Left For Dead

The great depression had finally lifted and things were picking up . A baby boom brought with it the demand for bigger houses . People with trades found themselves a purple patch in the building game .
Benny was a self employed carpenter who was busy building house before the war . He was a happy kind of fella who quietly kept his weekends free for art . He loved to paint pictures of natural settings . In all of his canvasses he included yellow button daisies somewhere in the scene . It was like his hallmark . Many of his finished works were sold to tourists passing through his town on the South Coast of New South Wales .
When the war came it put things on hold for a time . He went over with a group of Australian soldiers to Papa New Guinea where he was given the job of maintaining the American wooden glider planes . The American’s had no carpenters and so Benny was called up . He never minded because the Americans had good food and lots of other extras that the Australian troops never got . His work as a carpenter was invaluable on the glider planes .
Benny loved to watch the tow planes hook up the gliders with awesome precision and power . About thirty paratroopers were on board the glider as it was hoisted into the sky by it’s carrier plane and then off it went on its own .
Gliding down to the ground unheard and mostly unseen . The element of surprise was devastating on the enemy .
The war was being won and Benny enjoyed serving as an Australian for America . His skills were appreciated by the allies .
The day finally arrived when the war had come to an end . Benny said farewell to some of his American friends and began to pack things up for his return to Australia . He decided to sketch a few things on the final week of his stay in Papa New Guinea . Early one morning he went off on his own to seek out a place to work . To his amazement he heard some cries for help . Benny found two Japanese soldiers in a hole . They had been left by their own forces and by the look of it were near deaths door .
Benny was able to drag them out off the hole and clean them up a bit . The two young Japanese soldiers could speak but Benny understood what they needed . They kept pointing to their mouth and Benny gave them what food he had . Then after he was able to get them back to his Barracks and into the hospital where they were looked after .
Benny thought about those young soldiers who had been left behind in a hole They were unaware that the war was over and were happy when they heard the news . Benny stayed with them until it was time for him to return to Australia . It wasn’t that long before Benny was back building houses again in Australia .
A few years had passed and one day a knock came to Benny’s front door . What a pleasant surprise it was for Benny to find the two young Japanese soldiers standing there .
They had a brand new fully Imported Japanese motor car parked outside . It was their gift for saving their lives . Benny was so proud of that little car . It was only a short lived experience however . The car was stolen within a few weeks . The car was never found and Benny continued to build houses .
It was sad that Benny had lost the car but you know what , it never really bothered him that much . He was just a real happy fella who kept his weekends free to paint pictures of nature . He had now some new hobbies that pleased him . As he walked most everywhere now Benny often picked up dress rims and hub caps on the side of the road . These he took home a painted some beautiful artwork on them . There were always yellow button daisies somewhere in the scene .
Benny retired from the workforce long after he should have . People often visited Benny’s workshop to admire the hundreds of hub caps hanging on the walls .
Benny was a soldier who refused to leave two of the enemy in a hole . He realized that they were human beings and most probably never wanted to go to war like the rest of those who had to go .
So who do we call our enemy ? Would you have left them their to die ?

The End