have a girlfriend just like you. He isn’t
doing what he’s told. He was here to kill you. And if you didn’t kill him,
you would be dead. Do you understand?”
I nodded, but didn’t stop
looking into the guy’s eyes. Cap punched me in the shoulder, in a friendly way.
“Get moving. You don’t
need any doubts. And that’s all you’ll get if you think about it. All you
need to think about is staying alive. Move.”
Two men from Buzz Company
were wounded bad enough to get pulled from duty. That took us to thirty-two men.
Chapter 5 - Fight #2
Our next
battle wasn’t so lopsided, and it wasn’t so easy. We worked our way through
the country to a pretty good-sized French town. I don’t remember the name of
it. But the Germans were holed up tight. Our assignment was to flush them
out. They were hunkered down and they had sandbags surrounding the buildings.
We didn’t have tanks. So, we’d shoot at them when they looked out their
windows. But any time we tried to take shots at them, they’d duck out of
sight, and we’d waste our ammo.
We were
getting really pissed off about it. It was one-sided. They had free shots at
us, but we couldn’t see them or shoot at them.
Finally Cap pulled
us back around five o’clock in the afternoon. He gave us a mess break and told
us to try to get some sleep because we were going to take the town at night.
We had a decent meal and lay around trying to get comfortable. But with those
long summer days, only a few of us could actually sleep in the evening daylight.
A few groups of us got together and quietly played cards. Remember, we’d only
been in France for a few days, so we were still green. By the end of our tour,
we could sleep on command. But we weren’t battle-hardened yet. I was getting
butterflies, just like when I was on the landing craft during D-Day.
I joined in a
game of rummy with Calvin Porter, Tom Duncan, and Mike Franklin. Anything to
take my mind off what was coming that night. I think they were nervous because
there were no jokes, no chatter. I remember that Duncan looked grim as he
stared at his cards. He wasn’t concentrating on the game. He’d just stare off
into space, and we’d have to tell him it was his turn every time. I don’t
think any of us were paying much attention to the cards. We weren’t playing
for money. Finally, Duncan started talking.
“When do you
guys think you’re going to die?” he asked.
“When I’m a
hundred,” said Franklin.
“We’re not
going to make it that long,” Duncan said, shaking his head, “We’re not going to
make it at all.”
“Why do you
say that?” I asked.
“There’s
killing everywhere. Since we landed here, it’s all about killing. It’s not
one-sided. They’re going to kill us too.”
“Nah,” said
Porter. “We can take ’em. With our smarts, and our supplies, and a little luck...
We can do this.”
Duncan shook
his head. “I don’t like relying on luck just to stay alive. The odds are too
stacked against us. We’re not going to make it.”
It was
unusual to hear Duncan talk like that. He was one of the funnest guys in the
platoon. With his circus background, he was one of our best entertainers. He told
us all the gimmicks in the carnival games, where people would fork over big money
to win a doll. He even carried a twenty-foot length so that he could practice
his rope walking. He was a lot of fun to watch. But there wasn’t any fun that
night.
“Man, a daredevil
like you is scared to die?” asked Porter.
“It’s all
about risk and practice. I can walk a rope between two buildings. Because
I’ve done it my whole life. But there is never someone trying to kill me when
I’m on the rope. I tell you, the odds are against us here, fellas.”
We didn’t say
anything for a long time. We just sat there and looked down. I couldn’t argue
with
doing what he’s told. He was here to kill you. And if you didn’t kill him,
you would be dead. Do you understand?”
I nodded, but didn’t stop
looking into the guy’s eyes. Cap punched me in the shoulder, in a friendly way.
“Get moving. You don’t
need any doubts. And that’s all you’ll get if you think about it. All you
need to think about is staying alive. Move.”
Two men from Buzz Company
were wounded bad enough to get pulled from duty. That took us to thirty-two men.
Chapter 5 - Fight #2
Our next
battle wasn’t so lopsided, and it wasn’t so easy. We worked our way through
the country to a pretty good-sized French town. I don’t remember the name of
it. But the Germans were holed up tight. Our assignment was to flush them
out. They were hunkered down and they had sandbags surrounding the buildings.
We didn’t have tanks. So, we’d shoot at them when they looked out their
windows. But any time we tried to take shots at them, they’d duck out of
sight, and we’d waste our ammo.
We were
getting really pissed off about it. It was one-sided. They had free shots at
us, but we couldn’t see them or shoot at them.
Finally Cap pulled
us back around five o’clock in the afternoon. He gave us a mess break and told
us to try to get some sleep because we were going to take the town at night.
We had a decent meal and lay around trying to get comfortable. But with those
long summer days, only a few of us could actually sleep in the evening daylight.
A few groups of us got together and quietly played cards. Remember, we’d only
been in France for a few days, so we were still green. By the end of our tour,
we could sleep on command. But we weren’t battle-hardened yet. I was getting
butterflies, just like when I was on the landing craft during D-Day.
I joined in a
game of rummy with Calvin Porter, Tom Duncan, and Mike Franklin. Anything to
take my mind off what was coming that night. I think they were nervous because
there were no jokes, no chatter. I remember that Duncan looked grim as he
stared at his cards. He wasn’t concentrating on the game. He’d just stare off
into space, and we’d have to tell him it was his turn every time. I don’t
think any of us were paying much attention to the cards. We weren’t playing
for money. Finally, Duncan started talking.
“When do you
guys think you’re going to die?” he asked.
“When I’m a
hundred,” said Franklin.
“We’re not
going to make it that long,” Duncan said, shaking his head, “We’re not going to
make it at all.”
“Why do you
say that?” I asked.
“There’s
killing everywhere. Since we landed here, it’s all about killing. It’s not
one-sided. They’re going to kill us too.”
“Nah,” said
Porter. “We can take ’em. With our smarts, and our supplies, and a little luck...
We can do this.”
Duncan shook
his head. “I don’t like relying on luck just to stay alive. The odds are too
stacked against us. We’re not going to make it.”
It was
unusual to hear Duncan talk like that. He was one of the funnest guys in the
platoon. With his circus background, he was one of our best entertainers. He told
us all the gimmicks in the carnival games, where people would fork over big money
to win a doll. He even carried a twenty-foot length so that he could practice
his rope walking. He was a lot of fun to watch. But there wasn’t any fun that
night.
“Man, a daredevil
like you is scared to die?” asked Porter.
“It’s all
about risk and practice. I can walk a rope between two buildings. Because
I’ve done it my whole life. But there is never someone trying to kill me when
I’m on the rope. I tell you, the odds are against us here, fellas.”
We didn’t say
anything for a long time. We just sat there and looked down. I couldn’t argue
with
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