"Untold Stories from Iraq & Afghanistan" A Graphic Novel

Story Written By :ClaytonD. Murwin
Based on True Story of Andrew Coughlan
04/02/09

19/July/2004
1145
FOB Chosin, Iraq

Page 1
Caption: What started out to be a normal day in Iraq turned to pure hell…

Panel 1: Scene: internet café in Iraq

Caption: My best friend Specialist James O’Leary and myself just returned from  the “internet café” emailing our families and talking to our friends before we had to go out on patrol.

Panel 2 :
Caption: As we were walking back to our tents where we bunked

Andrew: Hey James do ya want to try to beat the lunch rush

James: Hey lets go back to the tent and see if any of the other guys want to join us first.

Andrew : Sure ..Okay

Panel 3:
(Scene)They walk into the tent where all the guys are around the one TV their  platoon has. They are watching a movie.  They  are not even in the tent 5 minutes when the first mortar round flies over the camp. ( Sound Effect of mortar shells ) They have been in Iraq for over 9 months and have been mortared many times before, but this time it just sounded different.

Andrew: Damn that was to close guys!

Page2

Panel 1:
Caption: Most of our gear was in the trucks (humvies) because we had already prepped for the mission.  when the next mortar whistled over the camp, some of them ran out of the tents to get their gear.
 
Andrew: Come on guys move it we need that gear!
Spc. Adam Bouse: Watch your ass man!

Panel 2:
(Scene) Specialist Adam Bouse and Andrew Coughlan leave their tent to get their gear, as they began running to the trucks another round impacted on the road right in front of the trucks. The mortar explodes sending shards and debris everywhere. As the two duck and run trying not to be hit!
 (Sound Effect)KAAAAARRRRRRRBOOOMMMM!

Panel 3:  (wide shot )Andrew & Adam diving into the cement bunkers that were put in place just for things like this.  Their other teammate PFC Charles Persing also left the tent when they did, he already had his gear on because he was going out this day.  (So in the bunker is Adam, Andrew, and Charles in that order) Both ends of this bunker are open.)

Panel 4: (Scene) Rounds continue to impact and get closer to them in the bunker,

Charles: Andrew hold on to me man stay close! (Charles is shielding Andrew).
 
Panel 5: (Scene) (Two or three more rounds impact around them, then the next one impact’s at the opening of the bunker where Charles is.  

Panel 5: (mid-shot) Scene: The impact of the round blows him out of the bunker and knocks Adam and Andrew to the ground.

Panel 6: Scene: Andrew blacks out for a second, his ears ringing  he cant  hear a thing, and the taste of dirt is in his dry mouth, and he is covered in blood, but neither Adam or Andrew are hurt.

Andrew: Hey man you okay? You hurt?

Adam: I think I’m okay…..you.. you Okay? Where is Persing?

Page 3:

Panel 1: (Scene)Andrew looks out to see Charles laying face down outside of the bunker bleeding from his head, arms, and legs.

Charles: Argggh  ohhhhhghhhh  

Panel 2: (Scene) Adam leaves the bunker the get help, Andrew along with two other guys (he doesn’t know who they are )drag Charles back in the bunker and to try and stop the bleeding.(Have panel inside panel to show leg bleeding up close)  

Panel 3: (Scene) Adam comes back into the bunker,

Adam: Dammit Guys the tents are on fire the one we just left took a direct hit! The rest of the squad was in there!!! Dammit man !! We gotta do something!

Panel 4Scene) Andrew looks up and sees  the smoke and flames
 SGT. Mike Ramirez (Bravo team leader in their squad) comes stumbling out of the tent with blood all over his face and then he falls right next to the burning tents that are housing all kinds of ammunition (grenades, small arms, .50 Cal, 40mm grenades )

Panel 5: (Scene)Andrew runs to the aide of his Sgt.

Andrew: Guys I gotta get to the sarge before that tent starts cooking off !

Page 4:

Panel 1: (Scene) Andrew leaves the bunker the second time to bring the Sgt. to the safety of the bunker.

Panel 2: (Scene) Andrew and unknown guys  try to stop the Sgt’s.  bleeding.

Andrew: (Shouts): I need something to make a tourniquet !

Panel 3: The sound of  medivac helicopters coming They can barely be seen through the thick smoke
Thip thip thip thip thip thip

Panel 4: (Scene) They carry the Sgt. to one of the trucks that wasn’t damaged by the mortars.  

Andrew: (Thought bubble) Now I have 2 guys from my squad that I know are in bad shape…

Panel 5: (Scene)While loading up Sgt. Ramirez and Spc. Persing Andrew see’s SGT. Dale Lloyd (his team leader) laying on the cement covered in his own blood, Andrew knew he was dead  from the moment he saw him (part of his head was missing).

Andrew: (Chokes back the tears welling up in his eyes)  Come on guys move  it ! lets get these men to safety

Caption: SGT Lloyd was the kind of man that you would want your daughter to date, and was the best leader Andrew had ever seen.

Panel 6: (Scene)After help loading SGT Lloyd on the truck to take to the medivac, Andrew meets up with some of the other guys from his platoon He see’s his  squad leader Staff Sargent Keith Adams with a head wound and part of his hand bandaged up.
 

Page 5:
Panel 1: (Scene) Once all the mortars stopped coming in and all of their own ammunition stopped cooking off ,they  joined the rest of the company to find out how many guys were missing…Andrew best friend James O ‘Leary was not in formation.

Andrew: Anyone seen O‘Leary ?….

Soldier: Coughlan, he was hurt pretty bad man. They said He had shrapnel go through his back, broke some ribs, collapsed a lung.  He had a hole the size of a softball in his back. Besides the guys that were killed I think he was hurt the worst.

Andrew: (Thought Bubble) 3 guys wounded and 2 guys killed out of my squad.  And our camp  burnt to the ground.

Panel 2:
Andrew: (Thought Bubble) And then there is me…I’m running around, leaving the bunker multiple times with no gear on and don’t even get a scratch.  Someone’s defiantly watching my back.

( I will leave it to you Lance, how you want to work these final panels as far as imagery and layout )  

Panel 3: Caption:  Andrew: I couldn’t sleep for 2 or 3 days after this so I finally asked if I could go to the aid station and get some sleeping medication…I was able to get some meds and sleep up at the aid station, which was on the other side of camp…it was still standing at least…the next morning after sleeping at the aid station…Im walking back (by myself) to where my company set up camp again to the sound of mortars coming in again. ( I will leave it to you Lance how you want to work these final panels)

Panel 4: Caption: Andrew: I passed  a couple of guys that were talking ,were the company set up the new camp…and after I ran through yet another mortar attack with impacts behind, in front, and on the sides of me, Everyone thought I was done….but I came busting through the smoke like you would see in an old Vietnam movie.  Once I reached the company and puked, I was able to tell them we have more causalities…all I remember saying was they are hitting the aid station…and  we ran to the sound of the medivac helicopters.  

There were 3 Marines wounded and 1 killed.  I just remember holding an IV bag for one of the Marines then loading him up. Just another day on the front!