The Fürstenfeldbruck airport's atmosphere was thick with apprehension. Ludwig was in position, on top of the airport's hangar, with his PSG1rifle at the ready. He was in his newly issued military uniform and combat boots with his blond hair slicked back. The early August night was slowly seeping into Ludwig's bones, his icy blue eyes blinked rapidly to keep dust out of of the benefit of a radio, due to insufficient military supplies, he had to rely on his spotter, Gilbert. The eight remaining Israeli hostages were on their way to the airport with the Black September guerrillas by helicopter. He rejoiced at the prospect to be a part of this militaryliberationendeavor, since he was only a Lieutenant in the German military. Such an important mission was expected to be given to a man of higher ranking than Ludwig. He would do anything to help save a fellow Olympian.
Ludwig had been a German gold medalist sharp shooter in the Rome and Tokyo Olympics. He had been a rookie phenomenon in Rome when he was nineteen. By the time he was in Tokyo, he was a household name at age twenty three. Ludwig, now twenty seven, had the pleasureof meeting many of the Israeli team; he had even gone to one of the local productions of Fiddler on the Roof with the team.
As he waited for the hostages to arrive, Ludwig remembered how the previous night's events went. He was given the night off from duty and the Israeli team invited him to join them in a local play. He had been assigned to guide the team to their events, so they were already familiar with each other. His wife, Felicia, had been asked to join them in their fun and she readily agreed.
When the group was out at dinner, Ludwig sat next to AmitzurShapira, one of the track and field coaches. He had talked about each one of his pupils as if they were his own kids. Ludwig noticed that Amitzur would even have a thin film over his eyes as he remembered a memory of one of his athletes. Felicia sat next to Andrei Spitzer, the fencing coach. They talked about his wife and Ludwig. They would laugh when they said something about their spouse that the others did too. The look on Andrei's face said it all. He missed his wife and could not wait to see her again.
During the performance, Ludwig sat next to Yossef Romano, one of the weightlifters. Yossef always had a smile on his face and, throughout the night, put one on Felicia's face too. He was just so kind and funny, one could not help but smile when around him. By far, Ludwig enjoyed Moshe Weinberg's company the most. Moshe had the weightlifting strength and a soldier's spirit. He told Ludwig on many occasions about how his fighting spirit got him into trouble and Ludwig would share a time when his spirit would get into trouble. Moshe was like a brother to Ludwig, even during the small time they had together.
When he received news, from his captain,about the attack at the Olympic Village, he felt a surge of emotion for the hostages. Now the fencer, the weightlifters, the coaches, all of their lives rested on Ludwig's ability with his PSG1. He would not let them down. As he shifted his rifle on his shoulder, the first helicopter landed.
"Get ready to meet the devil." Gilbertwhispered in German, holding up his binoculars. He was right; the Black September men were not men at all. They were the offspring of the devil.
Gilbert continued, "First member is off and heading toward the plane. Take aim. Inside the plane 't miss." Ludwig aimed flawlessly for the plane's access.
Aguerrilla came running out shrieking to the other terrorist in Palestinian. A shot was ensued. Ludwig shot at as many terrorist he could, not knowing if he was slaying them.
Gilbert called out, "There are three by the first helicopter. We have anaviator moving on the ground to your left. Heavy return fire on the east end."
A few bullets whizzed past Ludwig from the terrorist' Tokarev pistols and AKM assault rifles. This is what he had been waiting for; he was going to save every one of those Olympians. He could not afford to fail; he had a promise to keep.
Victory was within Ludwig's grasp, until the first helicopter went up in aninferno. The familiar sound of a grenade echoing into the darkness. The helicopter's passengers never had a chance. Then the second helicopter was filled with the sound of bullets, Ludwig could even hear it from his position.
"No! Arseloch! I told her I would save all of them! Verdammt!" Ludwig cursed in German as he pulled his trigger even faster in wrath.
"Ludwig! Stop! It's too late. We did our best." Gilbert murmured.
Ludwig broke down right then. He didn't move, didn't say anything. The darkness began to swallow him whole. The flat area around him began to diminish and the sounds of the universe became stifled. He permittedGilbert to lead him down from his post and into his car. Gilbert drove him to the debriefing, where Ludwig just sat in silence, barely taking anything in. When Gilbert dropped him off at home, he was received by Felicia.
"Welcome home. Are you wounded? How many did you save? Did any of the extremist escape?" Felicia inquired, but Ludwig did not respond. He just headed straight to his shower, hoping to eradicate the feeling of blood on his skin.
After showering, Felicia finally convinced Ludwig out of the shower and into bed. Ludwig's dreams were wracked full of the past trials, the news reports, the rescue attempts, the helicopters, the flames, the deaths. Every time he awoke, Felicia would hold him until he would drift back into his nightmares. The last time he awoke, he could not take the hallucinations anymore. He decided to leave his bed and change into his normal brown Leisure pants and his navy Knit Sport had awoken shortly after he did and she changed into one of her Knit dresses and put on some modest cosmetics.
"Liebling, you need to eat something. I know you're upset, but you need to relax. You did your best." Felicia solaced her husband in German with a slight Italian accent.
"Nein. I told you I would save them all. I swore to you and I failed." Ludwig replied curtly, hating himself for his failure. Ludwig could feel himself slowly slipping into depression and darkness.
"You did not fail. You tried your hardest! Now you must attempt to eat something because I know for a fact that you did not eat anything last night." Felicia stated sternly as she pulled out some eggs and bread.
"I'm not hungry. I can't even think about eating anything." Ludwig replied as he unfolded the morning's paper, trying to hide his shame.
"There is going a ceremony today for the widows. I received an invitation earlier this morning and I want to go." Felicia stated as she positioned a plate of steaming eggs and two pieces of toast in front of Ludwig and took the paper from him.
"I think we should go. Pay our respects and apologize to the widows." Ludwig answered as he put a fork full of eggs up to his mouth under his wife's steely gaze.
"You don't need to apologize. They will not blame you for their spouses' deaths." Felicia stated, looking away from her husband.
When the time came, Ludwig and Felicia left for the moment of silence and ceremony. When they arrived they were shown to their front row seats among the other soldiers and family members. Throughout the ceremony, Felicia cried into Ludwig's shirt when the widows talked about their husbands, knowing all too well what the men were like. To concludethe ceremony, one final speech was given by the IOC chairman. Ludwig sat in silence by himself for a few more minutes.
"They are all dead. They are never coming back. This will forever be the sight of Germany's Olympic failure and the sight where the peace of the Olympics was shattered. Welcome terror. We've been waiting for you." Ludwig said to the vacant stadium before parting. He could still hear Jim McKay's new cast from earlier that morning.
"We just got the final word ... you know, when I was a kid, my father used to say 'Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.' Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone." Jim McKay said, echoing in Ludwig's mind.