"I've seen death, I've seen my friends, my men being killed." "This is..." "It doesn't take too many days of that and you change dramatically." "We were hungry, we had no food we didn't have ammunition, it was cold, didn't have any clothes." "You couldn't build a fire." "If you did, some crazy thing would shoot at you." "Every where you would look, you would see dead people." "A dead soldier there, here." "Ours, theirs." "Then civilians besides." "Dead animals." "So, death was all over." "You don't have a chance when your friends go down to really take care of them as you might." "And especially if you're under attack, moving, or whatever." "I withstood it well but I had a lot of trouble in later life because those events would come back and..." "You never forget them." "After holding the line at Bastogne Easy Company was again called on to help push the Germans back through the Bulge." "We were here this morning and then we came this way." "Right, so, right here's gotta be the logging road..." "Take it easy." "Stop crying, Malark or I'll nail it to your head." "Good, it's made of wood." "Guarnere, move them out, let's go." "Yes, sir." "2nd Platoon, let's go!" "I was glad to be out of my foxhole and moving again." "Even if only to get warm." "Spread out." "Keep your interval." "E Company was sent to clear the Bois Jacques the woods near the town of Foy in preparation for what we knew would be the eventual assault on Foy itself." "I see it, Buck." "Watch for mines." "During that 1,000 yard attack through the woods we encountered German machine gun fire and had a couple of casualties." "But, for the most part, met little resistance." "Hoobler's run-in with the German officer on horseback was the most dramatic moment of the day." "Halt!" "Halt!" "Shit." "Thank you." "Hoobler had been talking about getting a Luger since Normandy." "As we dug in, he went from foxhole to foxhole telling everyone how he'd finally got one." "Down he goes, right out of the saddle, like a sack of potatoes." "Outstanding accuracy on my part, if I do say so myself." "Which you do." "Which I do." "Hell, Shifty, I think maybe I could have even given you a run for your money." "No, I'm not a good shot." "Now, Dad, he was an excellent shot." "Excellent, I declare, he'd shoot the wings off a fly." "Lip, that German, what'd you think he was doing?" "Probably a little recon." "He must have figured nobody would hear a horse." "I think he was trying to get outta Dodge." "Yeah." "What happened to the horse?" "I don't know, probably still running." "Hope he's okay." "You dug in?" "Yeah." "Yeah, just thought I'd take a walk, shoot the shit." "You're a good shot, Hoob." "Just glad you're on our side." "Thanks, Lip." "Hey, Lip?" "Yeah." "Thanks for the help." "You got it, Shifty." "Lip?" "Yes." "You got a sec?" "Yes, sir." "Give him a hand." "Where's Dike?" "He's around." "Could you be more specific, Sergeant?" "Not really, sir." "I haven't seen him all day." "Didn't see him in the woods and I have to figure out how we ended up." "Two wounded." "Who?" "Brown and Stevenson." "Goddamn it." "Where's Dike?" "Where the hell is he?" "Where does he ever go?" "I don't know, but I wish he'd stay there." "Be nice if he took Shames with him." "Shut up, boys." "Shutting up, Sarge." "What the hell is that?" "Patrol?" "No, we would have heard." "One man, maybe a sniper." "That was no rifle." "What do you see, Shift?" "Nobody out there." "Are you sure?" "Jesus, it's Hoob, he's shot." "Sniper?" "No, he shot himself." "Stupid." "Medic!" "What happened?" "Doc." "Is he all right?" "It's my fucking leg." "He did what?" "It just went off." "What happened?" "It just went off." "Why is there a loaded gun in your pants?" "Buck, I wasn't touching it or nothing." "Goddamn it." "I wasn't touching it, I swear." "Medic!" "Where are you hit, Hoob?" "Where are you hit?" "In my leg." "Hold on." "Now, don't look." "It's gonna be fine." "Don't worry about it." "Come on." "It hurts like a son of a bitch." "I think maybe I hit bone." "Doc!" "Don't worry about it." "You'll be all right." "Warm him up." "Can you hear me?" "Somebody keep him warm." "Sergeant." "Let me see it." "Hang in there." "Warm up some blankets or something for him." "You're gonna be fine." "Keep talking to him." "Okay, listen to me." "Think it was a German leg?" "Yeah, right." "You're gonna be fine." "Hold on." "Perconte, put this across him." "Wrap him up." "Hang in there." "Come on." "Lip." "You said I was a great shot, right?" "You're a great shot." "Come on, you jump out of planes." "You're tough." "He's still shivering." "It's not that bad at all, come on." "Stay with us." "Hoob, take it easy." "What are we gonna do?" "How are we doing?" "You're gonna be fine." "We've gotta get him to an aid station." "Hold on tight." "All right, let's get ready to move him." "Take it easy." "Stay there, Hoob." "Doc." "Can't see anything" "Doc!" "Jesus." "Perco, we need a jeep." "He was wearing so many clothes, we couldn't tell how bad he was bleeding." "By the time we got him to the aid station, he was already dead." "The bullet cut the main artery in his leg, sir." "Hell, Lip." "It wouldn't have made a difference if you had known." "Cut that main artery in the leg, that's it." "Yes, sir." "I'm gonna go back and make sure the boys are all dug in, sir." "Lip." "Where's Dike?" "You wanna see him, sir?" "No, I just would have expected to get this kind of news from him." "I was there, sir." "I figured it might as well be me." ""Where's Dike?"" "I probably heard that question 1,000 times." "I probably asked it a few times myself." "There were long stretches where we didn't know where Lieutenant Dike was." "He'd disappear, go off on these walks for hours at a time." "Wouldn't have been so bad if he was just one of the guys in the company but Lieutenant Dike was supposed to be leading the company." "Captain Winters was a CO we could all respect." "Moose Heyliger probably would have done a good job but before we got a chance to find out, he was accidentally shot by a sentry." "Then came Norman Dike." "I want tight security around the company CP, Lieutenant Shames, that understood?" "Dike wasn't a bad leader because he made bad decisions." "He was a bad leader because he made no decisions." "Now, Battalion S-3 is planning a move." "So, I will probably be called away regularly." "Are there any questions?" "Yeah." "What's the formation you want us to go for?" "At present, as per usual, but I'll clarify that with you at a later time, Lieutenant Compton." "Yes, sir." "All right, I gotta make a call." "Let's move it out." "Dike was the favorite of somebody at Division." "He'd been sent down to E Company to get some combat experience." "Sometimes we got the feeling E Company was an annoyance to him." "Something he had to get through before he could continue his march up the ladder." "I'm telling you boys, we're screwed." "If you ask me, I'm glad Dike's never around." "You know what?" "We're doing all right, even with Foxhole Norman." "Yeah, we're doing all right." "We're doing all right now." "If you noticed, there's a little town down the hill." "In that town are these guys, and these guys are called Germans." "And these Germans got tanks." "I know." "Yeah." "And our side's gonna wanna go into that town." "Guess who they're gonna want to go knocking on the goddamn doors." "I know, Bill, it's me you're talking to here." "Jesus Christ, we've gotta do all this with a CO who's got his head so far up his ass that lump in his throat is his goddamn nose." "Hey First Sergeant." "Boys." "Sarge." "Lip." "Muck what's the word?" "You know." "Sitting around, freezing our ass off." "Singing Dike's praises." "Yeah." "Lieutenant Dike." "I'll tell you I wouldn't wanna be a replacement officer coming in here getting thrown in with a group of guys who've known each other for two years." "They've been in combat together since Normandy." "You're supposed to just show up and lead them?" "How's a guy do that?" "How could anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest most professional most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?" "So, if you ask me, a guy'd have to march off to Berlin and come back with Hitler's moustache or something." "Anyway, listen." "You guys, don't worry about Dike." "All right?" "Yeah." "We all do our jobs, everything will be fine." "See you, Sarge." "Yeah, boy." "I don't know if I believed any of that but as Company First Sergeant it was my job not to protect Dike but to protect the integrity of the company." "You know what Dike's problem is, don't you?" "He's just another one of those arrogant, rich jerks from Yale." "God, not another one of those." "Division's not gonna let me replace him just 'cause I got a bad feeling about him." "Even if they would, who'd I put in his place?" "Shames?" "Do not ever talk when I'm talking, you got that?" "He's seen too many movies." "Thinks he has to yell all the time." "Both of you little crapheads did not listen to a word I said during that briefing, did you?" "Or Peacock?" "God bless him, no one tries harder but he's not cut out to take men into combat." "I'm not gonna make him Company CO when I don't want him as a platoon leader." "What about Compton?" "He's the only real choice." "Buck's a real combat leader, but, you know..." "I want Easy Company to have at least one experienced platoon leader." "Not that it matters anyway 'cause I can't get rid of Dike." "Well we all know who you'd like to have running Easy." "Trouble is it's not your job any more." "We've gotta find somebody." "We all agreed Buck Compton would've been the best choice to run Easy if Winters had been able to get rid of Dike." "But, to be honest Buck wasn't the same soldier he'd been before he got shot in Holland." "He was more serious somehow." "He had a goddamn Luger in his pants." "Jesus." "Dear God." "Don't you two do something stupid like that, all right?" "Try not to, Buck." "I mean it." "And you, Wild Bill I've invested too much goddamn time shaping you into something useful." "Do something crazy, get yourself knocked out of this thing..." "I know, you'll kill me." "Even if you're dead, I'll still kill you." "I'll see you guys later." "I'm gonna check on the other guys." "Crazy Joe McCloskey." "What?" "This guy used to hang at the front of Delancey's and just you know, just stare at people." "Yeah, I know who Crazy Joe McCloskey is." "What the hell's that got to do with anything?" "Buck kind of reminds me of him now." "What?" "Ever since he got shot in Holland..." "Wait." "What, are you saying he's nuts?" "'Cause Crazy Joe McCloskey was fucking nuts." "That's why they called him Crazy Joe." "No, I'm not saying he's nuts." "I'm just..." "What are you saying?" "Forget it." "What?" "Forget it." "Come on, you've seen him, Bill." "He's all wound up like a spring." "He's fine." "It wasn't getting shot that got him, it was being in that hospital." "I've been there, okay?" "It ain't pretty." "Yeah." "Once he was up and moving around, he was his old self again." "I'm telling you, Buck Compton's fine." "I'm serious." "Sure thing, Buck, nothing stupid." "We got it, right?" "We got it." "All right." "George?" "Yeah." "Nothing stupid, Buck." "Yeah." ""Don't do anything stupid"?" "Who the hell's he talking to?" "Bunch of morons who volunteered to jump out of a perfectly good airplane." "Can you get any more stupid than that?" "Probably not." "Right." "I swum across the Niagara once." "Yeah." "I swear." "On a bet." "What, in a barrel?" "No." "I didn't go over the Falls, George." "I swam across the river." "Ten miles up from the Falls." "I tell you, that current is damn strong." "Yeah." "Must have carried me two miles downstream before I got across." "But, I got across." "Now, personally, I didn't think it was all that stupid but my mom, my sister, Ruth they gave me all kinds of hell." "Yeah, I bet, Muck." "So did Faye." "Sweet Faye Tanner." "Shut it, George." "Well, they had a point." "You're an idiot." "I heard about Hoobler." "Shame." "Yes, sir." "It is." "That the Luger?" "Yes, it is." "What are you gonna do with it?" "I don't know yet." "Where you from, Lipton?" "Where'd you grow up?" "Huntington, West Virginia." "Huntington?" "Yes, sir." "I don't know it." "What kind of work did you do there?" "My brother and I helped my mom run a boarding house." "And your father?" "He was killed when I was 10, sir." "Automobile accident." "That's sad." "So, what made you decide to join the Paratroopers?" "I read an article about paratroopers in Life magazine." "Talked about the training, how hard it was." "Said if you want to make it as a paratrooper you had to be the best." "And I wanted to fight with the best, sir." "You miss it?" "Miss what?" "Huntington." "Honestly, sir, I try not to think about it that much." "Where are you from..." "Captain Nixon, sir." "Captain Nixon, sir." "What?" "Good morning, sir, sorry to disturb you." "This came from Division." "All right." "Morning." "Eviction notice?" "Not quite." "But I think this will help with your leadership problem." "Dike's being transferred?" "No, I can't help you with that but Division has decided to pluck one officer from each regiment that served in the heroic defense of Bastogne send him back to the States on a 30-day furlough." "Get him out banging the drum for the war bond drive, that kind of thing." "It turns out I've been plucked." "That's fantastic, Lew, good for you." "Thank you." "How in the world does your leaving help me?" "It doesn't, I'm not going." "I've already seen the States, grew up there." "That's why I came to Europe." "Just wish they'd told me there was a war on." "Anyway, the point is, this thing's wasted on me." "But, I'm sure we can find an officer somewhere in this battalion who could use a long trip home." "Congratulations, Lieutenant Peacock." "I can't think of anybody who deserves this more." "Thanks." "I'm really glad that you're going home." "Okay." "Best news I've heard in weeks." "Hell of a guy." "Thanks, guys." "It really means a lot, you know?" "Get out of here." "Three cheers for Lieutenant Peacock." "Hip hip hooray." "If they come by here, you all remember to smile for the camera." "Got to keep the morale up for them folks back home." "Why?" "Damned if I know." "All right, Nix, what have they got waiting for us in Foy?" "At least one company from the 10th Panzer grenadiers dug in here." "They've also got at least one 88 although we haven't been able to spot it yet." "How about armor?" "As of last night, three Tigers." "Would you excuse me for a moment, sir?" "Yeah." "How do I feel about being rescued by Patton?" "I'd feel pretty peachy about it, if it wasn't for one thing we didn't need to be fucking rescued by Patton." "You got that?" "Joe." "Excuse us for a moment." "Sorry, sir." "Sorry about what?" "Patton?" "I couldn't agree more." "What are you doing here?" "I wanna head back to the line, sir." "You don't have to do that." "Get yourself back to the aid station." "Heal up." "I'd really like to head back with the fellas, sir." "All right, then go." "Thank you, sir." "Joe Toye had been at the aid station for three days and everybody was glad to have him back." "Especially Bill Guarnere." "Joe." "Bill." "Good to see you, pal." "You, too." "What the hell you doing back here?" "To make sure you're on top of things." "I'm on top of things." "Tied me own boots once last week." "All by meself." "Fellas, look who I found." "Joe Toye, back for more." "How are you, Joe?" "Yeah, doing pretty good." "Escaped from the aid station." "Where'd you get hit?" "What's that?" "It's Webb." "Replacement." "Really?" "Thought it was some guy I've known for two years and I forgot his face." "Joe got hit in the arm." "New Year's Eve gift from a luftwaffe." "A lot of you guys been injured?" "It's called wounded, peanut." "Injured's when you fall out of a tree or something." "Don't worry, there's enough crap flying around here." "You're bound to get dinged sometime." "Almost every single one of these guys has been hit at least once." "Except for Alley, he's a two-timer." "He landed on broken glass in Normandy and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland." "You'll find out, son." "Now, Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland." "And George Luz here has never been hit." "You're one lucky bastard." "Takes one to know one, Skip." "Consider us blessed." "Now, Liebgott, the skinny little guy he got pinged in the neck in Holland." "Right next to him, that other skinny guy, that's Popeye." "He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy." "And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland." "Yeah, kind of an Easy Company tradition, getting shot in the ass." "Even First Sergeant Lipton over there he got a couple of pieces of a tank shell burst at Carentan." "One chunk in the face." "Another chunk almost took off his nuts." "How are those nuts, Sarge?" "Doing fine, Bill." "Nice of you to ask." "On the afternoon of January 3 most of E Company headed back to our old position in the woods overlooking Foy." "A few men remained in the Bois Jacques attached to D Company to hold the main line of resistance." "Good luck, ladies." "Been nice knowing you." "Wouldn't drink too much if I were you." "Be careful if he offers you a cigarette." "What are they talking about?" "If who offers us a cigarette?" "Speirs." "Who?" "Lieutenant Speirs." "Lieutenant Ronald Speirs was one of the platoon leaders in D Company." "He was already a legend." "The stories about Speirs are probably all bullshit anyway." "What stories?" "What stories?" "Supposedly Speirs shot one of his own men for being drunk." "You're kidding." "That's unbelievable." "Yeah, and there's another one about him giving cigarettes to 20 German POWs before killing them." "He shot 20 POWs?" "Actually, I heard it was more like 30." "Christenson." "Lieutenant Speirs." "I got the name right, didn't I, Christenson?" "Yes, sir." "What are you men doing out here?" "We're watching the line, sir." "Keep up the good work." "You might wanna reinforce your cover." "Lieutenant Dike said not even to bother." "That we're only gonna be here one day." "Lieutenant Dike said that?" "Then forget what I said." "Carry on." "Anyone care for a smoke?" "You?" "Late in the afternoon on January 3 we returned to our old position in the woods overlooking Foy." "You gotta be fucking kidding me." "Someone's gonna die." "Someone's gonna fucking die." "Guarnere, look at this shit!" "One of those 1st Battalion fuckers took a dump in my foxhole." "I think they shit in everyone's foxhole, Joe." "I don't think they wanted to spend much time above ground." "While we were in the Bois Jacques the Germans had been shelling our old position." "There were signs of tree bursts everywhere." "That got our attention." "Light and noise discipline." "We're getting close." "Looking across the field at Foy, I could see enemy troops." "I still couldn't see their artillery, but I knew it was down there." "Looks like the Krauts have been pounding this area with pretty big stuff, 88s." "I'd say they got this whole stretch of the line targeted." "They're not shelling now." "Maybe they've got a new target..." "No, they're just waiting." "For what?" "For us to reoccupy the position." "Maybe we should fall back and dig in." "No, it's our job to hold the line here." "We've got pretty good foxholes." "We just need to fortify the covers." "If they've got us targeted, maybe..." "We hold the line here." "Sergeant Lipton's right." "We're gonna strengthen our covers and we're gonna hang in." "We're not gonna fall back." "Right, Lieutenant?" "Right, Lieutenant?" "Fine." "You all take care of it." "I gotta go talk to Regiment." "We'd better get moving." "Yeah." "Here you go, Bill." "Thanks, Lip." "I'll get you some more branches." "I'd appreciate that." "Incoming!" "Take cover!" "Take cover!" "Take cover!" "Come on, find some cover!" "They got us zeroed!" "Find some cover, find a foxhole!" "Come on, take cover!" "Take cover!" "Come on, find some cover!" "Take cover!" "Shit." "Come on, find some cover!" "For some reason, at that moment, in that half-finished foxhole all I could think about was the Fourth of July when I was a kid." "I loved to make my own firecrackers, cherry bombs, ladyfingers." "I loved to blow up dirt clods and pop bottles and the like." "Looked forward to it all year long." "What I saw that day was the most awesome and terrifying display of firepower I'd ever seen in my life." "Of course, I wouldn't have been laughing if I'd known what happened to Joe Toye." "Maybe we should see if anybody's hit." "Malark, that's what they want." "The Krauts are trying to draw us out in the open." "Stay in your foxholes." "Stay in your foxholes!" "Are you okay, can you walk?" "Come on, find a foxhole, come on." "I gotta get up." "I gotta get up." "I gotta get up." "I need my helmet." "I need help!" "You hear that?" "Is that Joe?" "Help!" "Yeah, I think that's Joe." "Stay." "Stay down!" "Stay in your foxholes!" "Help!" "Help, anyone there?" "Jesus." "I gotta get up." "I gotta get up." "Shit." "Come on, Joe." "Come on, buddy." "Come on, pal." "You said you'd get back to the States before me." "You ain't going anywhere, you're all right." "I gotta get my helmet." "Forget it." "I gotta get my helmet." "Anyone there?" "Hang on." "Help!" "Who's that?" "It's Heff." "Come on, get me out of here, Lip." "Come on." "I got you." "Come on, Joe, I got you." "Come on, Joe." "Hang on." "Are you okay?" "Come on." "Think I overdid it on the cover for my foxhole?" "Incoming!" "Take cover!" "Come on!" "Hurry up, Guarno, you're gonna get bombed!" "Come on!" "Move it, Bill!" "Come on, Joe." "Hold on, I'll be there, I'm gonna help you." "No!" "Medic!" "During the second barrage, I wasn't laughing anymore." "Lip!" "Are you okay?" "Stay down!" "You stay down!" "First Sergeant Lipton?" "You get things organized here." "I'm gonna go for help." "What the fuck?" "Lip, where the fuck's he going?" "I don't know." "Get Battalion on the line." "Tell them to notify BAS." "Battalion's up, Lip." "Medic!" "Stay ready." "Sons of bitches might be trying to come through." "You okay, One Lung?" "Sergeant!" "How you doing, Popeye?" "100 percent ready to kill Germans, Lip." "Okay, Joe." "Doc, what can I do?" "Hold this." "You got a smoke?" "Jesus, what's a guy gotta do to get killed around here?" "Bill, you're going first." "Whatever you say, Doc, whatever you say." "Over here, take this man." "Lip, they got old Guarnere this time." "We got you, soldier." "Just lie back." "Take it easy." "I told you I'd beat you back to the States." "Lip." "How's Buck?" "Luz, how's Buck?" "He's fine." "You sure?" "Yes, he's fine." "I think you should probably go talk to him now." "All right." "Some say Buck changed after he was shot in Holland." "Maybe." "I know something happened to him when he saw Toye and Guarnere on the ground." "On the report it said Compton was being taken off the line because of trench foot." "Didn't say anything about him losing his friends." "Buck was a great combat leader." "He was wounded in Normandy, and again in Holland." "He received the Silver Star for his part in taking out those German guns on D-day." "He took everything the Krauts could throw at him time and again." "Lieutenant Compton?" ""UCLA did not make the Rose Bowl this winter." ""Probably because you weren't there." ""I'm sure you're teaching all of your young soldiers..." ""...the joy you have of the sport." ""Gosh, how we all know what an exciting young man you are..." ""...and how your heart and love..."" "I guess he just couldn't take seeing his friends Toye and Guarnere torn up like that." "No one ever thought any less of him for it." "Hey Bull." "With Buck off the line, there was no longer any possible alternative to Dike." "At least none we could see." "Thanks." "Muck." "Muck." "Yes, Sergeant?" "I'm looking for Lieutenant Dike." "We were stuck with Dike." "And he was off taking a walk." "Sure thing." "Lightning Six, kidnap." "Yes, sir." "We've cleared all the green area between..." "We'd cleared the woods east of Foy." "So, a few days later, E Company and the rest of the 506 cleared the woods west of Foy." "There was little resistance." "You fellas know I got no reason to bullshit you, right?" "Look, I'm not gonna bullshit you." "This is what I saw." "It was so unbelievable, you might not believe me." "So, you-know-who comes running up to Lipton." "He's got no helmet, no gear, no nothing." "First Sergeant Lipton, you organize things here and I'm gonna go for help." "I need to go polish my oak leaf clusters." "Luz." "That's really good." "It's okay." "Fellas." "Goodnight all." "Yeah, see you, Luz." "See you, Malark." "What can I do for you, Sarge?" "Two things, first, great impression of Dike." "You think?" "I thought it was a little off." "No, you got it pretty good." "Second, don't do it any more." "Especially the part about what he said to me." "It doesn't do anybody any good, okay?" "Yeah, I got you." "All right." "Wise ass." "Incoming!" "Luz!" "Come on!" "Hurry!" "Luz!" "Stay down!" "Come on!" "Get in here!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on, Luz!" "Muck and Penkala!" "What?" "Muck and Penkala got hit!" "Medic!" "Medic!" "It's my shoulder." "Come on, get up!" "Stay down till you get the all clear." "Thought you didn't smoke." "I don't." "The shell that hit the foxhole Luz and I were in was a dud." "The one that hit Muck and Penkala's foxhole wasn't." "That's just the way it was." "Muck and Penkala were good men." "Their death hit Malarkey the hardest." "Malarkey's best friends in the Company had been Compton, Muck, and Penkala." "In less than a week, he'd seen two of them die." "What's the word?" "The men on the line are okay." "Food has just been resupplied." "We're in good shape." "Okay, we'll just hunker down." "We might get some relief soon." "Okay?" "All right." "All right." "Later that day, we were back in our old position overlooking Foy." "We were all worried about Malarkey." "Malark." "Didn't I hear you say you wanted to bring a Luger home for your kid brother?" "Yeah." "Why don't you..." "Why don't you give him that?" "It's Hoob's, right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I was gonna get rid of it but I..." "I don't know." "Listen Captain Winters was wondering if you wanted to go back to battalion and work as his runner for a few days." "Tell him thanks, I'm gonna stay here." "Look, why don't you at least come back for an hour or so." "Say goodbye to Buck." "I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him." "All right." "You be careful with that." "Getting even 50 yards back from the line just for an hour or two could make a big difference in a soldier's state of mind." "The morning after the shelling that killed Muck and Penkala I saw a soldier try to dig a foxhole with his bare hands." "Private." "Didn't notice he'd torn off his fingernails." "Private." "I got him out of there quickly." "Not for his sake, but for ours." "Fear is poison in combat." "It's something we all felt, but you just didn't show it." "You can't." "It's destructive and it's contagious." "Told you I'd get you started." "We got a bleeder here." "Buck was never the same after seeing Toye and Guarnere get hit that day." "I guess he just needed some time away from it all." "The barrages on January 3, and the shelling on January 9 marked the low point in the war for many of the men in E Company." "Even then, very few actually broke." "I knew the terror of those shellings and the pressure we'd been under since we got to Bastogne could take their toll in other ways." "I was afraid the men would lose focus, suffer a drop in morale." "And that was dangerous, especially in combat." "More of which lay in store for us." "Perconte." "We'd cleared the woods east and west of Foy." "Now it was time for the inevitable assault on Foy, itself." "Frankly, I was dreading it." "I always knew the E Company men who trained at Toccoa wouldn't survive the war unscathed but now I was beginning to wonder if any of us were gonna make it through at all." "E Company would lead the attack." "The problem was, at least in my estimation E Company still did not have a leader." "The night before the attack, I did something as First Sergeant I would never have imagined myself doing." "Lip." "Didn't figure you for a smoking man." "Neither did I." "D Company, Lieutenant Speirs, patrol order." "So?" "We've been watching Foy all day, sir, not much activity." "Want a coffee?" "No, thank you, sir." "How's Easy's status?" "The men are good, sir, they're prepared." "I'm gonna be leading 2nd Platoon, tomorrow." "They're probably the weakest after losing Toye and Guarnere, and Muck, and Penkala." "But all in all, I have every confidence in the men, sir." "Good." "But, on the other hand, I have no confidence in our CO, sir." "Lieutenant Dike is an empty uniform, Captain." "He's just..." "He's not there, sir." "He's gonna be there tomorrow." "Yes, sir, I understand he will be there physically." "But tomorrow's gonna be the real deal and he's gonna have to lead those men." "He's gonna have to make decisions, sir, and I..." "I gotta tell you, sir, I think he's gonna get a lot of Easy Company men killed." "Thank you, Sergeant, that'll be all." "Yes, sir." "I said what I had to say." "There was nothing Winters could do." "He couldn't very well remove a company CO." "Especially a well-connected one because of the misgivings of a company first sergeant." "There's an eighth of a mile of open field to cross before we get down here into Foy." "There's little cover, so move quickly." "There's two sections of light machine guns, either end." "They'll give you covering fire." "3rd Battalion will come from the east led by I Company." "That should cause distraction." "D Company will be in reserve but we shouldn't need them." "You gotta move in there fast." "Get in there before they can bring their mortars and artillery down on you." "Clear?" "Clear." "I'm relying on you." "Get it done." "Covering fire!" "Let's go!" "Keep it moving!" "Suppressing fire!" "Keep moving!" "Move!" "Let's go!" "Suppressing fire!" "Fire!" "Keep them tight, Shames." "Keep moving." "Come on." "Krauts in the open!" "Keep moving!" "Three inside!" "Wait a minute, where's Foley?" "Randleman!" "Liebgott." "Where the hell is 1st Platoon?" "Hold up!" "Keep moving!" "Easy Company, hold up!" "2nd Platoon, hold up!" "Will you move!" "Get me Foley on the radio." "Get out of there!" "Move!" "Sir, I think we should take cover." "Find some cover!" "Find some cover!" "What?" "Stay down!" "Easy Red, Easy Red." "Easy Six." "Over." "Six, Easy Red, go ahead." "Easy Red, Easy Red, stand by for the Six." "Foley, you get back here where I can see you, goddamn it!" "1st Platoon, hold up." "Take cover!" "Martin." "Come on, soldier, with me." "With you, sir." "Fire!" "Fall back!" "Take cover!" "Goddamn it." "Go forward!" "Herron, on me." "Move back." "Stay on my ass." "Hold fast, 2nd Platoon." "Follow Lipton!" "Take cover!" "What are we doing, Lieutenant?" "Why are we stopped?" "Fall back!" "Roger, kidnap." "Standby to Six, Lieutenant, what's the plan?" "I don't know!" "You'd better get Dike on that radio to me now." "Lieutenant, what's the plan?" "Captain Winters, sir." "What's the plan?" "Okay, Foley." "Foley, you take your men on a flanking mission around the village and attack it from the rear." "Dike, we cannot stay here!" "You want 1st Platoon to attack the village, by itself?" "We will provide suppressing fire." "We're gonna be alone out there, Lieutenant." "We will provide suppressing fire!" "Get going forward!" "You need to talk to Captain Winters, sir." "Sir, okay, here it is." "We go on a flanking run in the back of the village and we attack from the rear." "Ramirez, two guys, take them, go." "Find some cover behind the stable." "Go!" "Shit!" "Jesus Christ." "Webb, move up, find cover!" "Suppressing fire, now!" "Perconte!" "I got you." "Give me some cover!" "How you doing, Perconte?" "They shot me in my ass, Martin." "You're all right, stay down!" "I think we lost five men." "Can you locate?" "The building with the caved-in roof." "The building with the caved-in roof." "Sir, we are sitting ducks here." "We have to keep moving!" "You've got to keep moving!" "Dick!" "Captain Winters." "Goddamn it, you do not go out there." "You're the Battalion Commander, now get back here!" "Dick, I understand your attachment to Easy Company..." "Speirs, get yourself over here!" "Get out there and relieve Dike and take that attack on in." "Webb, fall back, you're too exposed." "Come on, Webb, let's go, kid." "Hang on, Perco." "Fire!" "Lieutenant, what are we doing?" "I'm taking over." "First Sergeant Lipton." "What have we got?" "Sir, most of the Company is spread out here." "1st platoon tried an end around but they're stretched out, pinned by a sniper." "I believe he's there at the caved-in roof." "Destroy that building with mortars and grenade launchers." "Then, I want 1st to go in, forget going around." "Everybody else, follow me." "Yes, sir." "Thank God." "All right, 3rd Platoon, let's go!" "All right, you heard the word, 2nd Platoon, on the CO!" "Sergeant Alley!" "Got it, Sarge." "Okay, 1st Platoon, move out!" "On your feet, 2nd Platoon." "Move out!" "Get on your goddamn feet." "Come on!" "Come on, Luz, let's get the bastards." "Fire!" "Come on, move out!" "Fire!" "Take cover!" "Fire!" "Go!" "Go on, come on." "Take the cart out!" "Fire!" "Lipton." "Street fight, Item." "Easy Six, over." "What do you see, Lipton?" "Armor and infantry, a lot of infantry." "I Company's should be on the other side of town." "Do you see any sign of them?" "Radio, anything?" "No, sir." "Sir, I think they're gonna pull back." "We don't connect with I, they'll escape." "That's right, wait here." "Item, Item." "Easy Six." "What the hell?" "At first, the Germans didn't shoot at him." "I think they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing." "But that wasn't the really astounding thing." "The astounding thing was that after he hooked up with I Company he came back." "?" "I've been working on the railroad ?" "?" "All the live long day ?" "?" "I've been working on the railroad ?" "We took over 100 German prisoners." "After that it was mostly clean up." "Let's go, move it, move it!" "Take them down to the barn." "?" "Rise up early in the morn ?" "Sit down." "Sniper!" "Take cover!" "Come on." "Where is he?" "Shit, I can't see him." "Second floor, building on the right." "Don't miss, Shifty." "Now!" "Over here." "I need help over here." "Hey, can you guys get over here and help?" "Mellet, Herron, Sowosko, and Ken Webb were killed by a sniper." "There would've been more if it hadn't been for Shifty Powers." "You hit bad, Perconte?" "Beautiful wound, Lip." "They shot me right through my ass." "You hang tough." "Sarge." "Yeah?" "Is it true about Dike?" "Yeah." "Thank God for small mercies?" "Yeah." "We'd been looking down at Foy for the better part of a month, knowing that's where we had to go." "It was a great relief to have done it." "A lot of the men thought once we'd taken Foy they'd get off the line ship us back to Mourmelon for a breather." "But that wasn't to be." "Two days later, we took Noville, and after that, Rachamps." "We spent our night in Rachamps, in a convent." "It was the first time we'd spent a night indoors in a month." "The sisters there brought in their choir to sing for us." "It was heaven." "The mood of the men was relaxed." "We were finally being relieved and would soon be in Mourmelon." "Of course, in the morning we found out Mourmelon would have to wait." "Hitler had launched a counteroffensive in Alsace and we were bound for the town of Hagenau to help hold the line." "But at least for that night we didn't know it yet." "That night we were okay." "I spent that night trying to come up with a roster for the Company, to see who we had left." "We'd come into Belgium with 121 men and officers plus 24 replacements." "That's 145 total." "We were going out with 63." "Guarnere was badly wounded and Hoobler died accidentally." "Joe Toye had lost his leg." "Among the dead were Herron, Mellet Sowosko, Kenneth Webb, Harold Webb Alex Penkala, and Skip Muck." "Our month in Belgium cost us one good officer, Buck Compton." "And one bad one, Norman Dike." "But we gained a good one in the end, so I guess we came out ahead." "What is it?" "Nothing." "I'd better get back to Battalion before they disappear." "You wanna ask me, don't you?" "Ask you what, sir?" "You wanna know if they're true or not, the stories about me." "Did you ever notice with stories like that everyone says they heard it from someone who was there but then when you ask that person they say they heard it from someone who was there." "It's nothing new, really." "I bet if you went back 2,000 years, you'd hear a couple of centurions yakking about how Tercius lopped off the heads of some Carthaginian prisoners." "Maybe they kept talking about it because they never heard Tercius deny it." "Maybe because Tercius knew there was some value to the men thinking he was the meanest, toughest, son of a bitch in the Roman legion." "Sir?" "These men aren't really concerned about the stories." "They're just glad to have you as our CO." "They're happy to have a good leader again." "From what I've heard, they've always had one." "I've been told there's always been one man they could count on." "Led them in Bois Jacques, held them together when they were shelled in the woods." "Every day he kept his spirits up, kept the men focused, gave them direction." "All the things a good combat leader does." "You don't have any idea who I'm talking about, do you?" "No, sir." "Hell, it was you, First Sergeant." "Ever since Winters made Battalion, you've been the leader of Easy Company." "And you're not gonna be first sergeant much longer." "Sir?" "Winters put in for a Battlefield Commission and Sink approved on your behalf." "You should get the official nod in a few days." "Congratulations, Lieutenant." "Look, it's 1st Battalion." "What do you want?" "Yeah, thanks for crapping in our foxholes, you shitheads." "It's our pleasure." "Enjoy the walk, boys." "There they go, Easy Company." "We had lost some very good men there." "Toye and Guarnere had lost their legs there." "Guarnere..." "Gordon was badly hit." "A number of other people were killed." "It was a difficult situation there." "I don't know the exact amount of men that got killed in that but six, seven of 'em, were real close friends of mine." "Skip Muck died, and Eugene Roe came to me about 10 minutes after he was killed and he wanted me to see if I wanted to go look at him." "I said, no, I wouldn't be able to stand that." "So, I didn't go look at him." "After Bastogne, we went to Haguenau." "There was another push there." "We wanted to know what was across the river there what kind of strength they had." "You have a feeling you're gonna live through the war." "You have a feeling it's starting to ease off." "You can't account for it." "It's just a gut feeling." "But everybody had that feeling." ""I believe I might be able to live through it."" "So, walk carefully, take care of yourself." "The 101st Airborne had been made famous by what it did in the Battle of the Bulge." "Newspapers called them "the battered bastards of Bastogne."" "They'd been through hell and were now pulling into the comparative paradise of Haguenau the sounds of the war still coming from just across the river." "I had missed Bastogne." "All I knew was what I'd read and heard around the replacement depot that we had broken the enemy, and the war would soon be over." "Thanks for the lift." "When I was finally able to rejoin Easy Company they looked nothing like the heroes who had just helped win the war." "George Luz!" "Yeah?" "It's me." "Come on, I haven't been gone that long." "Jesus, yes, you have." "Now, look what I found." "Hey, guys." "Sgt. Martin." "What do you want, Private?" "I'm sorry, sir." "My name's David Webster." "I just got back from the hospital." "Good for you." "Where's the rest of the guys?" "This is everybody." "Come on, Sgt. Martin, this can't be everybody." "What about Hoobler?" "Where's he?" "Lt. Foley, 2nd Platoon lost more guys than we did." "They're really short-handed." "Right, report to 2nd, Webster." "They'll find a place for you." "Next truck up, Webster." "You'll find 2nd." "Move." "Hey, guys." "Some lieutenant told me to report to 2nd." "Your name's Jackson, right?" "That's right." "Who's leading the platoon?" "Sgt. Malarkey is." "What, no officers?" "I guess you didn't hear." "No, what's that?" "They're making Malarkey a lieutenant." "He's on the fast track now." "Really?" "That's great." "Yeah, isn't it?" "Yeah." "Jackson, help me up, will you?" "So, you come from the hospital?" "Yeah." "Must've liked that hospital, 'cause we left Holland four months ago." "I wasn't there the whole time." "There was rehabilitation, then the replacement depot." "I'm sure you tried to bust out and help us in Bastogne, Web." "I don't know how I would have done that." "That's funny, 'cause Popeye found a way." "So did Alley, right, back in Holland?" "And Guarnere, and..." "Yeah, where is Guarnere?" "He still your platoon sergeant?" "No." "He got hit." "Yeah?" "Yeah, Bill got hit." "Blew his whole leg off." "1st Platoon, moving out!" "Okay, spread out." "Hold along this line till I figure out where we're going." "Sarge?" "What's the matter, Webster?" "Nervous in the service?" "No." "No, I'm fine, Sarge." "Why don't you go talk to Capt. Speirs." "Make sure he wants you with us." "Capt. Speirs?" "What happened to Capt. Winters?" "He's running the whole battalion now." "Go." "So, Easy Company had a new CO to go along with all the other new faces." "The guys I knew were either gone, or very different from what I remembered." "I was a veteran of D-day and Market Garden had been with the company since its formation but because I had missed Bastogne, I was treated as a replacement and felt like I was starting all over again." "Look who it is." "Nice digs, Lip?" "Yeah." "Sgt. Lipton?" "Hey, look what I found." "Feeling all right?" "There you go." "He's got pneumonia." "I'm sorry to hear that." "What are you sorry about?" "He's alive, he's got a couch, a blanket, snug as a bug." "Yeah." "Sgt. Malarkey said to check with the CO if I should be in 2nd Platoon." "Have a seat, Webster." "We'll get you situated." "How long have you been sick?" "Long enough." "He wants us to cross the river." "Yeah, I bet that water's cold." "Should be able to get you some boats." "Had to be a full moon." "So much for the cover of darkness." "It's gonna leave the patrol exposed." "Is this the company CP for Easy?" "Yes, sir." "As you were." "Lt. Jones looking for Capt. Speirs." "He's on his way, sir." "Why don't you sit down?" "Can you get me a coffee?" "Would you like a coffee, sir?" "No, thank you." "All right." "What platoon are you in?" "We're about to find that out." "You got any soap?" "I need a shave." "I'll send some down." "You know what you're doing for this?" "I'm gonna let Speirs handle it." "Right." "Capt. Speirs, sir." "This is Lt. Jones." "Listen, will you go back in the back and sack out?" "There are beds there with fresh sheets." "I will, sir." "Just trying to make myself useful, sir." "Listen up." "Regiment wants a patrol for prisoners." "This one comes straight from Col. Sink, so it's not my idea." "Since the river's the line of resistance, we'll cross it to get to them." "What do we need to do?" "There's a three-story building on the enemy side, up the embankment." "We know it's occupied." "You can have 15 men." "Think very hard about who you wanna lead the patrol." "You'll need a lead scout, a translator." "I've got the entire battalion on covering fire." "When?" "Tonight, 0100." "Yes, sir." "Speirs, I want this one to be as fool proof, and as safe as possible." "Yeah, don't take any chances on this one." "We're too far along for that." "Speirs, I want to discuss who might go along." "Who are you?" "Lt. Jones, sir." "Right, our West Pointer." "Yes, sir." "When did you graduate?" "June 6, sir." "June 6, of last year?" "D-day, yes, sir." "All right." "Don't get hurt." "Sir, I'd like to volunteer for the patrol." "Speirs, talk to you in an hour." "Yeah." "Lt. Jones?" "We are short on offices." "You think a noncom could lead this?" "I can think of a few possibilities." "Martin, Malarkey, Grant?" "Honestly, sir, most of the NCOs could use a rest." "Captain, request permission to go on the patrol." "There's your answer." "No." "You don't have any experience." "Report to 2nd Platoon." "Yes, sir." "Tell..." "Tell Heffron, Ramirez, and McClung they're going." "Yes, sir." "Sir, this is Pvt. Webster." "Sir, I'm Pvt. Webster from 1st Platoon." "I just got back from the hospital and Lt. Foley told me to go to 2nd but Sgt. Malarkey said I..." "Fine, 2nd." "Take Lt. Jones." "Lieutenant, OP-2." "Come on." "Are there other officers in the platoon?" "No, sir." "Just St. Malarkey." "But they tell me he's getting a battlefield commission." "Maybe he'll be assisting you, sir." "Who's that?" "Webster?" "That's right." "How you doing, Sgt. Kiehn?" "Hi, Webster." "Hey, Sarge." "Look what we just scrounged." "We got some spuds." "Hey, OP-2, this way?" "Shit, move!" "Go!" "Shit, they spotted us!" "Is that it?" "I don't know." "I think so." "Go, go, go!" "Come on, come on." "All clear!" "All clear!" "Okay." "Wait, it was Heffron, McClung, and..." "Ramirez, come on." "Right." "Hey, guys." "This taken?" "Go ahead." "Sergeant, this is Lt. Jones." "Just assigned to 2nd Platoon." "Malarkey, Platoon Sergeant." "Congratulations on the battlefield commission." "The what?" "They're making you an officer, no?" "Me?" "No." "You must be thinking of First Sergeant Lipton." "My mistake." "So, you're without a platoon leader?" "No, not anymore, Lieutenant." "Right." "So, do you wanna introduce me to the men?" "Well, some are sleeping downstairs and the rest are right here." "Sergeant, a patrol's being planned for tonight 0100 hours, across the river." "Regiment wants POWs for interrogation." "What's the situation?" "Hey, Web." "What?" "Come here." "I wanna talk to you for a second." "Why?" "You want some coffee?" "No." "Fifteen." "Fifteen what?" "Lugies since D-day." "Any mortars?" "60s, out back." "Is this kid out of high school yet?" "Out of West Point." "West Point?" "Isn't that where Ike went?" "Yeah, he actually graduated with his son." "Shit, so..." "What do you know about this patrol thing?" "Nothing." "Come on, you gotta know something." "I don't." "Bullshit." "You were there, right, at the CP?" "This is a prisoner snatch, right?" "Hey, Chuck, listen to this." "Come on, Webster, spill it." "Capt. Speirs is to pick 15 men." "Lt. Jones wants to be one of them." "I say let the kid go." "He could use the experience." "Probably could find 14 replacements to help him out." "I take it this was already an outpost when you arrived?" "There were some dogies from the 79th Infantry but they left in a hurry." "What's the report on enemy activity?" "Expect some flares, a few mortars at night scattered 88s, snipers during the day." "Yeah, we dodged some mortars on our way in." "They also got some sort of railroad gun back there." "Shells about the size of a deuce and a half." "Sounds like a freight train when one comes over." "They haven't attempted to cross the river?" "No." "They have roofs over their heads, sir." "Just like us." "I don't think anybody wants to do anything stupid at this point, right?" "Why are you holding out?" "I know you know." "Just give us the names, Web." "Who?" "There are three men here in this room, that think they should be on the patrol." "Who?" "If I tell you, you can't let on that you know." "Your secret's safe, Web." "Who is it?" "Yeah, Heffron." "Shit!" "McClung." "And you." "He want any other guys from any other platoon?" "No, I don't know." "Not that I know of." "Look, that's all I know, I'm sorry." "So, it's McClung, Heffron, and Ramirez." "I'll tell them." "I just need you to point..." "Listen up!" "Got some bad news." "There is a patrol set for tonight, and so far, Speirs wants McClung..." "We know." "Yeah, we just fucking heard." "Webster here told us." "Easy, White." "Yeah." "Okay." "All right, out." "The PX rations just came in." "Including winter shoe pacs." "Beautiful." "Yeah, finally, right?" "Good of 'em." "Now we're in a nice warm house." "Also, we get showers." "All right, let's move!" "Clear it out!" "Come on, move, move!" "Incoming!" "Come on, come on, go!" "Stay down!" "Stay low, stay low!" "Okay." "Showers, let's go, come on." "Somebody's been hit!" "What happened?" "Casualty." "Who is it?" "Bill Kiehn." "I just left him." "I was on my way back." "In war, soldiers sometimes die in the fever pitch of a firefight or by artillery when they're huddled in a foxhole." "Bill Kiehn, a Toccoa man was killed because he was carrying potatoes from one building into another in the wrong place at the wrong time." "He was dead before Doc Roe even heard the call for a medic." "Get him out of here, will you?" "Let's go, let's get out of here." "Yeah, okay." "Did you know him well?" "No, not really." "McClung." "Thanks." "Malarkey." "Jackson, you and Liebgott, Powers, Wynn, and Webster." "All right?" "2nd Platoon, on me." "All right, I'm leading this patrol." "CO wants Grant, Liebgott, Wynn Jackson, Shifty from 3rd Platoon, and Webster." "They want anyone from 1st?" "No." "Anyone they don't want from 2nd?" "Jesus Christ." "That list sounds like everybody to me." "It's always 2nd Platoon." "Swear to God, if we had three guys, they'd still want us for it." "I can't believe Malarkey's gonna lead it." "He only lost his five best friends." "What the fuck's he gotta live for?" "Has it been a long time since your last shower, Professor?" "Come on." "Is it hot water or cold?" "Come on, hurry up, will ya?" "All right." "I guess I don't really need a shower." "I don't either." "Lieutenant?" "Yeah." "You still wanna get your ODs dirty?" "Of course." "I was just thinking." "Sgt. Malarkey's really in no condition to be on this patrol." "And maybe, if you offered, you could go in his place." "Being that you are an officer..." "No, they want someone with experience." "The guys they picked have plenty of that." "Lt. Jones wanted to experience combat before the war was over." "Malarkey had been on the front lines every time Easy Company had seen action since D-day." "If it was possible for them to switch places for the patrol it would be a small moment of justice." "As welcome as a hot shower and a fresh uniform." "The decision, though, was not theirs to make." "Goddamn it, Johnny, you're breaking my heart, I'm telling you." "Come on, George, just give me, I don't know, 10, 15 bars." "Juicy Fruit." "Happy?" "We just got a report of movement." "Lipton wants you to lay a few bazooka rounds into a house across the river." "You'd think we could get at least one Hershey bar." "You're 1st Platoon at heart." "Jesus, Cobb, there's not enough." "Hershey bars!" "Jesus Christ." "Wait your turn." "Who are they for?" "Not you, Lieb." "Come on, George, one bar." "No, there's not enough to go around." "Capt. Speirs here?" "Down by the river, sir." "Hey, big mouth, give the kid a Hershey bar." "You gotta be shittin' me!" "What's up, guys?" "I like what you did with the place, George." "Yeah, I did good." "How you feeling?" "If you keep your hands off my ass, fine." "Have a Hershey." "Thanks." "He gets a fuckin' Hershey bar?" "He got shot in the ass." "Did I tell you to stick your ass out in the wind?" "No, but I expect a little sympathy from you, right?" "I should rub it for you?" "Can you believe this guy?" "Try to get him out of the war, he comes back." "That's not what I heard." "I heard the Krauts are finished." "Yeah, just to make sure we've gotta row across the fucking river tonight grab a few, and ask 'em in person." "Are you kidding me?" "Wish I was." "Welcome back, Frank." "Yeah, Jesus, that reminds me, Web, I need you to run these to OP-2 for me." "Grenade launchers for the night patrol." "Any day now, Web, there you go." "You know what?" "Send these, too." "Did you hear what happened on D-company's patrol last night?" "What?" "Replacement lieutenant blew his foot off." "Stepped on a Schu mine." "Fresh in from West Point." "Had to come back empty handed." "No shit." "Maybe he's a friend of yours, Lieutenant." "What you got in there?" "More Hershey bars and Lucky Strikes for you rear-echelon fucks to hoard?" "Cobb, with the mouth, please." "The kid's just trying to do his job, all right?" "Jesus Christ." "You know what?" "To hell with it." "Count 'em up, Vest." "I gotta go blast this house." "You happy now?" "You coming, Perco?" "Make yourself useful, watch this shit for me." "Web, you're coming with me." "Is Capt. Speirs gonna be where you're headed?" "Same vicinity, yeah." "Then I'll join you." "Where are we going?" "To the house I gotta blast." "Capt. Winters gonna be with him?" "Jesus, look, I don't know, maybe." "Then I'm coming, too." "All right, come on, please." "Take it easy, I've been here all fucking day." "Give me a bar." "Come on, you don't even smoke cigarettes, damn it!" "Come on, I got a wounded ass." "Did intelligence give you any information on the CP?" "Third house on the left." "Soon as our men are in the boats, I want a quad 50 opening up." "Capt. Winters?" "About the patrol." "I feel that I should go on the patrol, sir." "I know I could use the experience." "Denied." "Anything else?" "You're not gonna lead that patrol, Lt. Jones." "Permission to speak, sir." "Go on, Lieutenant." "It looks like Sgt. Malarkey could use a break." "I've discussed it with him, he said he didn't mind if I took his place on the patrol." "That was nice of him." "Capt. Winters." "Yes." "I'd really like to be on that patrol, sir." "If it's true the Krauts are finished..." "I haven't really done anything except deliver mail and type morning reports." "Absolutely." "Thank you, Captain." "He's got a point about Sgt. Malarkey." "Yeah, a point." "Fine, you can go." "There'll be a briefing, CP, 1700." "Yes, sir." "So, who do you have in mind leading this thing, if not Malarkey?" "Come on." "He can't be leading." "I'm not sure what they decided." "No way." "Not on his first day." "Do you see any other officer here?" "What?" "They call you guys, too?" "So, who's in charge of this bullshit?" "No, he ain't." "If he ain't, it's you, Chuck." "Or Shifty or Mo." "That'd be better." "Ten-hutt!" "At ease." "Gentlemen." "Sir." "As you can see, we've assembled 15 of you here for this prisoner snatch tonight, 0100." "Just a couple of points." "Secured four rubber boats to get you across the river." "Lt. Jones here is the ranking officer and he'll be along as an observer." "Sgt. Martin here will lead the patrol in Sgt. Malarkey's place." "The whole battalion will be covering your withdrawal." "We've identified targets." "We've planned fire for 'em." "We hear these whistles, we open up." "So don't blow them till you're back in the boats with your prisoners." "If the house turns out to be empty, sir?" "It won't, but in any case we know it's an outpost, we want it destroyed so you have to lay some demo on a time delay." "You have to move fast, but carefully." "Put a perimeter around the house." "Once in place, get rifle grenades in the window." "Get your assault team in quick." "Okay, good, understood." "Remember, it's about prisoners." "Don't pop the first thing that moves." "Clear?" "Yes, sir." "Good." "Picked your assault team?" "McClung, Sisk, Cobb, Garcia and Webster, as translator." "The rest of you guys, a base of fire with Sgt. Grant." "You speak German, right, Webster?" "Yeah, a little bit." "Good." "That's my team, sir." "Questions?" "No, sir." "Good." "Good luck." "Thank you, sir." "Ten-hutt!" "As you were." "Carry on." "A little German?" "His German's as good as mine." "It's not a concern of mine." "Jackson, you need this." "Can you believe that guy?" "Webster, likes to get out of everything." "Whatever." "I want four men on each block." "Four men to go in." "Four on the left flank, four on the right." "Sir?" "Yes?" "Liebgott and I, we both speak German." "Yeah?" "You said 15 men, there are 16 of us, including two translators." "Fine." "Liebgott, you wanna sit this one out?" "Yes, sir." "Martin, you wanna supervise the street squads?" "Thank you, sir." "Or the two fives?" "Yeah, anyway..." "Okay, you men going on patrol Skinny, nothing rattles, nothing shines, no helmets." "Lieutenant?" "Thank you." "Are you set for tonight?" "I'm ready." "Those Krauts are gonna catch some hell." "So I hear." "I'm not personally going in." "It's Martin, right?" "Martin and McClung." "I'm supposed to stay in the rear and give them cover." "It's the best place to be." "Fifteen men crossing a river to capture prisoners from a German observation post." "Getting back safely could be successfully accomplished in as little as ten minutes." "The same mission could be met with disaster and result in nothing more than 15 Americans killed or wounded in action." "Those of us who had seen combat before put that out of our minds." "Those who hadn't probably thought of little else as we waited for darkness." "Any problems?" "No problems." "It's secured to the tree." "No sign of any AP mines." "Let's go." "Webster, come on." "Keep it steady." "Shit." "I can't swim!" "Garcia, grab Sisk." "Okay, keep going, come on." "Stay focused." "Come on." "Use the rope." "Come on." "Cutters." "Good." "To the side." "Let's go, come on." "Clear." "Easy now, clear." "Powers, go." "Go, McClung." "McClung, move up." "In twos, up." "Powers, Wynn, secure the left flank." "Lieutenant take Grant and Heffron secure the right perimeter and crossroads." "Clear?" "Security out, go." "Move." "Come on, let's go." "Jackson, hold on!" "Let's go!" "Jackson, wait!" "Put it down!" "Put it down, and keep your hands out where I can see them!" "Keep those Krauts quiet!" "Jackson!" "Vest, take care of him." "Ramirez, watch Vest." "Let's go, Webster, let's go." "Split 'em up, come on." "Webster, check 'em for weapons." "Keep those men quiet!" "McClung, cover 'em!" "Take the charges, prime it, bury it." "Shut up, you two, and pick him up." "McClung, these two are gonna carry the wounded Kraut." "Tell 'em." "Bring the wounded man." "I said, shut up." "Ramirez, pick up Jackson!" "We're moving out!" "Come on, where are you going?" "You, move!" "Everybody moves out on my command." "Are you ready?" "Are you ready?" "Shut up, you!" "Come on, we all go together." "Let's go, move, move out!" "Let's go, move!" "Move!" "Webster, come on!" "Powers, fall back, we're moving out!" "Keep those prisoners' heads down, and let's keep moving." "Wynn!" "Fall back!" "We're moving out, let's go." "We're falling back!" "Covering fire!" "Heffron, I want you to fall back now!" "Let's go!" "Move out, get back to the boat, I'll cover." "Go!" "Keep those men moving!" "Lieutenant, take the whistle." "Let's go!" "Go!" "Let's go!" "Stay low, keep moving!" "Fall back to the boats, now!" "Fall back!" "Jesus Christ, come on, blow the goddamn whistle!" "Okay, everybody, get in the boats, right now!" "Come on, get in the boats." "Come on, move!" "Let's go, Shifty." "I'm gonna shoot you, you fucking Kraut!" "Shoot him, we'll have to come back for more." "You, in the boat, now!" "You get up, you Kraut piece of shit!" "Into the boats!" "Quick, get in the boats, come on!" "Let's go, we're moving out!" "Let's get these boats in the water!" "Let's do it, start pulling." "You're okay, Jackson!" "Keep pulling!" "Come on, keep going, come on!" "Perconte, come on, let's go!" "Where's the medic?" "Everybody off the boats!" "Let's go!" "Take cover!" "We got wounded, come on." "Popeye, get the Krauts back there, and shake 'em down." "Move!" "Move!" "McClung, McClung!" "Get onto the company CP!" "Let 'em know what we got!" "Shut up, just shut up." "I can't do this, I can't do this." "Move off." "Webster, stay with him." "Hey, Shifty, watch Vest." "Sir, I'm going to get a medic." "You got this?" "Yeah." "Get his legs." "Jackson, listen to me." "Calm down, or we can't help you." "Settle down." "He's gonna fucking die!" "Jackson, look at me, don't listen to him." "Look at me." "You're gonna be fine." "Everything's gonna be okay." "Keep still." "Be calm, buddy, everything's fine." "Everything's fine." "Goddamn it!" "Jesus!" "You think you're out of this war?" "What do you think you're doing?" "We're not gonna get more prisoners, because you killed one!" "Private, listen to me, Private." "He's gonna fucking die!" "Sit down!" "Jackson, stay calm, the medic is coming." "They're on their way." "Where the fuck is the medic?" "Doc is on his way." "You'll be okay." "All right, Jackson, you got the doc." "Doc's here, you're okay." "All right, Jackson, take it easy, okay." "Okay." "Light, I need some light, give me some light." "All right, look at the flame, Jackson." "Okay, that's good." "All right, let's get him out of here." "You guys, help the doc move him." "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!" "It's okay, Jackson." "I don't wanna die!" "Take it easy." "It's okay, it's okay." "You're all right." "Jackson!" "God, my God!" "Jackson, you're not gonna die." "You're not gonna die, I need you to hang on!" "Jackson!" "Eugene Jackson was 20 years old." "He'd lied about his age when he joined the army at 16." "His family, I'm sure, got a telegram from the War Department, saying he died a hero on an important mission that would help win the war." "In fact, Eugene lost his life on a stretcher in a dank basement in Haguenau crying out in agony while his friends looked on helplessly." "He was just one more casualty in a war that was supposed to be all but over." "Did they put that in the report on the ADA?" "We're working on it." "How long are you gonna keep..." "Keep moving, go on." "Get up on the truck." "Up, up." "Status?" "Private Jackson took a grenade fragment from the enemy OP." "It was his own grenade." "He died of his wounds, sir." "Any others?" "No, sir." "Well executed." "It's not your fault." "Talk to your men." "Carry on." "Thank you, sir." "We heard you got two prisoners." "Good work." "Jackson's dead." "Yeah, we heard." "They want another patrol tonight." "What are you doing, Cobb?" "You leave someone on the bank?" "Yeah, yeah, we did." "It's the third prisoner that was too far-gone to bring back." "Maybe we should put him out of his misery." "Fuck his misery." "I can't listen to it anymore." "Sir, want cigarette?" "Yeah." "Who's got a light?" "Here, sir." "Twenty-two." "What you looking at, Webster?" "Yeah, that's what I thought, college boy." "Are you drunk, trooper?" "Leave me alone." "Answer the question." "Yes, sir, I am drunk, sir." "Drunk." "Sick and tired of fucking patrols, taking orders..." "Hey, Cobb, shut up." "It's boring, okay?" "Taking his side, Johnny?" "Yeah..." "I am." "So, he knows we lost a man?" "Yeah, he knows." "He also knows you picked up two prisoners who talked." "About what?" "OB, supply trouble, Hitler's favorite color." "I don't know." "None of it gets us across the river." "What's the point?" "Honestly?" "Sink's been on the phone all day, bragging it up." "I think he's just showing off now." "I don't know, Dick." "I don't know what to tell you." "You gave him a successful patrol, now he wants two." "Successful." "Sir, the men are mustered." "If you want me to brief 'em, I'm gonna." "It's the same roster as last night." "Well, mostly." "Evening, gents." "Evening, Colonel." "At ease." "Y'all did a damn fine job on a tough mission last night." "And I wish you good luck tonight, 'cause I'll be expecting more of the same." "Have you briefed the men?" "Just on our way, sir." "All right." "Make damn sure you remind 'em how proud I am of what they did." "Yes, sir." "So, I'll brief 'em now, sir?" "No." "No, I'll do it." "Sarge, they're on their way in." "Ten-hutt." "Martin." "Sir." "At ease." "This everybody, Grant?" "Sir." "You men did an excellent job last night." "I'm proud." "I just saw Col. Sink." "He's proud, too." "In fact, he's so proud, he wants you to do another patrol across the river tonight." "Any moment now, the outpost we hit last night will go up in flames, Martin?" "Yes, sir." "It means we'd have to venture farther into town this time." "Capt. Speirs, you have the map, please?" "Yeah, Sgt. Grant." "We have enemy movement here and here which means this is our new house target here." "We recovered all the boats so we'll set off from the same place as last night." "We're not changing the plan any, sir?" "No." "Plan is the same." "It will be 0200 hours instead of 0100." "Is that clear?" "Yes, sir." "Okay." "Good, because I want you all to get a full night's sleep tonight." "Which means, in the morning you will report to me that you made it across the river into German lines but were unable to secure any live prisoners." "Understand?" "Yes, sir." "Good." "Look sharp for tomorrow." "We're moving off the line." "Did I fucking hear that right?" "A good man." "Moving off the line." "It's a whole new way to fight a war." "Don't bother writing this up." "I'll take care of it." "I might actually enjoy it." "Okay." "Think you might be onto something, Dick." "Lt. Jones." "Sir." "Join us at the company CP." "First Sergeant Lipton." "Sir." "Your honorable discharge as an enlisted man." "Just keep 'em coming, Luz." "Battlefield commission as Second Lieutenant." "Look what we have here, boys." "Hey, pal." "Congratulations, Carwood." "Thank you, sir." "Lip, congratulations." "Thanks." "Thank you, sir." "Thank you, welcome back, sir." "That's Harry to you." "Congratulations." "Thanks, Harry." "Harry, I didn't expect to see you this soon." "I figured you'd be nursing that scratch for another month or two." "Did you miss me, Lewis?" "Lt. Jones." "Regiment has seen fit to promote you to First Lieutenant." "They want you on staff up there." "Congratulations and good luck." "Thank you, sir." "Dismissed." "Looks like you lost another platoon leader, Web?" "So, a second patrol never happened." "Word was Capt. Nixon wrote up a bogus report and regiment never got wise." "As we pulled out of Haguenau many of us in Easy Company felt that a corner had been turned and we all might make it home alive." "So, we'll know more as soon as we get closer to the line." "Before I forget Col. Sink's unhappy with the appearance of your uniform." "He says it's not befitting to your rank." "Oak leaves." "Congratulations, Major." "Gentlemen, we're ready." "I'll drive." "Sgt. Malarkey good luck, sir." "Sgt. Martin." "Yeah, Lieutenant?" "Good work." "Thank you, sir." "Good to have you along." "Good luck, men." "Here." "I wondered if people back home would ever know what it cost the soldiers to win this war." "In America, things were already beginning to look like peace time." "The standard of living was on the rise, race tracks and nightclubs were booming." "You couldn't get a hotel room in Miami Beach, it was so crowded." "How could anyone ever know of the price paid by soldiers in terror, agony, and bloodshed if they'd never been to places like Normandy Bastogne, or Haguenau?"