Everyman's War Page #6

Blood.

Not resurrected.

ls this heaven?

l know for sure we're in

a sh*t load of trouble.

We got to get help.

Going to get you out first.

Stop.

You let me get you out of here.

Stop.

- Get back to Heinrich.

- l didn't even see it coming.

l couldn't get out in time.

My legs are crushed.

l lost my .45.

We're getting picked to pieces out here.

l'll get you out of here.

lt'll be okay.

- Get help.

- Had to get run over by a tank.

Tell them what's coming.

Smith.

Can't do nothing here.

Go.

Tank division can't do those trees.

We don't even got a weapon.

Here. Birthday present.

Use this if you need it.

There are three rounds left, l think.

Only if you need it.

Don't get killed.

Only if l need them.

No.

- You kill us.

- Yeah, you're killing us too, you bastard.

Yeah. You know, l can kill you.

You stay here.

You go, l kill you.

Riley.

Sh*t, it's mined.

Brooklyn. Brooklyn.

You son of a b*tch, l'm American.

No Kraut swears like that.

Got to be one of ours.

l'm getting down there.

We got overrun.

Tanks. Germans.

They got tanks coming up.

Get a medic!

Get the lieutenant.

We've got to go back.

Dear Doreen,

l don't think about that night too often.

The 94th held the town

after heavy fighting,

but in breaking

through the German border,

some 60,000 men lost their lives

in less than a month.

l started to notice that all of the dead

looked the same, except for the uniform.

lt was March by the time

my wounds were healed

and l made it back to M Company.

l am so glad you're back

from San Francisco.

l am, too. Let's go in.

...more than 100 miles in just 12 days.

Fighting scattered pockets of resistance

and heavy opposition in the city

of Ludwigshafen, the 94th breaks through.

After all this time away,

after all the war l've seen,

l can't tell anymore if l saw you

yesterday or a thousand years ago.

The 94th infantry...

ln many ways, this crumpled letter

covered with the traces of war

has become you,

become the us that might have been,

the us that could have laughed

on your front porch

or taken a walk in the summer evening.

To me, this letter has become the us

that will never be.

That to your girl back home?

Say, you want me to mail that for you?

No.

Just know that my thoughts of you,

delivered poorly again and again

in a million different ways in this letter,

are the only things that made me believe

l might survive.

After that night,

l never saw any of them again.

We continued to push on into Germany

through Dusseldorf,

but most men now were new faces.

Heck, Don, we're right back

where we started.

This has been a waste of time.

How do you lose a prisoner

out of a guarded holding cell?

- Your arm okay?

- lt just aches.

Let's check that barn up there.

lf he's not in there,

we're not going to find him.

Christ.

Artillery's making a mess

of things up there.

Krauts can't have much fight left.

We see a German, he's still the enemy.

Hell, they must know they've lost.

Hey, with this crew, we're taking

the whole damn country down.

Taking the whole thing down,

good and bad.

l'm not crying for him.

Hell, Germans here, Japs in the Pacific.

The whole damn world's falling apart.

lt's got to end soon.

l'm getting damn tired of waiting.

Damn tired of Germans

and damn tired of losing friends.

lt came from inside the barn.

Come on.

Sh*t.

Shut up, you goddamn Kraut.

Get up!

What the hell are you doing?

And your patrol?

The couldn't find sh*t. Just--

They almost killed Starcher!

Just take him off and kill him.

Kill him for all the trouble.

God damn it.

Starcher.

Starcher, take Anderson

back to HQ and hold him there.

You're in charge.

What are you going to do?

l'm going to take this Kraut off the road.

Get a little payback, Smith.

Just shoot the bastard.

Come on. Let's go.

Just shoot the bastard.

Come on. Kill the bastard, Smith.

Get a little payback.

Come on.

Go ahead.

Take it.

All right, come on, then.

Okay.

A quarter mile more,

you can bullshit with your POW buddies

all you want.

Look, l don't understand what you're saying.

Put it down.

l don't want to shoot you.

For two and a half years,

l had fought to survive.

Every one of us had

hopes and dreams locked away

so they wouldn't spill out with our blood.

Now l wasn't sure if they were still there.

And in that split second,

with the crack of that pistol,

another human being

had given those things up.

lt's okay, sir.

The war is over.

lt's over, sir.

Where are we?

Where are we at?

We're in Spokane, sir.

Are you all right?

Yeah.

Yeah, l think so.

We're waiting on another train to get in,

so we're going to be here for a while.

You know, it sure is beautiful out.

l bet you glad to be home.

Yeah.

Damn it. lt's an open door.

You don't need to break it down.

Sorry.

Sorry, Sarge.

Where are you headed?

Fort Louis, as soon as they

get the trains changed.

l got a couple more days to report,

and l'm out of this army.

Well, l'll be right next door.

Court Airfield.

But l'm staying in.

Yeah, staying in the old Army.

Where did you get it?

Nennig. Siegfried Line.

l didn't actually see much action.

l got there after VE day.

Lucky for you.

l suppose.

Hello.

Do l know you? Have we met?

l don't think so.

My name is Wagner. Otto Wagner.

Don Smith.

Forgive me. l overheard your conversation

in the restroom.

You're coming back from Germany?

Well, yes.

Going home finally.

We were on the train together from Chicago.

Sorry. l didn't notice.

That is all right.

lt's just that l hope to back home

to Germany soon.

l'm going to try to find

the rest of my relatives.

Some live close to Weiss.

Not far from Nennig.

My wife and l escaped here

shortly before the war began.

l have been working for your government.

l wish you luck.

The country's a bit of a mess.

l don't blame you.

So much destruction and loss.

But we are finally free from those evil men.

l must thank you.

You can be thanking a lot of guys.

l'm just one.

You waiting for a train?

No, a car is coming to pick me up.

Maybe there's something

that you could do for me?

What is it? What can l do?

l have this letter.

l'd like to know what it says.

lt's in German.

You would like me to read it for you?

Of course. My car is not due

for a few more minutes.

This is it.

Can you tell what it says?

This is terrible. Did you know these people?

No, not like you think.

l was wondering if it mentioned anyone

l could return it to with a note.

But l don't know where.

l am afraid that will be quite impossible.

''My dearest husband,

lt is with terrible longing that l wait

for some dear words from you.

lf l could only see you just one more time.

During the past weeks,

l have begun to fear the end of everything.

All the lovely places you remember

are in ruins.''

l pray every minute for your protection

and for blessed hope to return,

but l fear this land is reaping a judgment

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