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No infringement on the rights of the owners of "Combat!" is intended. This story is for the enjoyment of "Combat!" fans only, not for any monetary profit by the author.
Thanks to JML for proofreading and to Susan Rodriguez for beta reading.
The Push
by: Queen's Bishop
June 1944
Dear Mom and Tommy,
First off, I'm fine. You might've gotten a telegram that said I've been wounded, but I'm OK, honest. In fact, by the time you get this I'll already be back with my squad, so don't worry about me.
What happened was, we were trying to clean out a little village and when the Krauts started shooting, I guess I didn't get everything behind cover. So now I've got to spend a couple of days on my belly in the aid station.
If you see Evelyn and she asks about me, tell her I'm OK, but PLEASE! don't tell her where I got wounded. If she asks, just say it was the upper leg.
Anyway, all the guys have been real nice coming to visit me, even Lt. Hanley, our platoon leader. He said I'll get a Purple Heart. That will sure be swell! Kirby (remember I told you about him in my first letter) said I should refuse it because it's not much of a wound and because of the location, but Littlejohn said he was just being a second pain in the you-know-where.
I was afraid I'd get reassigned to another unit, especially since I haven't been with Second Platoon for very long, but Sgt. Saunders told me I'd stay with them since I'll only be out of action for a few days. I'm real glad because I like all the guys (except for Kirby).
I guess this wasn't a very good way for me to begin. There's just a whole lot of stuff they didn't teach us in Basic, like how much noise your dog tags make when you're trying to be real quiet. (That's why we put a wad of chewing gum between them!) I'm lucky because Littlejohn has been helping me, telling me stuff like that. He's a real pal.
There's another reason I'm writing. It's about what happened on our way home. None of the guys want to talk about it, but I need to tell someone because I feel real bad because maybe, in a way, it was my fault. You see, we started back and it was slow going because every step I took was a little painful and the wound kept bleeding. Doc Watson, our medic, said he wanted to put on another dressing so he jogged ahead to ask Sgt. Saunders if we could stop for a few minutes. That's when it happened.
Doc was walking beside the sergeant, talking to him, and all of a sudden he yelled, "LOOK OUT!" He gave the sergeant a push and Saunders fell into the ditch we were walking beside. The rest of us dove for cover. (Well, I didn't exactly dive. Kirby pulled me down so I guess he isn't all bad.) Anyway, it was only a split second that Doc was standing there, but long enough for him to get shot. LeMay (remember I told you he's the one they call Caje because he's a Cajun from Louisiana) fired and got the sniper. We all rushed to Doc but it didn't do any good. He was dead. Since I've only been with the squad for a short while I didn't know him real well, not like some of the other guys who had been with him since before D-Day. But still, I feel real bad.
Here's the confusing part. If I hadn't got wounded, he wouldn't have gone to talk to Sgt. Saunders and he wouldn't have gotten killed. But, then I think that if he hadn't been talking to the sergeant, he wouldn't have been there to push him out of the way, and the sergeant would probably have been killed. And, did he know he might get killed if he pushed the sergeant but he did it anyway? Or, maybe he didn't know because it happened so fast. It all just keeps going round and round in my head.
In the end, I guess it doesn't matter. He's dead and Sgt. Saunders is alive. The sergeant didn't say anything about it when it happened or since. Even when he came to visit me and I asked him about it, he just said, "That's war." He's been fighting since North Africa so I guess he's seen lots of soldiers get killed.
Well, a runner just arrived to pick up the mail so I've got to sign off.
Tommy, keep out of my stuff!
I love and miss both of you. Don't worry about me,
Billy
(Two weeks later Mrs. Nelson received another letter from her son.)
June 1944
Dear Mom and Tommy,
This is just a quick note to let you know that I'm out of the aid station and I've been back with my squad for a couple of days. Everything is fine, although I still have a little limp when I walk, but the doctor said it will go away in another week.
We got a new medic the day before yesterday. He's from Arkansas and he seems real nice. He went out on patrol with us yesterday and something strange happened. We got into a skirmish with a squad of Krauts and Littlejohn got hit. (It wasn't bad, only a nick.) Anyway, the new medic had taken cover between Sgt. Saunders and me. He started to go over and help Littlejohn, but the sergeant pulled him back and told him to stay put. The medic tried to argue, saying it was his job to go tend to wounded men. But, the sergeant told him, "You do your job when I say to do it! Now, keep down!" The medic wasn't very happy, but he stayed put until the shooting was over.
I wasn't out on too many missions with Doc Watson, so I don't know if that's how it was with him or not. I asked Littlejohn, but all he said was that maybe the sergeant thought he had a debt to pay. I didn't understand what he meant because this new medic just joined the squad, so how could the sergeant owe him anything?
Anyway, Littlejohn is fine. Kirby said he got shot because he's a big moose with two left feet, so I'm not the only one he picks on. Well, I'm kind of tired so I'll close now. We're going out early tomorrow and try again to take the village where I got wounded.
Tommy, keep out of my stuff!
I love and miss you both. Don't worry about me,
Billy