“CRACK, CRACK, CRACK enemy bullets fly over us, leaves and twigs fall out of the bush above as the guerrilla next to me looks over, smiles and gives me a big thumbs up. We have found the enemy, they are in the gully below us and judging by the smell of cordite close.

They might be close but we still can’t see them. We fire a few rounds back, each and fall back. There is 50-75 enemy in a resupply patrol, once a month they send these patrols out to supply their outposts along the border and they are easy pickings for ambushes. As they retreat back down the gully they hit a couple of mines that have been laid behind them as we engaged them from the front.

Our job done, we slip away, later one of the guys finds a bullet hole in his pack. The bullet had entered his pack and passed through, tearing a hole in his bible before exiting out the other side. This has been my first contact and now after years of training, for the first time, I feel like a Soldier.”
– Anonymous Western volunteer with the KNLA, Karen State, Burma. 2000
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This story was documented by Battles and Beers (TM) Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.