Who Knew?
It was Memorial Day weekend in Washington D.C. and busses poured into the National Mall, bringing veterans from every war since World War II. Civilians and soldiers walked around the war monuments.
Jackie Edwards and her class were wandering around the World War II. She and her classmates were told to talk to the veterans about their experience or thank them for their service. They had broken into groups and began wandering around. Jackie and her best friend Beth looked around, trying to find someone to talk too. They wanted to be paired with their other friend Renee, but the teachers had assigned groups.
Jackie looked over and saw Renee already talking to a veteran. Jackie envied the way she could just go up and start talking to anyone. Beth took Jackie's hand and began to drag her across the memorial. HSe had found a veteran they could talk to.
Jackie watched as Beth stuck out her hand to the man in the wheel chair. He lifted his head to look at us. He looked between the two of us with his strong blue-grey eyes. Beth smiled at the man and he reached out and shook her hand.
"We wanted to thank you for your service." Beth told him. He looked at her and nodded. He didn't seem sad, just tired and worn. The bags under his eyes and his slightly slumped shoulder told of weariness and Jackie felt a pang of sympathy. "I'm Bethany and this is Jackie!" She said, introducing the two of them. The edges of the man's mouth turned up slightly in a firm smile.
"Sergeant Don Collier." The man said introducing themselves. "See you and a few other kids your age are here today. Shouldn't you be in school?"
"It's a field trip." Jackie explained. "We came here to meet you guys and talk to you." Don Collier nodded and looked at the two again.
"Where you girls from?" HE asked.
"Our school is in Pennsylvania." Jackie explained. He nodded. Beth and Jackie looked at each other. What should they say?
"Sir, I was wondering-" Beth started to say but Sergeant Collier cut her off.
"Just Don. I'm not an active Sergeant anymore." He told the two girls. Beth smiled.
"Ok. So, Don, I was wondering what you did in the war." Beth asked. He looked at her and his expression asked her to be more specific. "What was your job in the war? What was it like?"
Don sighed through his nose and looked at the two girls. He debated on whether or not he should tell them about when they met Norman. That day deserved its own monument in his own opinion.
"I worked in a tank." He stated to give them something at least.
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok." Jackie told him, noticing his hesitation. He watched as Jackie took Betty's hand in hers gently. The girls shared a look and Jackie turned to talk to Don. "So, you've never been here before? Where are you from?"
"Iowa." He said and looked at the girls. Jackie saw him staring and got slightly defensive.
"What?" She asked. "You look like you wanna say something." Don smiled a bit at the two before speaking.
"Nothing, just remind me of my sister." He said pointing at Beth. He paused before talking again. "How long you two got?" He asked. The two looked at each other, thinking.
"Pretty much all day. Why?" Beth asked.
"I'm gonna tell you two about the day we got a new driver. Kid's name was Norman. Good kid." Don stopped and paused. "His first day with us was hell. It was those days that most of the people back home never knew about. Even though it was one of the worst days, it had its good moments." He explained. Don had begun rolling his chair over to a bench and the two girls followed. Jackie and Beth sat on the benches and leaned forward waiting for him to start.
"In each tank, five guys work together. First, it was me, I was the "Top." I was in charge. Then was Boyd, th man who fired the canon on the tank. Grady was the loader and then there are two drivers. They also shoot when they aren't busy driving. At first it was Gordo and Red." Don began to explain. Jackie interrupted.
"At first? What happened?" She asked, curious. Don looked at her.
"Don't interrupt and I'll tell you." He said. Don leaned back in his wheel chair and continued, remembering how Red's body looked. "Red died with the rest of the platoon we were with. Had his face blown off. I got my men back to the base and had them fix up the tank. I couldn't give them time to mourn." He admitted and the girls could hear the remorse in his tone. "War isn't a time where you get to mourn your dead. You had to leave them and keep going. If you were alive you had a job to do." He looked around the memorial, watching the veterans and civilians mingle for a few minutes. "Norman, the kid, was assigned to us to replace Red. He was only twenty. Had no place being there."
"Why?" Beth asked, confused. What made him so different from the rest of the men and women?
"He was trained to type, not to drive a tank. Army messed up and sent him to us. He had no business in that tank but he did alright. He did alright." Don finished quietly, thinking back in Norman fondly. He was a good kid.
"What were they like? Your men, what were they like?" Jackie asked, wanting to hear about them. Don smiled to himself.
"They were good." Don admitted. "They were assholes but they were good." Jackie snorted to herself and Beth elbowed her. "I already told you about Norman for the most part. He was a quieter kid, kept to himself mostly. Gordo, the other driver, he was Mexican. He helped Norman out, watched out for him, hell we all did. Gordo had the crosses he collected from dead Nazis hanging on his ceiling, like trophies. Drivers always got that special bond so Norman and Gordo were pretty close. But Grady was always the one getting into a mess with Gordo. Those two were fucking animals." Don admitted with a sigh. "Grady was worse. Swearin' all the damn time, man had no manners. He and Boyd were close 'cause they worked the canon but Grady was closer to Gordo." Don rubbed the back of his head, thinking about Boyd. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the man.
"What was Boyd like?" Beth asked softly. Don looked at them again and continued describing his men.
"Boyd was like our own personal Chaplin. He was studying to be a preacher before he went to Germany. Called him Bible 'cause he was always preachin'. He was a good man. Bible was able to keep his head on when I couldn't." What else could he say? There was so much to say, he didn't even know where to start. "Boyd was a good friend. Loyal and wise. You didn't get that much in Germany. He kept us grounded there, kept us going."
Jackie watched as Don spoke about Boyd. His hard, tired face relaxed into a fond smile and his voice softened. Jackie knew, she could see it.
"Don?" She asked, getting his attention. He looked at her. "Did you love him?"
Sorry it's so short and rough. Tell me how you like it, and to those who read my other story, brownie points if you recognize some names. Thanks for reading.