Avoid Death, Get a Medal Free!

From the moment Sinanda entered the army barracks in Tima, he was happy. He spent hours that first night looking at his uniforms, his boots, his physical training clothes, his rucksack and all the other equipment he had been given. He went to the mirror to look at his haircut. His head gleamed in the light where they had shaved off all his hair He lay on his bed and got up again. He turned on the taps and the shower. He washed his hands and dried them. He was happy.

Next morning at halt past five, a bugle call wakened Sinanda and the other recruits from a deep sleep. A sergeant told them to put on their physical training clothes and get outside. They exercised and ran for an hour. Then they were told to shower and dress. They had half an hour to report for breakfast. Next they were given lessons in marching and also, going on parade. Then they had classroom instruction on how to use a rifle.

Sinanda learnt all the rules and regulations quickly. He was always first on parade. He was always the cleanest and neatest soldier. He tried to answer questions in the lessons before anyone else. He quickly made himself very unpopular with the other recruits but Sinanda believed that they admired and respected him.

The officers watched all the recruits. They asked the sergeants about all the new soldiers. The sergeant in charge of Sinanda's platoon said they should make Sinanda a corporal. He was going to be a good soldier. He might even make a good sergeant some day. Sinanda was promoted to corporal next day. He was to be responsible for a group of men in the platoon.

Sinanda had made one friend in the army camp. He was another Timangan, from Tima, called Sikiwa. Sikiwa had joined the Royal Bamangan Army on the same day as Sinanda. They had travelled down to Port Bamanga from Tima together. They had become friends almost by accident. Sikiwa had been made a

corporal too, and they were in the same platoon. There was one difference. The men liked Sikiwa. They laughed with him and followed his orders quickly. Sinanda's men followed his orders because they were afraid of him.

After six months Sinanda's platoon completed their training. They were sent to the north-western border to help defend it against possible attacks. Fernando the Third hated the President of Rulindi, the neighbouring country, and both sides watched the frontier carefully. Also cattle rustlers often raided farms in northern Bamanga, stealing women and children as well as cattle.

****

"I'm hot, tired and dirty,'' said Sinanda. "What time is it?"

"It's twelve o'clock,'' replied Sikiwa. "Two more hours before we turn back."

They were standing in the shade of a great mahogany tree. The rest of the platoon lay on the ground and drank water from their canteens or smoked cigarettes. They were patrolling thirty kilometres of border between the camp and the River Bamanga. They had seen nothing all day, except a few thin antelope and many hungry vultures. The lieutenant in charge of the platoon came over to them.

"I've a surprise for you,'' he said. "We have to make for the river and camp there for the night. The colonel is going to fly in by helicopter. We're going on a night patrol. On foot."

''No beer tonight,'' said Sikiwa. He laughed at the look on Sinanda's face because Sinanda always had a few beers on a Saturday night.

****

The noise of the helicopter wakened Sinanda who was sitting half asleep beside his rucksack. He called to the soldiers to get ready and then went with the lieutenant and Corporal Sikiwa to meet the colonel.

"We have some men who work on the other side of the border. One of them spotted a group of rustlers moving in this direction yesterday." The colonel pointed to the map. Sinanda shone a torch on it to help them see clearly.

"We're here. We'll move north-west up the border and attack them as soon as they enter Bamanga, about here. One of the other platoons will move south-east to meet us. If we miss them, they should find them. All right? Well then, let's get started."

****

It was all so quick, Sinanda never knew what happened. The platoon did not see the rustlers and the rustlers did not see the soldiers. One of the soldiers almost walked straight into the rustlers. The rustler fired his gun, and suddenly everyone was firing.

Sinanda stopped beside the colonel and looked in amazement. A figure came out of the dark, pointed his rifle at the colonel, and fired. Sinanda tried to turn to get out of the way. His feet slipped and he fell directly in front of the colonel. The bullet struck him below the shoulder and Sinanda dropped unconscious to the ground.

The colonel fired his revolver at the rustler, but the figure had vanished into the darkness again. The colonel called for help and they quickly bandaged Sinanda and put him on a stretcher. The lieutenant ran up to report. He saw Sinanda on the stretcher.

"He saved my life," the colonel said in a shaking voice. "He saw the gun and he threw himself in front of me. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't think Sinanda was a brave man, but he saved my life."

Sinanda woke up in the small hospital in the army camp. He quickly discovered that he had become a hero. A helicopter took him to Tima and then, on to the big army hospital in Port Bamanga.

When he went back to his platoon three months later, Sergeant Sinanda wore a medal pinned to the left side of his chest.