wasn’t the only one. Some of the guys cried. O’Halloran was pretty
tight with Tom Duncan. Duncan dropped to his knees and put his hands on
O’Halloran’s chest. He didn’t say anything as his tears dropped onto
O’Halloran. He opened O’Halloran’s coat, and pulled out the leather square
that was in an inside pocket.
“It’s McIntire’s. I’ve
got it now.” Duncan opened his coat and tucked away the square.
Everyone looked dazed.
We all fell to the ground, sitting in a big circle around the body. O’Halloran
was a good egg, just like the rest of us. To see him lying there, I knew that
it could have been any of us. When was it going to be my turn?
“He was a good man,”
said Cap, walking around our circle. “You boys remember him. You remember
this moment. Because as sad as it is, a lot more of us are going to end up
like O’Halloran. We need to stick together, and fight for each other. No
matter how bad it gets, you keep fighting. You don’t give up. Ever!”
The words felt hollow,
like he was scolding us. I didn’t like hearing it. I didn’t like seeing
O’Halloran lying there. That could be me. That WOULD be me, soon.
Cap looked around at us.
He didn’t look supportive or understanding. He looked disgusted, frowning and
piercing each of us with a hard gaze. “So you boys can sit here crying like
schoolchildren,” Cap said in his quiet, calm voice. Then his voice shifted to
a loud, angry shout. “Or you can take the hurt to those fucking krauts!
Because if you don’t snap out of it and remember your training, you’ll be dead
in a few minutes!” We started nodding and looking at each other. We wiped
away tears. I felt a hatred well up inside me that I had never felt before.
There were men just on the other side of that hill who had killed a friend of
mine. And they were going to kill us all, if we didn’t kill them first. It
was... animalistic. We heard rustling back in the direction toward the beach,
and about a dozen of us swung our guns in that direction. Paul Taylor came
running into the hollow, bent over and holding his helmet on.
“I got them!” he said
through gasps. “A full company! Three hundred men!”
We didn’t cheer or say
anything. There was no noise at all, except for the clicking and snapping of
our weapons as we pounded in clips and affixed bayonets. We were grim. Some
guys’ dirty cheeks were streaked white from where there had been tears. Paul’s
smile faded as he looked around at us, then he looked down at O’Halloran’s
body. He sagged. He looked at us in bewilderment, like he didn’t recognize
us. We had changed. We weren’t scared new soldiers. We wanted to kill.
The ensuing battle was a
blowout. There were some three hundred and thirty of us versus about fifty
Germans. The battle only took a few minutes. I killed my first enemy in that
battle. About a hundred of us charged out of the hollow while the rest
provided cover fire. We charged toward the trees, firing while we ran. I took
aim at a German who was lying on the ground, tucked up next to a tree trunk.
All I could see was one side of his face, part of his helmet, and his
shoulder. My first shot caught him in the shoulder. He collapsed down a
little, and that exposed more of his face. I shot him right in the nose. I
didn’t throw up that time. I was mad as hell about O’Halloran.
And then it was over. I
didn’t have to take another shot, because we had overwhelmed them so much.
“Cease fire!” men were
calling.
I stood next to the man I
had killed. Curiosity got the best of me. I rolled him over. His dead eyes
looked right at me. He was a boy, no older than me. He had sandy hair and
bright blue eyes. Cap must have seen me looking at him, and he walked up and
stood next to me.
“He ain’t your friend.
He ain’t just like you. He doesn’t
tight with Tom Duncan. Duncan dropped to his knees and put his hands on
O’Halloran’s chest. He didn’t say anything as his tears dropped onto
O’Halloran. He opened O’Halloran’s coat, and pulled out the leather square
that was in an inside pocket.
“It’s McIntire’s. I’ve
got it now.” Duncan opened his coat and tucked away the square.
Everyone looked dazed.
We all fell to the ground, sitting in a big circle around the body. O’Halloran
was a good egg, just like the rest of us. To see him lying there, I knew that
it could have been any of us. When was it going to be my turn?
“He was a good man,”
said Cap, walking around our circle. “You boys remember him. You remember
this moment. Because as sad as it is, a lot more of us are going to end up
like O’Halloran. We need to stick together, and fight for each other. No
matter how bad it gets, you keep fighting. You don’t give up. Ever!”
The words felt hollow,
like he was scolding us. I didn’t like hearing it. I didn’t like seeing
O’Halloran lying there. That could be me. That WOULD be me, soon.
Cap looked around at us.
He didn’t look supportive or understanding. He looked disgusted, frowning and
piercing each of us with a hard gaze. “So you boys can sit here crying like
schoolchildren,” Cap said in his quiet, calm voice. Then his voice shifted to
a loud, angry shout. “Or you can take the hurt to those fucking krauts!
Because if you don’t snap out of it and remember your training, you’ll be dead
in a few minutes!” We started nodding and looking at each other. We wiped
away tears. I felt a hatred well up inside me that I had never felt before.
There were men just on the other side of that hill who had killed a friend of
mine. And they were going to kill us all, if we didn’t kill them first. It
was... animalistic. We heard rustling back in the direction toward the beach,
and about a dozen of us swung our guns in that direction. Paul Taylor came
running into the hollow, bent over and holding his helmet on.
“I got them!” he said
through gasps. “A full company! Three hundred men!”
We didn’t cheer or say
anything. There was no noise at all, except for the clicking and snapping of
our weapons as we pounded in clips and affixed bayonets. We were grim. Some
guys’ dirty cheeks were streaked white from where there had been tears. Paul’s
smile faded as he looked around at us, then he looked down at O’Halloran’s
body. He sagged. He looked at us in bewilderment, like he didn’t recognize
us. We had changed. We weren’t scared new soldiers. We wanted to kill.
The ensuing battle was a
blowout. There were some three hundred and thirty of us versus about fifty
Germans. The battle only took a few minutes. I killed my first enemy in that
battle. About a hundred of us charged out of the hollow while the rest
provided cover fire. We charged toward the trees, firing while we ran. I took
aim at a German who was lying on the ground, tucked up next to a tree trunk.
All I could see was one side of his face, part of his helmet, and his
shoulder. My first shot caught him in the shoulder. He collapsed down a
little, and that exposed more of his face. I shot him right in the nose. I
didn’t throw up that time. I was mad as hell about O’Halloran.
And then it was over. I
didn’t have to take another shot, because we had overwhelmed them so much.
“Cease fire!” men were
calling.
I stood next to the man I
had killed. Curiosity got the best of me. I rolled him over. His dead eyes
looked right at me. He was a boy, no older than me. He had sandy hair and
bright blue eyes. Cap must have seen me looking at him, and he walked up and
stood next to me.
“He ain’t your friend.
He ain’t just like you. He doesn’t
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