EPISODE 4 — The Citation
The admiral took the podium at 1000 hours sharp.
He was the real thing — silver hair, gold on his cap, the kind of man who’d sent a thousand sailors into harm’s way and carried every single one of them home in his memory. The lawn went so still you could hear the flags.
“Twelve years ago,” the admiral began, “in a province whose name I won’t say, a Marine patrol walked into an ambush that should have killed them all.”
Cole stared at his hands.
“A military working dog — a Belgian Malinois named Duke — detected the shooter before the first round was fired. He gave his life. Four Marines came home because of him.”
A pause. The wind moved through the flags.
“Sergeant Daniel Cole was the patrol leader. He carried Duke’s body three miles to the evac point. He refused treatment for his own wounds until the dog was recovered.”
The admiral looked down from the podium — directly at Cole.
“Sergeant Cole went on to serve ten more years, partnered with a second dog — Rex — with whom he completed two tours and saved, by conservative estimate, forty-one lives.”
Denise was crying openly now. Tank had his head bowed. Marco had his arm around the sheriff, and neither of them seemed to notice.
“Today,” the admiral said, “we correct an old oversight.”
He lifted a case from the podium. Inside, on velvet, a medal caught the sun.
