Everyman's War Page #4

decision any easier,

you should know it's not rotation coming.

What do you mean, it's not rotation?

l mean, we're rotating out,

but we're moving east across

the German border.

Come Christmas and New Year's,

we're going to be on the move.

- Who told you that?

- The platoon sergeant, yesterday.

Seems the general thinks

we might be getting a little stale.

Stale? Hell, we're moldy.

Hey, buddy, can you let us out here? Thanks.

Yeah, we'll get through this damn war.

One of these days,

l might even get home to see my kid.

You haven't see your kid?

No, born after l left.

That's tough.

Hopefully, the war--

Starks, you okay?

Yeah. Just stay down.

l'm staying down, l'm staying down.

That was a little too close.

Starks, you okay?

Yeah.

Starks? Starks?

Starks.

l didn't see that one coming.

Oh, God. Help me!

We got a wounded man.

Hey, kid. Look, he's bleeding.

He don't look too good.

l ain't no medic, but that man's dead.

Go get the kit.

- Screw the kit.

- Go get the kit.

Come on.

They came to shoot up the forest.

You're going to die. We're going to die.

We'll come back.

- We'll come back.

- No.

Every few weeks, they'd pull us off the line

to rest, shower, and clean up.

Smith. Hey, Smith.

They want you up at the CP.

lt always felt like you could

wash away everything,

except what was happening to you

on the inside.

Buddy, you got a smoke?

Private Smith, reporting as ordered, sir.

At ease.

Smith, l need a few answers

from your perspective

about this witless character here.

Soldier, not many discipline problems

reach this level,

so you can figure you've done

a really good job

of digging a hole for yourself.

Yes, sir.

Let's see what we got here.

Where'd all this stuff come from, Benedetto?

Smith, you recognize anything here?

Yes, sir. A keychain l thought was lost.

Take it, then.

The sergeant will make sure

everything else gets returned.

Sir, most of that was won

in honest crap games.

Soldier, your name and honest

just don't go together.

Sir, l found that--

As you were, Private.

Where the hell do you think you are?

We're facing a half a million

Krauts out there.

You see this?

lt's a casualty report, God damn it.

Your buddies are dying,

and you act like this place

is your own personal racket.

Why are you in this army, anyway?

To fight the Nazis, sir.

Well, it sure doesn't look like it, son.

AWOL, petty larceny, desertion.

Do you know what they're doing

to deserters now?

Write home to your mother.

She'll be real proud of you.

l ain't got no parents, sir,

but l swear, it won't happen again, sir.

The hell it won't.

Smith, your section's

already down one man.

lf l turn this clown over

for a summary court martial,

you'll be down two.

But we're hurting for replacements,

so what do you suggest l do?

Smith?

Sir, l wouldn't--

l think Benedetto's

made a lot of mistakes.

Mistakes?

His mistakes will get you killed.

He is a risk to the lives

of you and your buddies,

let alone stealing from them.

Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely, sir.

We need all our men.

Smith, l think we need to get

another replacement.

Maybe, Sarge, but Fuller and l

have been around Benedetto a while,

and yeah, he's done

some really stupid things,

but we're used to him.

He does know his job, and it would be

hard to break in two new men.

- Sir, l--

- Can it, Benedetto.

Sergeant, get him out of my sight.

Hold him outside.

Smith, l'm sorry about Corporal Starks,

but you need to know now--

We've got new orders.

The 376 just broke through the border,

and we're moving out soon to reinforce.

Where we're going, the Germans

will be fighting on their own soil.

Need l say more?

No, sir.

Men are dying out there.

We don't have time for this crap.

You think l should send Benedetto

back to your section?

Yes, l think so.

Okay. lt's on you, then.

Benedetto messes up again,

and l'll have both your hides.

- Understand, Corporal?

- Yes, sir.

Corporal, sir?

Yes, Corporal.

Your promotion is effective immediately.

l'm sorry it comes to you like this.

Starks was a damn good man,

but the sergeant and l

need a man in his place

who we know we can rely on.

We can rely on you, right?

Yes, sir.

You're dismissed.

Get those stripes on,

and don't let me down.

Yes, sir.

Smith.

Thanks. in there. l owe you.

Goddamn right you owe me.

They went and made me Corporal.

All right, keep pushing. We almost got it.

All right, keep pushing. We almost got it.

Just keep pushing. We almost got it.

- Come on, push.

- l'm pushing.

- We're supposed to get stuck?

- This won't do.

- lt is on full-wheel drive.

- You sure?

We all thought that the war

was going to be over by Christmas,

but three weeks and 400 miles later,

we knew that wasn't going to happen.

For us, this was just the beginning.

Almost out.

Hey, Smith, they're just about unstuck.

We won't be hanging around here

much more.

Get everyone on the truck.

l've got to get rid of my barracks back.

Just let go of it.

Kind of moody, l'd say,

taking over for Starks.

Losing Starks kind of shakes a guy up.

Hell, son, this war's starting

to catch us all off guard.

M Company?

Who do we have here?

Heinrich.

- Hey, Smith.

- Yeah?

Are you in M Company?

Yeah.

l've got this bag here labeled ''Starks,''

but he's not on the sheet for M Company.

Carry it around. Just put it

with the rest of our gear.

But he's not on the sheet.

There. Now he's on the list.

Put it with M Company gear.

l'll take care of it another time. Not now.

Who's this?

He jumped aboard before you.

This here's Heinrich.

Our new ammo carrier, thank God.

And he brought us chocolate.

You been in the 302nd long?

Just two weeks. l volunteer for supply,

and then for a unit on the line.

This was my family's country,

and l want to help you.

You've got a bit of an accent there.

Two weeks.

All right.

Welcome to M Company.

Yeah, l come from Boston.

l apologize for the accent.

l was raised in Berlin until l was 13.

l think you might want to learn

to say the passwords real good.

What is it we are likely to run into?

Who we're likely to run into?

Your f***ing relatives, son.

Goddamn Krauts.

And they'd like to shoot us. A lot.

Look, Heinrich, let me impress on you.

You just advanced yourself

into the serious war.

l will try my best for you, sir.

l hope to hell you will,

but we don't have time to teach you

not to do something stupid

that could get us all dead.

We've been shot at and shelled.

We already lost one man,

and this is going to be worse

than anything we've seen yet.

You're going to do three things--

Make sure we have ammo,

make sure it's there when we need it,

and follow Benedetto.

Don't do something stupid.

Benedetto's going to keep you alive.

Stick with Benedetto. Do what he does.

Nothing stupid, got it?

Yeah, nothing stupid.

This is NBC,

the National Broadcasting Company.

Here is Dwight St. Eiser,

reporting from the WOR newsroom.

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