“Fix bayonets!” In combat, that command sends a chill up every soldier’s spine. It means hand-to-hand combat is imminent. “Uh-oh,” thought Louis Giarrusso, then 21, of Providence.

For those with military experience in any conflict the worst command you can receive is, “Fix Bayonets!” That normally indicates an immediate close hand-to-hand, life-or-death combat situation ...