The TV show Hogan's Heroes belongs to Bing Crosby Productions. No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred, and no infringement is intended.
Each chapter starts with lyrics from Close Every Door to Me, from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Close every door to me
Hide all the world from me
Bar all the windows and shut out the light
Colonel Robert Hogan stood at the window of his quarters looking out in the predawn light. Hogan watched the stars fade as the sky brightened beyond the barb wire fence. He'd actually managed to get some sleep for once but still awoke before roll call. He wasn't use to the luxury of 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Finally, there had been no mission the night before, so he'd had nothing better to do then go to bed at lights out.
London had been keeping them busy for weeks, often with overlapping missions that had taxed the resources of the men trying to juggle a hundred details at once and still get everything accomplished successfully without exposing the Operation to the Nazis. Tempers were becoming short throughout the camp as long days and little sleep caught up with them. Combined with the end of another long winter, spring fever was making everyone antsy and fights were starting to break out all over camp. Escape was coming to the forefront of everyone's minds.
Hogan sighed as his gaze again focused on the dawn. The stress of running the Operation and keeping the camp in order was stretching him to the limit lately. Small pleasures that helped him relax seemed to get pushed to the back burner as more pressing issues demanded his attention. He'd had to forego his usual chess games with Klink due to both the Kommandant being overworked and his schedule being packed. It was a mixed blessing as he then didn't have to make excuses to Klink to cover why he didn't have a couple of hours to spare but it also didn't give him a chance to unwind. Adding to the tension was the fact that the mail call had been non-existent of late, leaving the men bereft of the few comforts of home allowed in this dismal place.
This winter had been incredibly difficult, with 2 major outbreaks of pneumonia and a 3 week food shortage. Several men had not made it though. Then there were the daily occurrences of frostbite and hypothermia due to insufficient clothing and heating. Hogan had had to bargain for every stick of wood from Klink just to keep the stoves lit. The bitter cold had forced the men to stay inside for extended periods, giving everyone frayed nerves and cabin fever. If it hadn't been for the missions, everyone would have gone stir crazy. Newkirk even swore that one more game of gin would send him over the deep end.
Hogan shook his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts. He had to believe that staying here and keeping the Operation going was important – crucial even – to the outcome of the war. He wondered if London would consider giving them a summer vacation – a little jaunt to the beach would do wonders for morale.
Hogan broke into a wistful smile as his thoughts drifted home, remembering hot summer days when the whole family would pile in the car and drive to the beach. Endless hours of playing in the sand, making castles or finding sea shells, and chasing waves back to the sea. The picnic lunches mom had packed were amazing and no matter how hungry he and his brothers got from all their adventures, there always seemed to be tons of food.
As the sun silently broke over the horizon, Hogan could hear the guards starting their rounds. Soon the call of "Raus! Raus!" from Schulz could be heard in the outer room, snapping him out of his reverie. Hogan felt the mantle of command wrap heavily around his shoulders as he turned away from the window and went out to face another day behind the wire of Stalag 13, wishing he was anywhere but here.