him scream.
Slowly, Luke forced himself to open his eyes. He was back in the cage, curled up in the corner. His whole body hurt and his back felt like it was on fire. He tried not to move to minimize the pain as much as possible but he couldn't stop the soft moaning sounds that slipped from his throat.
Suddenly, a young man not much over 18 was kneeling beside him. “It's okay, Sarge…” he whispered “Just lie still and try to take it easy…..” Through the haze of pain that clouded his vision Luke suddenly recognized the young man as one of the men under his command. Private Billy Jo Spencer from Sagebrush, Arkansas . He had been one of the survivors from the ambush who had been captured along with Luke and the other men. Luke nodded slowly to show that he understood and closed his eyes. He was grateful to just have someone to talk to again and this time it was someone he knew. In his mind, Luke went back to Hazzard.
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Luke knew that he would be drafted as soon as he turned 18 and he knew that he would probably get sent to Viet Nam . Several local boys had already been shipped overseas and some of them had already been sent home in body bags. Luke was scared of leaving the farm, the only home he'd even known, and going to fight in a war that he didn't even understand.
After a long talk with Jesse about his options and his duty to his country, Luke had decided not to wait to be drafted but to enlist instead even though he knew it meant he would serve four years instead of two. But at least this way he had some choice in the branch of service he wanted to be a part of. He chose the Marines because of his own competitive nature. He knew it was considered the toughest of all the armed services and the most demanding but he welcomed the challenge to prove that he could be one of the best. But Luke had never imagined the things he would experience or the chances that would happen inside of him because of his decision.
He had left the farm a boy and had to become a man almost overnight. He had adapted quickly and easily to the rigid discipline of the Marines and in just three years had risen through the ranks to Sergeant with other men under his command. He had been sent to Viet Nam two years ago and if he hadn't been captured, he would have gone home two days after the ambush that had killed most of his men.
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Luke awoke with a start, sending a flash of pain through his body as he jerked involuntarily. He suddenly realized that Billy Jo was lying on the ground beside him, curled up against him and sharing his body heat to help keep Luke warm. Luke sighed softly and slowly let himself relax. He found himself wondering how much more abuse his body could take. He was already seriously weakened from the constant abuse, the lack of adequate food, and sleep deprivation. Everyday he could feel his mind slipping a little closer to the edge of insanity. He had already seen more than one prisoner go crazy, lost forever in the depths of his own mind. Luke was terrified of the same thing happening to him. So far his memories of his family and home had helped him survive the worst of the abuse but how much longer would those memories be enough to keep him alive and fighting to survive.
The next day, the guards came again and this time they took Luke and three other men out of the cage. Instead of taking them into the building, they held guns on them and ordered them to undress, facing the cage so the other prisoners could see them. As they pulled off the rags that they wore, the guards ordered them to get down on their knees. One of the guards smiled coldly as he stepped forward and held a pistol to the temple of the first man in line. He pulled the trigger and the gun went off, instantly killing the young man, who fell to the ground with blood soaking into the ground around him. Moving to the next man, he did the same thing with the same result. Then on to the third man. Luke was the last man in line. His heart pounded violently as he felt the barrel of the gun press against his temple. He closed his eyes, silently praying, as he waited for the inevitable. His heart jumped into his mouth as he heard a loud click and the hammer fell on an empty chamber. It took Luke a minute to realize that he was still alive and not dead like the other three men. He was shaking so badly that he collapsed onto the ground. He heard the guards laughing, as they unlocked the cage and threw Luke back inside, along with his clothes.
Luke doubled over and started to retch but there was nothing in his empty stomach to vomit up except a bitter foul tasting bile that burned his throat and left an awful aftertaste in his mouth. He felt gentle hands on his back and knew that Billy Jo was beside him. “Come on, Sarge….” He said quietly “Let me help ya…” Too shaken to help himself, Luke let Billy Jo dress him, then he crawled over to his usual corner of the cage and sat there with the tears running down his face as he hugged his knees. Please dear god, help me. Please get me out of here. I just wanna go home. I wanna go home…….don't let me die here in this awful place.
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Chapter 4
A whimper slipped from Luke's throat when he realized that the guards had come for him again. Rough hands reached out to grab him, pulling him to his feet. Outside the cage, he stood meekly as one of the guards tied his hands securely behind his back. Two guards grabbed his arms and drug him into the building. He was taken to a small room with a large sunken tub in the middle of it. Forced to his knees in front of the tub, one of the guards raised his foot and kicked Luke in the back, pushing him forward into the tub. Luke gasped as the icy cold water closed over his head. Twisting his body to one side, he forced his head above the surface of the water, gasping in air desperately.
Two of the guards laughed and grabbed his shoulders pushing him back under the water again. Luke struggled and fought to get back to the surface so he could breathe. His lungs were burning and screaming for air when they finally released him. They allowed him to surface just long enough to get a lungful of air before pushing him back under the water again. Luke felt the blackness clouding in on the edges of his mind before they finally released him and let him fight his way to the surface where he could breathe normally again. They continued with their little game, laughing as they let Luke almost drown before releasing him long enough to let him catch his breath again. Finally, they stopped and pulled him out of the tub letting him fall to ground, where he lay with his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe.
Because he was too weak to stand on his own, the guards grabbed Luke's wrists and drug him down the hallway towards the other room that he was so familiar with by now. There, they shocked him again for a long time before finally letting him go. By the time they finished, Luke's mind had finally retreated somewhere deep inside of himself where he couldn't feel the pain anymore. In his mind, Luke had gone home to Hazzard.
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“I promise you, little cuz…” Luke said trying to comfort his younger cousin who was so upset because Luke was leaving for boot camp soon. “I'll come back….I won't die over there….”
“You swear?” Bo asked through his tears
“I swear.”
“On your word as a Duke?”
“On my word as a Duke.”
“I don't want you to go…” Bo cried as he threw himself into Luke's arms. Luke held him close in a warm embrace and gently stroked the fourteen year olds thick blonde hair. Bo buried his face against Luke's shoulder and cried as if his heart would break.
Luke held back his own tears as he listened to Bo cry. He knew that his leaving would be hard for both of them but he had never expected it to be this hard. He and Bo had always done everything together ever since they were small children. Luke had even lost some of his own friends when he refused to do things with them unless Bo could be included. Now they were going to be separated for four years and neither one of them was handling it very well. Luke hoped he could keep his promise to Bo about coming home alive.
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Billy Jo sat beside Luke's limp unconscious body and gently rubbed his shoulder. This time he didn't seem to be waking up and Billy Jo was afraid that this time the guards had finally gone too far. Everyone has their limits even a man as strong as Luke Duke always seemed to be. And Luke seemed to be one of their favorites, one of the unlucky prisoners that the guards seemed to like to torture the most. “Come on, Sarge….” Billy Jo said “Hang in there….don't give up now…..” Billy Jo swallowed hard and blinked back his own tears. Luke's courage had always given Billy courage too and he genuinely liked the young officer, everybody in the unit did. He was tough but he was fair and yet, at the same, he was still a good ole county boy who enjoyed the company of the other men he was assigned to work with.
Billy could remember him telling stories about Hazzard and how much he missed his family and wanted to go home. Hell, they all did. He hoped that Luke would get the chance to do just that and not die here a thousand miles from home in this hell hole of a prison camp. “Come on, Sarge….” Billy coaxed him again “Open your eyes….”
Slowly, Luke's eyelids fluttered and then opened. There was an empty dead look in those sapphire eyes that Billy Jo had already seen in the eyes of so many of the other men here. Luke was giving up, the guards had finally broken him and left behind just a shell of the man he used to be.
Chapter 5
Luke was sitting in the corner with Billy Jo sitting beside him. Luke hadn't spoken since the last round of torture by the guards and Billy Jo was starting to get worried. Billy noticed the various wounds on Luke's body, including a wicked looking six inch gash on his left leg that looked like it was infected. When their food bowls came, Billy tried to hand Luke his bowl but he brushed it aside. “Come on, Sarge….ya gotta eat.” Billy said.
Luke could hear Billy Jo, he just refused to respond. He was convinced that he was going to die here in this place and that there was nothing he could do about that. He knew that his battered body couldn't take much more abuse and that the next round of torture could be all it took to kill him. Luke didn't think that it would matter much if he ate or not under the circumstances. He didn't want to die but it wasn't up to him, it was up to God and if God chose to let him die here in this place then there had to a reason.
Suddenly Luke heard the sound of angry voices, yelling and cussing. And then screams and gunfire. Gunfire that Luke's trained ear recognized as military issue M16's. Instantly the other men in the cage who were still able to starting yelling and crowding around the bars. Billy Jo looked at Luke and grinned. In an excited voice, he said, “Hang in there, Sarge….do ya hear me? Hang in there! Our guys are here! We're gonna get outta here!” He was so excited, he grabbed Luke's shoulders and shook him until Luke turned his head and looked at him “Our guys are here!” he repeated loudly “We're getting rescued!”
Luke understood what Billy Jo was saying and he felt a surge of relief but he was too weak and hurt to respond by doing anything more than simply nodding his head to show Billy that he understood. Suddenly, the door to their cage was thrown open and uniformed troops seemed to be all over the compound. As some of the uniformed men came inside the cage to start removing prisoners, Billy Jo stood up and started yelling “Over here….he's hurt bad…he needs a medic right away!”
Suddenly there were two uniformed men kneeling beside Luke. One of them smiled warmly and said “It's okay now, son…we're gonna get ya outta here.” One of them grabbed Luke under the arms and the second man grabbed his legs and they started carrying him out of the cage. Billy tagged along behind them as they carried Luke towards a waiting medivac chopper. “He's my sergeant.” Billy told them “United States Marines. Division D.”
“What's his name, son?” the man carrying Luke under his arms asked.
“Luke…Luke Duke.”
“Don't worry, son. We'll take good care of him.”
Billy watched as Luke was gently laid on a stretcher inside the chopper along with several other seriously injured prisoners. He didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down his face as the armed forces continued their rescue of the prisoners in the camp.
On the chopper, a pretty blonde nurse knelt beside the stretcher where Luke was lying and quickly began assessing his injuries and taking his vital signs. “Hi, Blue eyes…” she said with a smile noticing that Luke's eyes were open “Can you hear me?” Luke nodded his head slowly but didn't speak.”Good….just hang in there, okay? We're taking you to a mash unit in Saigon . Understand?” Luke nodded again “Great….now, I'm gonna start an IV so I get some fluids into you and some medicine that's gonna make you sleep.”
Luke flinched when he felt her insert the IV needle in the back of his left hand. Almost immediately he felt his eyes growing heavy as the IV drip started seeping into his bloodstream. He tried fighting it at first, afraid to go to sleep, afraid that he'd wake up and find out that this was all a dream and that he was still back in the camp being tortured but he lost the battle and his eyes finally closed as the medicine took effect.
Chapter 6
Luke forced his eyes open just long enough to look around. Quickly he realized that he was in a military hospital. He'd made it, somehow he had made it. He had survived that hell hole of a prison camp. He let his eyes close, drifting back into a deeply drugged sleep.
The next time he regained consciousness it was because he felt a prick in the back of his left hand as someone changed his IV. “Owww….” He muttered, opening his eyes and startling the pretty blonde nurse who was working on his IV.
“Well, hello there, blue eyes.” She said with a grin “Glad to see you finally decided to wake up. You remember me?”
“You were on the chopper.” Luke said, his voice hoarse from disuse.
“That's right. My name's Jenny and I'm your primary nurse.”
“I'm Luke. Luke Duke….”
“Nice to meet you , Luke Duke. With that accent you have to be from down south. Tennessee ?”
“ Georgia .” Luke corrected her with a thin smile. “ Hazzard , Georgia .”
“Well, since you didn't have any dog tags on when you were brought in….how about giving your rank and serial number too so I can fix your paperwork. I'd be willing to bet there are some folks out there that'll be mighty glad to hear that you're still alive.”
“Sergeant. United States Marines Division D. 233-08-4402.” Luke recited automatically.
“Gotcha Sergeant Duke.” Jenny told him with a grin “I'll make sure that information gets entered in the official record.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Four days. And you'll probably be here a couple of more weeks.”
“How bad am I hurt?”
“How bad are you? Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? You look like death warmed over.”
“That bad, huh?” Luke said with a short laugh that he cut off as his chest tightened painfully making him cough violently.
“I wouldn't do that just yet….you got pneumonia…that's why your chest hurts so bad.”
“Any other good news?”
“Yeah….it looks like you're not gonna lose your leg after all.”
“My leg?”
“Yeah, you had a pretty bad infection in it. It was touch and go for awhile but I think the doctor finally has it under control. You're gonna have a pretty nasty scar though. He had to operate to make sure he got all the infection out.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Other than the fact that you are severely dehydrated and you've lost almost 40 pounds….naw, I don't think so….” She looked at Luke and smiled “You're one of the lucky ones….at least you get to go home.”
“Home….” Luke repeated with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah…..you were a prisoner of war….so you're getting discharged as soon as you get out of here.”
“You mean I'm really going home….not just back to the states.” Luke said in a surprised voice
“You're really going home, blue eyes. Just as soon as you're strong enough to make the flight back.” She finished adjusting the drip on the IV and then said “I'll be back to check on you in a little while.”
Luke lay there staring at the ceiling and smiling happily. Home. He was really going home. Back to Hazzard and his old life and his family. Slowly he took stock of the various aches and pains in his battered body. His chest hurt but not that bad unless he tried to take too deep a breath or started coughing. His leg was what hurt the worst. A dull throbbing pain even when he didn't move it. He couldn't remember hurting it but for the last few weeks he hadn't been operating at full speed either. He also realized how weak he was and just how tired. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he drifted back to sleep.
When the supper trays were passed that night, Luke ate the first decent meal he'd had since being captured by the Viet Cong even if it was still military chow. He found out from one of the other officers that he had been in the prison camp for almost 3 months and that Luke and Billy Jo Riggs were the only two men from his unit who had survived their captivity. Since Billy wasn't in as bad a shape as Luke was he had been sent to a different hospital to be treated and then he would be sent home too.
Luke spent the next three days sleeping more then he was awake. Part of it was the drugs he was being given for the infection in his leg and the pneumonia and part of it was pure exhaustion from not getting much sleep over the past three months. His body needed the rest so he could regain his strength and his stamina. He woke up for meals and when the nurses changed the dressings on his leg but the rest of the time he slept.
Over the next ten days, Luke slowly regained his strength and regained 20 pounds of the weight he had lost. Before long, he was up and walking around with the aide of crutches. He still favored his injured leg but it was healing. After two weeks in the hospital, the doctor told him he was strong enough to fly back to the states where he would stay in a stateside hospital for another week while his discharge papers were processed and then he could go home.
Chapter 7
Luke stared out of the windows of the bus as it crossed the state line into Georgia . He couldn't believe that he was finally on his way home. After two weeks in the military hospital in Saigon , he was strong enough to be discharged and go home. That had been a week ago and soon he would be back in Hazzard and with his family. His leg was almost healed but he still had to use crutches to get around until it got stronger. He'd called the farm from the bus stop in Nashville and told Uncle Jesse when to expect him. His excitement and anticipation grew with each passing mile especially once familiar landmarks started coming in sight. It was 3 P.M. when the bus finally arrived in Hazzard. Luke slowly eased himself to his feet and carefully grabbed his crutches. A fellow passenger helped him get his duffle bag down from the overhead compartment and offered to carry it off of the bus for him. Luke accepted his offer gratefully and carefully made his way down the aisle to the front of the bus and then down the steps to the street.
He saw Uncle Jesse immediately. He hadn't changed much except his hair and beard was a little whiter. His blue eyes still sparkled with life and his lined face broke into a broad smile when he saw his oldest nephew step down from the bus. Four months ago, they had been told that Luke was M.I.A. and presumed dead and they had grieved. Then a little over a week ago they had learned that he'd actually been a P.O.W. but had been rescued and was in a hospital in Saigon . Jesse rushed forward as Luke's fellow passenger sat down the duffle bag at Luke's side and walked away. Jesse quickly engulfed his nephew in a welcoming hug.
Daisy, a pretty brunette, who had definitely blossomed in the three years since Luke had last seen her, squealed happily and ran forward to add her own hug to welcome her cousin home. Laughing, Luke returned their hugs and anxiously shifted his gaze to his youngest cousin, Bo. Bo was the one who had changed the most since Luke had been gone. He had been fourteen when Luke had left and he was eighteen now. He had grown into a tall handsome young man with feathered blonde hair and baby blue eyes. At six foot four, he was almost four inches taller than Luke. Bo let out a whoop of pure joy and gave Luke a huge bear hug that almost busted his ribs.
“Okay, cuz….” He told him with a chuckle “I'm glad to see you too….” He looked at his family, so happy to see them and to be back in Hazzard again that he couldn't stop smiling. “Let's go home.”
Bo grabbed Luke's duffle bag and they walked to Jesse's battered white pickup truck that was parked at the curb. Daisy and Jesse climbed into the cab, while Bo helped Luke climb into the back. Luke stretched his injured leg out in front of him and leaned back against the cab of the truck with Bo sitting beside him, talking a mile a minute and trying to catch him up on three years of news on their way back to the farm.
Jesse pulled the old pickup in behind the weather beaten farm house and turned off the engine. The Dukes climbed out of the truck and went into the house. Bo carried Luke's duffle bag upstairs to the room the boys had shared all their lives while Luke sat down at the kitchen table. Jesse poured himself and Luke both a cup of coffee while Daisy started fixing supper. Jesse sat down at the table beside Luke, eyeing his oldest nephew with a critical eye.
It was obvious that Luke had lost a lot of weight, his clothes hung loosely on his slender frame. But it was his eyes that bothered Jesse the most. They held the same haunted look that Jesse had seen in other young men's eyes returning from a war. He knew that Luke had seen things over there that no man should ever have to see and that he had done things and experienced things that could scar a man for life. He just hoped that Luke could learn to live with his experiences in the war especially the experience of having been a P.O.W. for almost 3 months. Jesse had been in the Korean War and he knew how atrocious conditions were in a prison camp and how badly the prisoners were treated. His heart ached at the thought of his oldest nephew being forced to go through something like that.
He hoped that Luke would be able to talk to him about it if he needed to but Jesse knew not to push it. Luke had always been more reserved than his cousins, keeping things to himself and not sharing his innermost feelings or emotions very easily. He had left this farm an innocent boy and had came back a grown man. A man with his own private demons and nightmares that he would have to learn to live with somehow.
Soon the aroma of Daisy's famous fried chicken filled the air, one of Luke's personal favorites. To celebrate Luke's homecoming, she prepared all of his favorites for supper. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy, corn on the cob, hot rolls and peach cobbler for desert. Bo joined them at the table and Jesse said grace, adding a special thanks for bringing Luke safely back home. Throughout supper and the rest of the evening, the family talked and caught up.
Finally it was time to turn in and Luke went to his old bedroom, the room he had shared with Bo since they were young children. The two boys undressed and crawled into their beds. Luke turned out the light on the nightstand between the two beds and lay there staring into the darkness and listening to the gentle sounds of the night that used to lull him to sleep as a child. In the hospital he'd been able to sleep because of the drugs and from sheer exhaustion. Maybe back here in his childhood home where he felt safe he could sleep again in peace instead of fear. He finally felt his eyes growing heavy and he slept.
Suddenly Luke awoke with a start his heart pounding with fear and his eyes darting around anxiously. It took him a minute to realize that he was at home in his own room instead of locked in a cage in a prison camp in the jungles of Viet Nam . He was shaking as he shoved himself out of bed and quietly left the bedroom. Carefully, he made his way through the darkness down the stairs and into the kitchen. Turning on the kitchen light, he made a pot of coffee. He knew he wouldn't be getting any more sleep, not tonight anyway. He had finally stopped shaking but his heart was still beating rapidly and he could taste the fear that lingered in his mouth.
Chapter 8
Jesse heard the sound of someone moving around downstairs. He sighed softly. He knew even without getting up that it was Luke. He was worried about his oldest nephew. He hadn't been sleeping more than a couple of hours a night ever since he came home. Jesse knew that he was having nightmares. Bo had told Jesse that he'd heard Luke talking in his sleep and had awakened him a few times when the dreams seemed really bad. But so far Luke had refused to talk to anyone about the dreams.
Jesse didn't want to push Luke but he didn't want to see him suffer either. He had already suffered enough. Finally, Jesse shoved himself to his feet and went downstairs. Luke was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. There were dark circles under the young man's eyes and his face was drawn and tired. It was obvious that he needed a good night's sleep. “Can't sleep again?” Jesse asked, as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table beside his nephew.
“No…” Luke said, lowering his eyes and avoiding his Uncle's gaze.
“Maybe you should talk to Doc Applebee….see if he can give ya something to help ya sleep.” Jesse suggested trying to be helpful.
“No…I'm fine.” Luke insisted “I don't want no drugs.”
“Luke, you're not fine.” Jesse said “You're not sleeping……you're having nightmares….”
“I'll be alright, Uncle Jesse.” Luke said in annoyed voice making it clear that he didn't want to talk about it. Without another word, he shoved himself to his feet and went through the living and out onto the front porch. Jesse heard the slight squeak as Luke sat down on the porch swing. Sighing, Jesse finished his coffee and went back upstairs to bed. Luke wasn't ready to talk yet and Jesse didn't know if he ever would be.
But Jesse knew that it would be worse for Luke if he kept it all bottled up inside of him.
Sooner or later Luke had to deal with what was going on inside his head.
On the front porch, Luke sat in the old swing gently swaying back and forth. He stared out into the darkness and listened to the sounds of the night. But in the depths of his mind, he didn't see the familiar landscape of his childhood home he saw the jungles of Viet Nam . In spite of the warmth of the night, Luke shivered with a cold chill. He found himself wondering if he was finally losing his mind. But Luke still believed he could handle it by himself without worrying Uncle Jesse and the rest of his family any more than he already had. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon before Luke finally stood up and went back into the house.
Daisy was in the kitchen starting breakfast. When she saw Luke come into the house, she poured a cup of coffee and sat it on the table for her oldest cousin. Luke gave her a smile of thanks and sat down at the table. He could see the worried look in Daisy eyes as she glanced at him. “You okay, Luke?” she asked quietly
“I'm fine….” Luke told her but the words sounded hollow even to him. He knew that his family was worried about him, he was worried about himself too, but he didn't know what to do. He couldn't seem to control the crazy things that were going on in his mind. But he still resisted talking about it to anyone, if he talked to anyone he would have to tell them the things he'd seen and done, and what he'd gone through in the prison camp and he had no intention of reliving all that again.
Over the next few days little changed. Luke still couldn't sleep and when he did, he was awakened by the nightmares of being back in a cage with people hurting him. The lack of sleep was starting to take its toll as Luke became more irritable and short tempered. Everyone noticed but nobody knew what to do. Finally, Jesse called Doc Applebee without telling Luke and told him what was going on.
“It sounds like a severe case of post traumatic stress syndrome.” Doc told Jesse “It's to be expected after everything Luke went through over there.”
“Well what can we do to help him?”
“The best thing you can do is get him to talk about it.”
“I've tried that….he won't open up.”
“I was afraid of that….I know Luke…but he needs to talk about what he's going through. If not to you, then maybe somebody at the V.A. He needs to understand that other veterans have gone through the same thing, he's not alone….”
“Thank you, Doc. Anything else we should do?”
“I could give him some sleeping pills to help him sleep without the nightmares.”
“Luke don't wanna take no drugs.”
“Then there isn't much else you can do except be there for him and try your best to help him get through this.” Jesse thanked the doctor and hung up. He walked over to the kitchen window and looked outside to where the boys were washing the General. Jesse tried to think of a way to get Luke to get the help he needed without alienating him.
And Jesse had a feeling that Luke would fight him all the way if he suggested talking to someone at the VA. Now that he was finally home, Luke seemed to want to forget everything that had to do with the military.
Bo had been asking Jesse to let him help make some shine runs and now that Luke was back, Jesse wondered if maybe he shouldn't let Luke start showing Bo the ropes. Bo was an excellent driver and Luke had already been making runs for Jesse at that age for almost a year. Maybe it would help Luke get his mind off of other things.. Jesse had taught both boys how to drive and they knew every ridge runner trick there was and then some. Driving just seemed to come naturally to both boys. Jesse decided to think on it a bit. His first priority right now was Luke and his well being including his mental health.
Chapter 9
It was the Fourth of July in Hazzard County . Luke had been home a little over a month. As usual, the Duke family had gone to town to celebrate the holiday. There were several events and activities going on in the town square, various contests, a large flea market, concession stands, and entertainment throughout the day. The festivities would conclude that night with a huge fireworks display at the fair grounds.
For the first time since he'd come home, Luke seemed to be enjoying himself and having a good time. He socialized with old friends and flirted with all the pretty girls. He even entered the axe throwing contest and won. He seemed relaxed and more like himself again, not as tense or on edge. Jesse hoped that his behavior that day meant that he was getting better and adjusting to be being back home again.
When it started to get dark, the Duke went to the fairgrounds along with the rest of the town to watch the fireworks. They found a place to sit and spread out the blanket that Daisy had brought for them to sit on. They all made themselves comfortable and waited for the show to begin. As soon as it was dark enough, the fireworks started with the flashing flares of shining color and loud bangs and explosions. Suddenly, Luke bounced to his feet and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Bo looked at his uncle with a startled glance and started to stand up to follow his cousin but Jesse shook his head and said, “You stay here…I'll see what's wrong.” Jesse pushed himself to his feet and made his way through the crowd. As he approached the area where the cars were parked, he spotted Luke heading towards the General Lee.
“Luke!” He yelled “Wait up….”
Luke paused just as he reached the General and stood there waiting for Jesse to catch up. As Jesse got closer, he saw the haunted, frightened look on Luke's face and the slight trembling of his hands. Jesse frowned wondering what had put Luke in this state. “Luke…” he said quietly “What's wrong, son?”
“Nothing….” Luke said a little too quickly “Just take Bo home with you….I gotta go…I gotta get outta here.”
“Luke, at least tell me what's wrong…” Jesse said firmly
“I'm fine.” Luke insisted, climbing into the General and starting the engine. He pulled away without saying another word leaving Jesse standing there more confused than ever. Jesse made his way back to where the rest of the family was waiting for him.
“Luke went on home.” He told them as he rejoined them
“What for?” Bo said in a surprised voice “Luke always liked watching the fireworks.”
“I don't know.” Jesse said “But I aim on getting to the bottom of this when we get home.”
After the fireworks display was over, they gathered up their blanket and walked back to Uncle Jesse's truck. When they got back to the farm, the General Lee was parked in it's usual place but there was no sign on Luke inside the house. “You two stay here.” Jesse ordered Daisy and Bo as he went outside to look for Luke. He had a feeling that he knew exactly where to find him, the one place that Luke always went to when he wanted to be alone. The hayloft in the barn.
Jesse entered the dark interior of the barn and walked over to the ladder that led up to the loft. “Luke, come on down” Jesse called out “I know you're up there and I ain't climbing this dang ladder after you.” He heard a slight movement in the loft, then a few minutes later, Luke began climbing down the ladder. When he reached the bottom of the ladder, Luke turned to face his uncle but kept his eyes lowered, refusing to look into Jesse's eyes. “Let's sit down…..” Jesse said “I ain't as young as I used to be…”
They moved to a couple of bales of hay sitting to one side of the ladder and sat down. In the darkness Jesse couldn't see Luke's face clearly but he could feel the younger man's tension. “Alright, Lucas….” Jesse said firmly “I want you to tell me what happened back there in town that upset you so much…”
“I just had to get out of there….” Luke said his voice tight and on edge. “That's all…”
“That's not all and I know it.” Jesse said “Now out with it before I turn you over my knee.”
Luke was silent for several minutes and Jesse thought at first that he was going to refuse to answer. Finally, Luke made a strangled cry somewhere deep in his throat and said “I had to get away from the noise…..the fireworks….”
“Why?” Jesse asked trying to understand why something so ordinary had upset Luke so much.
Luke turned to look at his Uncle and Jesse could see the tears in the young man's eyes “Because….they sounded just the bombs in ‘ Nam ….the noise and the fire when they exploded…..” Suddenly Luke broke down and started to cry, leaning forward and hugging himself as he rocked back and forth.
Instinctively, Jesse reached out and pulled his oldest nephew into his arms, holding him close and letting him cry on his shoulder. It had never occurred to Jesse to associate the sounds of the fireworks display with the sounds of a battle in Viet Nam .
“Shhhh…it's gonna alright, boy…..you're home now……you're not over there anymore….”
“That's just it, Uncle Jesse….” Luke's muffled voice said against his shoulder “I am still over there…..I can't get it out of my head…..” he began to cry harder as the floodgates finally opened and the pain and terror of what he had gone through overwhelmed him. Jesse held him tightly and let him cry knowing that this was what Luke needed more than anything else. He might have grown up quicker than he should have over there but at the moment he was a child again needing the comfort of his Uncle's embrace. Luke cried for a long time, deep heart rendering sobs that tore at Jesse's heart. Finally, he seemed to get himself under control and slowly pulled out of his Uncle's arms. Jesse put his arm around Luke's shoulders waiting for him to talk to him.
“Go on, Luke…..get the rest of it out…” Jesse said quietly. “It'll help to talk about it.”
“It was horrible over there….” Luke said almost in a whisper “I was so scared all the time….I watched some of my best friends get killed….one of them even died in my arms.” He choked back a sob and paused to regain his composure. “I was afraid that I was gonna be next….”
“I know the feeling.” Jesse told him “It was that way when I was in Korea .”
“I was suppose to come back to the states….my tour over there was over…” Luke said in a broken voice “Then I got caught and took to that prison camp.” He stopped talking and Jesse knew that he was almost ready to start crying again. Jesse waited patiently for him to continue knowing the next part of his story would be the hardest part for him to tell and the hardest part for Jesse to hear. “They put us in cages….like animals…with nothing to wear but rags….” Luke took a deep shuddering breath “They hardly fed us anything and they….” He stopped unable to go on as the horror of the camp flooded back into his head. He buried his head against Jesse's shoulder again “They hurt me, Jesse….they hurt me so bad….” Jesse held him and patted his back soothingly as he started crying again. Jesse felt the tears burning his own eyes as he tried to help Luke deal with the memories that were tearing him apart inside.
“Go on, baby….” Jesse whispered his own voice cracking with emotion “Get it all out….you're safe now….they can't hurt you anymore….”
“They beat me….they shocked me…they used a whip….again and again and again.” Luke cried in strangled voice “They even took four of us out of the cages one day and made us get down on our knees, then they held a gun to our head and they shot the three other men first…..I thought they were gonna kill me too…but there was no bullet in the gun when they held it to my head and pulled the trigger….” He started crying harder and his entire body shook in Jesse's arms.
Jesse's own tears fell down his face as he held Luke as tightly as he could and gently rocked him back and forth. Luke cried and kept crying until he couldn't cry anymore. Still he stayed in the comfort of Jesse's embrace too exhausted emotionally and mentally to move. For just a few more moments, he wanted to stay a child again and pretend that the horrors he'd experienced as a man had never happened.
“You ready to go in the house?” Jesse finally asked him gently. Luke straightened up, moving out of his uncle's arms and nodded his head slightly. Jesse shoved himself to his feet and helped Luke to stand up. He was still shaky and unsteady on his feet, leaning heavily against Jesse for support as they walked back to the house.
Inside the house, Daisy and Bo were still waiting up, worried about Luke and wondering what was taking Jesse so long to return to the house. When he came into the house with Luke, Bo and Daisy both saw the strained look on Luke's face and his puffy red eyes, they also noticed that Jesse's eyes were red too. Luke walked past them and went up the stairs to his room, closing the door.
“Uncle Jesse, is Luke okay?” Bo asked in a deeply worried voice
“He'll be fine….” Jesse assured him “He'll be just fine…..just give him a little space right now.”
Chapter 10
Up in his room, Luke threw himself down on his bed without bothering to undress. He buried his face in his pillow, still shaken and torn by his emotional outburst in the barn. Emotionally exhausted, he fell into a deep dreamless sleep. The first really restful sleep he'd had since coming home.
It wasn't easy and his emotional display in the barn didn't eliminate all of his problems entirely but it was a start. At least the dreams started coming less often after that and he started getting some peaceful sleep again. Some days were worse than others but he always had his family to support him and help him to get through them. He knew there would always be certain events or traumas that might trigger the memories but he could learn to live with that. Just like he would learn to live with the guilt of still being alive when so many of his friends had died over there.
After a lot of encouragement from Jesse, he did go to the VA and talked to a counselor there a few times and he had to admit that it did help. But there were still scars that would always remain, scars that would shape the man he was and would continue to be. He had lived through it but the price he'd paid for surviving was high indeed.
Shortly after he came home, the draft was discontinued so at least Bo would never have to be forced to fight in a war while he was still somewhere between being a child and being a man. He would never have to see the things Luke had seen, or suffer through the things Luke had suffered through, and he would not have to come home changed in so many ways from the boy he had been when he had left. He wouldn't lose his innocence and a part of himself in a jungle a thousand miles from home. He would never be Luke.