"It was a situation there where everyone was happy to see the war coming to an end." "And the Germans didn't really have that much of a heart for it and they realized that the end was there." "We used to say, "The only good Kraut is a dead one."" "Well, but there was something in there that, you know-- "Hey, that was a kid."" "Most of them were kids." "We all were kids." "They had a job to do, the same way as me." "So we went about and did the job that we had to do." "I think we thought that the Germans were probably the evilest people in the world." "But as the war went along, we found out also that it wasn't the Germans, per se." "A lot of those" " A lot of those soldiers-- I've thought about this often." "That man and I might've been good friends." "We might've-- We might've had a lot in common." "We might've liked to fish, you know." "He might've liked to hunt." "You never know, you know." "Of course, they were doing what they were supposed to do and I was trying to do what I was supposed to do." "But under different circumstances, we might've been good friends." "That way." "That way." "Tell you one thing about the Krauts." "They sure clean up good." "Yeah, all you need's a little Mozart." "Beethoven." " Sorry, sir?" " That's not Mozart." "That's Beethoven." "Come on, chicken." "All right, this one's got some, George." "You" "You grab the chicken, and I'm gonna grab the eggs." "Okay, great." "Fine." "Just grab him by the foot." "Come on." "All right, this thing bites me, Frank, I swear I'll shoot it." "Hold on!" "Hol" " Come on, George." " I'll be right back." "Hold on a second." "Hold on." "Hey, hey, hey, come on." "I just wanna talk to you." "I just wanna talk you." "I told you, I just wanna talk." "Here, look what I got." "Chocolate bar." "You like that?" "You like chocolate?" "Hey, Luz, why don't you leave her alone?" "Frank, why don't you just leave me alone, okay?" "You don't like chocolate?" "Forget it." "I don't like chocolate either." "How about this?" "Cigarettes." "Camel." " Yeah, you like that, huh?" " Come on, Luz" "Frank, please." "Why don't you go make your omelet?" "Well, you ain't getting none of my eggs, you blockhead." "Jesus, man." "My friend just-- He keeps talking." "Here." "I got two packs here." "Give it to your friends or something." "Why don't you come sit down?" "Wanna sit down here?" "Come on." "That's it." "We'll smoke some more cigarettes." "Hey, Frank." "Hold on." "Perc." "Jesus, come on." "What?" " That Captain Nixon?" " I think so." " What the hell is he doing in his harness?" " I don't know." "Maybe we jumped into Berlin, the war's over." "Yeah, huh?" "So, what happened?" "No dice with the Fräulein?" "No dice." "She smacked me in the mouth." "I'll tell you what, though Germany's looking like it's gonna be pretty good fraternizing territory, huh?" " Yeah." " Did you lose your cigarettes?" "Oh, God!" "God, yeah, yeah, yeah." " Oh, God!" " Hold up, hold up, hold up." " Yeah." " Oh, it feels good." " Janovec?" " Yeah." " Janovec?" " Oh, shit!" "Sir!" "Where's my stuff?" "I" " I thought I'd leave it over there, sir." "Over there." "Here." " Thanks." " You're welcome, sir." "Sir." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning." " You got a box all this stuff will fit into?" " Yes, sir, I think so." "Same destination?" "Yeah." "Yes, sir." "I'll make sure it goes out first thing in the morning." "Thank you, private." "Boy, your folks are sure gonna have quite a collection by the time you get home, sir." "Finders, keepers." "Yes, sir." "Nix?" " Nix?" " In here." "You dog." "Making combat jumps with the 17th while I'm in supply briefings all morning." "Yeah, lucky me." "No, congratulations." "You're probably the only man in the 101 st with three combat stars over his jump wings." "Not bad for someone who's never fired his weapon in combat, huh?" "Really?" " Really, you've never--?" " Nope." "Not even with all the action we've seen?" "Not a round." "So..." "How'd it go this morning?" "The jump?" "It was great." "Fantastic." "We took a direct hit over the drop zone." "I got out." "Two others got out." "The rest of the boys?" "Oh, they blew up over Germany somewhere." "Boom." " Yeah." "Yeah, I'm sorry." " About what?" " Well, tough situation for the" " Oh, yeah, the boys, yeah." "It's terrible." "Oh, well, it wasn't me." "You know, the real tragedy is, they also lost their CO, so guess who gets to write all the letters home?" "A goddamn nightmare." "Got a visit from Colonel Sink this morning." " And how is the good colonel?" " Concerned." "Still drinking nothing but the Vat 69, huh?" "Only the finest for Mrs. Nixon's baby boy." "That a problem up at Regiment?" "What, this?" "Is that what he said?" "No, I just don't like it up there." "Good." "You'll be happy to hear that Sink is transferring you back down to Battalion S3." "What do you think I should write to these parents, Dick?" "Hear what I said, Nix?" "You've been demoted." "Yeah." "Demoted, got you." "Because I don't know how to tell them their kids never even made it out of the goddamn plane." "You tell them what you always tell them." "Their sons died as heroes." "You really still believe that?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I do." "Don't you?" "The Cooperative for American Remittance to Europe, or CARE has begun assembling food packages stateside to assist those European families in dire need which is presumably all of them." "So notes home to your family reminding them to donate whatever they can would be much appreciated." "I'm sure that you'll all be happy to know Oklahoma is still playing on Broadway." "O'Keefe, are you sitting on your bayonet there?" "Why don't you leave the singing to Luz?" "Unless you wanna do, like, "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," O'Keefe." " Rita Hayworth's getting married." " Rita, say it isn't true." "Abbott and Costello..." "Abbott and Costello." "All right, wartime news." "Resistance in the Ruhr-Park is crumbling." "It looks like there might be a breakout in Remagen." "Apparently, the Krauts forgot to blow up one of their bridges when they headed back over the Rhine." "I guess our boys in the 17th Airborne did okay after all." "Forget it." "We'd be in Berlin by now, sir, if it was us instead of them, huh?" " That's right." " Come on." "Perconte!" "How you doing?" "So when do you think we're gonna jump into Berlin and see some real action?" " You in a rush?" " No." "So, what, you wanna go home with a Congressional Medal of Honor or something?" " No, I just thought I'd ask." " Yeah, well, why don't you do us all a favor?" "Don't think." "Damn replacements." " Hallelujah." " About time." "Yeah, well, consider yourself lucky." "Nixon was giving another current-events lecture." " So, tell me nothing's happening." " Nothing's happening." "A couple of artillery rounds at dawn, probably from across the river, but that's about it." "It spooked Hashey, though." " Here, Perco, I just finished it." " Oh, yeah?" "Any sex in it?" " Ain't that kind of book." " Hold it!" " See you." " Yeah, see you." "Steady down the back there." "Okay, move on." "Hey, O'Brien." "Relax, would you?" "I'm trying to read." "It's O'Keefe." " Is that right?" " Yup." "Patrick O'Keefe." "My friends call me Paddy." "Hey, O'Brien." "Shut up!" "I told you, it's O'Keefe." "Do you know why no one remembers your name?" "It's because no one wants to remember your name." "There's too many Smiths, DiMattos and O'Keefes, and O'Briens who show up here, replacing Toccoa men that you dumb replacements got killed in the first place." "And they're all like you." "They're all piss and vinegar." ""Where are the Krauts at?" "Let me at them." "When do I get to jump into Berlin?"" "Two days later, there they are, with their blood and guts hanging out and they're screaming for a medic, begging for their goddamn mother." "Them dumb fucks don't even know they're dead yet." "Hey, you listening to me?" "Do you understand that this is the best part of fucking war I've seen?" "I got hot chow, hot showers, warm bed." "Germany is almost as good as being home." "I even got to wipe my ass with real toilet paper today." "So quit asking about when you're gonna see some action, will you?" "And stop with the fucking love songs." " When you ship out?" "A few weeks ago?" " Yeah." "It's been two years since I seen home." "Two years." "This fucking war." "Neither patrol found a single Kraut." "There were none here either." "They'll be across the river by now." "Let's send out a night patrol." "Check out the embankment on the far side." "President's dead." "Pair of queens bets." " All right, 2 bucks." " Nix?" " No, I'm out." " All right." "Well, I'll call your 2 and I'll raise you another 2." "I can't believe we're not gonna drop into Berlin." " No shit." " Mm." " Ike's gonna let the Russkies have it." " Ha, Russkies." " Goddamn it." " Let me tell you something, Welsh." "This war is not about fighting anymore, it's about who gets what." "Go ahead and deal me out of the next hand." "What about your money?" " Are we waiting on him again?" " Yup." "Goddamn drugstore." " Sir." " Sir." "Hey guys, wait up!" " Hey, Dexter." "How you doing?" " Good to see you." " You know who that was?" " No." "That's a great job." "I don't believe it." "Morning." "Captain Nixon, good to see you, sir." "I think I have some mail for you." "Yeah." "I was gonna drop it off this afternoon with all the other 2nd Battalion mail but since you're here..." "Yeah." "Thanks." "Listen, I'm having some trouble finding some whiskey." " Whiskey?" " Yeah." "A particular brand of whiskey." " Vat 69." " Exactly right." "I gotta be honest with you, sir, that ain't gonna be easy to find here in Germany." " Pickings are kind of slim here." " Yeah, don't I know it." "And even if I do find some, sir, it ain't gonna be cheap." " Well, that won't be a problem." " Hey, Vest, you hear the news?" "Oh, sorry, sir, I didn't realize that you were here." " What news?" " 300,000 Krauts just surrendered." "Three hundred?" "Yeah, we're moving out in an hour." " One hour?" " Yeah." "Sir?" "Sir!" "Your mail." "Keep looking." " Excuse me." "Pardon me." " Collins?" " Sir?" " Get a move on." "Let's go." "Jesus Christ." "The dog?" "Lew?" " Cathy's divorcing me." " I'm sorry." "She's taking everything." "She's taking the house, taking the kid, she's taking the dog." "It's not even her dog." "It's my dog!" "She's taking my dog!" "Let's go!" "Load it up!" "Come on!" "Sarge, what do you have in here, Germans?" "Hey, Perconte." " You got a lighter?" " No, sir, I don't smoke." "Hey, where we headed?" "We're going to the Alps." "Let me see that lighter." " The Alps?" " Yup." " That near Berlin, sir?" " No." "That's in Bavaria." "Birthplace of National Socialism." "So that means no drop into Berlin?" "No drop into Berlin." "Hitler ordered the Waffen SS to hole up in the mountains, repel all the invaders." " He wants them to start a guerrilla war." " Invaders." "Damn, I like the sound of that." "They'll die the last man trying." " Sir." " What?" "My lighter." " All right, nice lighter." " Thanks." "Waffen SS, huh?" "Hey, looks like you're gonna get your wish anyway, O'Flannery." "Those guys, fucking crazy." "It's O'Keefe." " You okay, Nix?" " Yeah, I'm fine." "She hates that dog." "It's gonna be good times, Web." "When we get home, I mean." "First thing I'm gonna do is get my job back at the cab company in Frisco." "Make a killing off all those fucking sailors coming home, you know?" "Then I'm gonna find me a nice Jewish girl with great big soft titties and a smile to die for." "Marry her." "Then I'm gonna buy a house, a big house with lots of bedrooms for all the little Liebgotts we're gonna be making." "She ought to like that." "Janovec, what you reading?" " Um, an article." " No shit." "What's it about?" "It's about why we're fighting the war." "Why are we fighting the war, Janovec?" "It seems that the Germans are bad." "They're very bad." "You don't say?" "The Germans are bad, huh?" "Hey, Frank, this guy's reading an article over here, says the Germans are bad." " So, what about you, Web?" " Learn something new every day, huh?" "I guess I'll finish school first, and then" "Wait a minute." "Finish school?" "You mean all this time you've been talking about Harvard this and Harvard that and you ain't even finished?" " For one thing, I haven't told you anything." " Oh." "Yes." "Yes, I haven't finished." "So the fuck what?" "All right, we'll let it breathe a little." "Jesus." "Fuck." "It's just the way you always talked, you know." "We all figured that..." "Hey, you know what?" "You're right." "So the fuck what?" " So, what did you study?" " Hey, man." "Literature." "Get out of here." "Are you serious?" " I love to read." " Do you?" "Yeah." "Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, mostly ." "Yeah." "Fuck." " Keep moving." " Up three." "Tell her she's got five minutes." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Move!" "Move!" "Sir, she says she's got nowhere to go, but the house next door is" "Hey, hey, did you hear this?" "This guy says he ain't a Nazi." "Now, why is it in all of Germany, I've never met one Nazi yet?" "We're only gonna be here one night!" "You've got four minutes!" "Go!" "Let's go!" "Go!" "Move!" "All of you, out!" "Look at them." "Even in defeat, they still know how to march with pride." "Hey, you!" "Hey, you!" "That's right, you stupid Kraut bastards!" "That's right!" "Say hello to Ford!" "And General fucking Motors!" "You stupid fascist pigs!" "Look at you!" "You have horses." "What were you thinking?" "That's enough, Webster." "Give it a rest." "Dragging our asses halfway around the world." "Interrupting our lives." "For what?" "You ignorant, servile scum!" "What the fuck are we doing here?" "!" "Everyone out!" "Move it!" "Move it!" "1 st Platoon, I want roadblocks to shut off all the roads in and out of this town." "I wanna send out some patrols." "We'll have Dog here in the village, Easy and Fox in the woods." "Easy Company's gonna take the northwest." "Lieutenant Lipton?" " Sir." " Have 1 st and 2nd Platoon swing up to the woods, have 3rd swing around." "Yes, sir." "First Sergeant Talbert!" "You're not worried about an ambush, are you?" "No." "Just in case we have to stay here for the night." " O'Keefe." " Sarge?" "Why the hell you so jumpy, boy?" " I'm not jumpy, I'm fine." " Shit." "Can hear your heart pounding in Arkansas, boy." "Jesus Christ, give the kid a break, Bull." " Hey, George." " Yeah?" "Kind of remind you of Bastogne?" "Yeah, now that you mention it." "Except of course there's no snow, we got warm grub in our bellies and the trees aren't fucking exploding from Kraut artillery, but yeah, Frank." " Other than that, it's a lot like Bastogne." " Right?" "Bull, smack him for me, please." "Thank you." "Sergeant, make your men check out that warehouse." "Yes, sir." "You men come with me." "Now, let's move it." "Hello?" "Hello?" "It sure is quiet." "He is right, fellas." " You seen Foley?" " No." "Hey, guys, any of you guys see any of the officers?" " No, none of them." " Speak to Popeye." " Hey, Pop." " Popeye, you see any of the officers?" "Nixon?" "Foley?" "Well, Speirs is searching them buildings right down the street." "What's the matter?" "More." "More, have you seen any of the officers?" "Yeah, Major Winters is right in there." "Are you all right, Frank?" "Major Winters, sir..." "We found something." "We're out on the patrol and we came across this" "What?" "What?" "What?" "What?" "Frank." "Frank, what is it?" "I don't know, sir." " Hey, are you finished with this war?" " I don't know." "Major, sir." " Open it up." " Yes, sir." "Stand back and give us some room here." "Stand back." "Back." "Back." "Christenson, any of your men speak German?" "No, sir." "I need Liebgott." "Liebgott!" " Lipton, find me Liebgott." " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Liebgott!" "Liebgott!" "Liebgott." " Major needs you up front, right now." " Sure." "All right, boys." "These people need care." "Give them water and any spare rations you might have." " Grab me some blankets, quick." " Yes, sir." "Oh, my God." "Dick?" "I'm sorry." "Here, take some water." "Jesus, Web, can you believe this place?" " No." " My God." "It's okay." "It's okay." "It's better now." "It's okay." "He said the guards left this morning, sir." "And they burned some of the huts first." "With the prisoners still in them, sir." "Alive." "Jesus Christ." "Some of the prisoners tried to stop them." "Some of them were killed." "They didn't have enough ammo for all the prisoners so they killed as many as they could before they left the camp." "They locked the gates behind them and headed south." "Someone in town must have told them we were coming." "Yeah, I think so." "Will you ask him--?" "Ask him what kind of camp this is." "What" " Why are they here?" "He says it's a work camp for..." "I'm not sure what the word means, sir." " Unwanted, disliked, maybe?" " Criminals?" "I don't think criminals, sir." "No." "Doctors, musicians, tailors, clerks, farmers, intellectuals." "I mean, normal people." "They're Jews." "Poles and Gypsies." "Liebgott?" "The women's camp is at the next rail road stop." "Hey, Babe, come here." "Look at their arms." " Like cattle." " Goddamn it." "Oh, Jesus." "O'Keefe?" "O'Keefe?" "I'm gonna call Sink." "Find Speirs and figure out how the hell to get them some food and water." "Let's go." "Let's pick up the pace here." "Come on." "Sergeant Martin, get whatever we can fit on the deuce and a half." "Move, let's move." "Shut up." "Take everything." "Take it all." "Check the back and" "Shut up!" "Check the back and see if there's any kind of" " Shut up!" "I said shut up, you Nazi fuck!" "You're not a Nazi?" "My mistake, you fat, fucking prick." "How about a human being?" "Are you one of those?" "Or are you gonna tell me that you never smelled the fucking stench?" "Let him go, Web." "He says he doesn't know what the hell you're talking about." "Bullshit." "Sergeant Talbert, this is chaos." "There's plenty to go around." "Please!" "We got more water on the way." " Dick?" "Major Winters." " Yes, sir?" "Sir." "This is Dr. Kent, the regimental surgeon." "Now, doc, you tell Major Winters and Captain Nixon what you just told me." "Yes, sir." "We need to stop giving these men food right now." "They're starving." "We give them too much to eat too quickly, they'll eat themselves to death." "We need to keep them in the camp until we can find a place for them in town." "You want us to lock these people back up?" " We got no choice, Nix." " Otherwise, they might scatter." "We need to keep them centralized so we can supervise their food intake and medical treatment." " So until we find some place better-- Colonel Sink." " It's a crying-ass shame, but let's get it done." " Yes, sir." "I don't like it any more than you guys." "General Taylor?" "Bob Sink, 506." "Sir, we're on" " We're at Landsberg, the other side of Buchloe." "We found something I believe you ought to see, sir." "I can't tell them that, sir." "You got to, Joe." "Yes, sir." "Grant, Christenson." "These prisoners have to be put back in the camp immediately." "Let the men know." "Listen up!" "Turns out I'm staying in the only dry freaking house in Germany." "Thought you weren't drinking the local." "Yeah, well..." "Heard from Division." "Been finding camps like this all over the place." "Jesus." "Seems the Russians liberated one a lot worse." " Worse?" " Yeah." "Apparently." "Ten times as big." "Execution chambers." "Ovens." "For cremating all the bodies." "Jesus." "Locals claim that they never even knew the camp existed." "They say we're exaggerating." "Well, they're gonna have a hell of an education tomorrow." "General Taylor declared martial law about an hour ago." "Ordered every able-bodied German in town aged 14 to 80 to start burying the bodies." "That'll begin in the morning." " 10th Armored are gonna supervise cleanup." " What about us?" "We head out for Thalem" "Thalem tomorrow, 1200 hours." " Kerchief, sir?" " What?" "No, thanks." "Move it along." "Over there." "Hey, don't stop." "Keep digging." "You too." "Come on." "Hitler's dead." " Holy shit." " Shot himself in Berlin." " Is the war over, sir?" " No." "We have orders to Berchtesgaden." "We're gonna move out in one hour." "Why?" "The man's not home." "He should've killed himself three years ago." "Saved us a lot of trouble." "Yeah, he should've." "But he didn't."