Chapter 1
My name is Elizabeth Nolan and before today I was just a regular 21 year old woman, working as a nurse in the hospital. My life hasn't exactly been all that great; when I was 16 I was raped and had become pregnant. My son, Andrew has been my greatest achievement though at times I've questioned my decision on keeping him. He's my little angel and I'm happy that he looks more like me than my rapist. My day started out like any normal day, the sweltering heat of Baton Rouge would normally cause me to start to sweat but today was my day off from work, and I had been working hard to provide for my son and me. We still live with my parents because I had not married and there wasn't any one to watch Andrew while I was away at work. I have 5 siblings, four older and one younger.
Daniel, the oldest is in the army and is being trained to go to Europe. James, who is two years older than me is in the marines and is somewhere in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. I have a younger brother who is still in school and two older sisters who are mothers and raising their children. Lorraine has five children and Patricia has two, she couldn't have any more after her second pregnancy.
A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. It was early in the morning but my parents and I were the only ones awake in the house. Andrew and Anthony were still asleep. My father, a tall man with greying red hair stood up and walked to the door.
"I wonder who that could be at this time in the morning." Mom said. I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip from my cup of coffee.
"Elizabeth, can you come here for a minute?" my father asked. My heart plummeted, several scenarios going through my head all at once. I shared a look with my mother and stood up and walked over to the door. There on the stoop were two military officers; one had a rather large envelope in his hand.
"Are you Elizabeth Nolan?" an officer with brown hair asked.
"I am." I said stepping forward. He handed me the envelope and I opened it right there. Inside the manila envelope were a letter and a ticket of sorts. I took the letter out and I glanced up right away.
Dear Miss Nolan,
You have been selected out of many qualified nurses to join the United States Army, Airborne division. You and a select few women have been chosen to be field nurses, the next step in battlefield care when there is not a hospital to send wounded. You are to report to Camp Toccoa in Georgia in three days. In the envelope is a train ticket to take you there. You will be reporting to Colonel Sink once you arrive and be assigned a company.
United States Army
I was stunned when I read through the letter. I looked up at the officers and back at my parents. When I didn't say anything the second officer spoke up.
"We're here to escort you to Camp Toccoa in Georgia. You need to pack just the essentials ma'am." The blonde officer said. I looked at him then at my parents. My father looked proud.
"Alright, I'll go say good-bye to Andrew and Anthony, Momma, will you tell Lorraine and Patricia, I can write Daniel and James."
"Of course baby." Mom said. I turned back to the officers.
"I'll be done in about ten minutes, just need to say good-bye to my son." The two officers were shocked and glanced at each other.
I kissed my mom's cheek and quickly packed some things that I'll need while at camp. Once it was all packed I walked into my son's room. He looked like he was about ready to wake up anyway.
"Andrew, baby, you need to wake up for mommy." His brown eyes blinked open and he looked over at me.
"Is it time to get up, mommy?" he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.
"No, baby, but I need to tell you goodbye." He looked at me worriedly. "You know how you're uncles are away and fighting in a war?" he nodded his head. "Well, the army needs me to fight too, but don't worry, I'll be safe and write to you every day."
"Okay, mommy, will you find a daddy for me while you're there?" he asked. My eyes widened and smiled and kissed his strawberry blond hair.
"Who knows baby, now go back to sleep, listen to grandma and grandpa, don't cause too much trouble, alright." He nodded and wrapped his little arms around me.
He wouldn't let go so I sighed and lifted him up and brought him downstairs with me. My suitcase in one hand and my son on the opposite hip. Mom chuckled as she saw me.
"He doesn't want to let go." The two officers chuckled a bit at the site as my mom peeled him off of me. I flattened his unruly bed hair back and kissed his forehead. "Be good and I love you."
"I love you too, mommy." I turned, my heart pounding against my ribs as I left with the two officers. When I was in their jeep and heading to the train station the blond turned around to study me.
"I'm sorry that we're taking you away from your son." He said gently.
"It's not your fault. I know how the military works; my two older brothers are fighting now, one on the Pacific front and one on the European front." The two officers nodded and we arrived at the train station.
The trip to Georgia went longer than I had expected it to be. I didn't talk to my escort at all and I was getting bored and homesick as I got further and further away from home.
Walking into camp was definitely an experience. Maybe it I had darker hair then I wouldn't be as noticed, but my strawberry blond hair was a bright beacon that brought eyes to me. I knew that pretty soon I would be dressed in fatigues instead of my dark, long skirt. I followed the officers to a building toward the middle of camp.
"Colonel Sink, Miss Nolan is here." The blond officer said.
"Good, you boys did a good job. Leave us." The Colonel said. I was left alone with the older man who seemed to be studying me. Remembering what I was taught as a child I stood at attention.
"Welcome to Camp Toccoa, Miss Nolan. I'm sorry to take you away from your life." Sink said.
"It's fine, Colonel, I'm fully aware of the workings of the military." I said.
"Good, so now that you're here, welcome to the Paratroopers, Private Nolan. You'll be reporting to Easy Company, under the command of Lieutenant Sobel. Lt. Sobel has already been briefed on your arrival."
"Sir," he nodded in response to let me know that I can continue. "do you already have the fatigues and boots in my size?"
"Nolan, we've already taken care of it. You'll be bunking with the two other medics in Easy. And before you ask, I'm aware of your son, and yes you'll be able to see him before we go overseas."
"Thank you, sir." I smiled brightly as Sink nodded.
There was a knock on the door and then a tall red haired man entered the room. He smiled at me then turned to Colonel Sink.
"Elizabeth Nolan, this is Lt. Dick Winters. Lt Winters, Private Elizabeth Nolan. She is Easy's Combat Nurse. She'll be training with Easy and bunking with the medics. Easy has a free day tomorrow, you'll meet the men then." Sink said.
"Private Nolan," Winters said in greeting. I nodded at him and turned back to Colonel Sink.
"Dick, please escort her to her barracks. Dismissed." Sink said. Winters and I saluted the Colonel, when he saluted back we walked out of the room.
"So, you're Easy's new nurse." Winters stated with a withdrawn expression on his face.
"That's me." I said. My Cajun accent thick as we walked.
"Ah, another Louisianan. Doc Roe will be happy." Winters said with a smile. I quirked my eyebrow at him as another man walked over with dark hair and thick eyebrows.
"Dick, do you realize you are walking and talking with a beautiful woman?" he asked.
"Private Elizabeth Nolan, this is Lt Lewis Nixon one of Easy's Lieutenants." Winters said. Nixon turned to look at me with a questionable look.
"You're Easy's new Combat Nurse?" Nixon asked. I tucked a strand of strawberry blond hair behind my ear.
"Yep. You can call me Liz, if you want." I said sticking out a hand. Nixon took it and smiled broadly.
"I think I just might. So you're headed to the medic's barracks?" he asked.
"Yep, I think I'm going to meet the men tomorrow." I said.
"I'm sure you'll get along fine with them. Now, you will get to meet Roe and Spina. I'm sure you and Roe will get along fine."
"So I'm told. Is he another Cajun or something?"
"He is, though I'm not sure from what part of Louisiana." I nodded.
We soon stopped outside a building that had a red cross on the door. Winters stepped up to the door and opened it, the two medics that were inside immediately got to their feet.
"At ease. Roe, Spina, this is Elizabeth Nolan, she is going to be another medic for Easy with you two. She is a combat nurse." Winters said. The two men looked at me and the man that was the taller man walked over to me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He said in his Cajun accent. "I'm Eugene Roe."
"It's nice to meet you too." I responded. His smile spread across his face as he heard my own Cajun accent.
"Great, another Cajun." The other medic said.
"What, don't you like Cajun's?" I asked with a smile. Eugene laughed and I smiled, I could tell that we would be good friends.
Being around men was going to take some getting used to, I can tell you that. Especially after my attack several years ago. I was left alone with the two medics who went about doing what they normally did while I was getting settled. I looked down at my new uniform and what looked like PT gear and sighed, looks like I'm going to be doing some running while I'm here.
"Is there a place where I can change into these?" I asked. Roe and Spina looked up at me, completely perplexed.
"Um, I'm sure we can rig something up for you so you can get changed. Come on Gene. Let's get that going before Sobel throws a fit about her not being in uniform." Spina said. Eugene nodded and they took a couple of not used blankets and went over to a corner.
It didn't take long to set it up. They used rope and a couple of nails to get the blankets up. By the time my make shift changing room was up I heard the crunch of gravel growing louder as they moved to the barracks. I grabbed my fatigues and boots and quickly changed as the door burst open. By that time I was changed and getting my boots tied on. I stood at attention at the new comer. He was tall and lean with dark eyes and short dark hair. I noticed that he had a lieutenant bar on his collar. He stopped in front of me and looked in my own brown eyes.
"So, you're our new combat nurse." His hard voice stated.
"Yes, sir. Private Elizabeth Nolan, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana." I said.
"I'm Easy's CO. Lt. Sobel." I kind of figured that out at his posture and attitude. "Easy Company is one of the best companies here. I expect perfection, Private Nolan, that includes the medics."
"Yes, sir."
"Good, now change in PT gear, Easy's running up Currahee." Sobel said walking out of the room.
"I hope you're in good shape, chéri." Roe said.
"Why?" I asked as I took the mentioned clothes to go and change into them.
"Currahee is a six mile run." Spina explained.
"Bon, je ai besoin d'une bonne course." I replied in French.
"You're crazy, chéri." Roe said with a chuckle.
"Not really, I used to do track, I was good too." I replied.
I stepped out from behind the curtain and pulled my boots on, tied them and then I pulled my long hair back into a ponytail. Roe, Spina and I stepped out to join a group of men all wearing the same white shirt and black shorts. The group noticed me almost right away. It was kind of bizarre. One by one they looked over at me as Winters and Nixon walked over to me.
"I don't know, Dick. I think Nolan makes the PT gear look good." Nixon said. Winters smiled and looked me over.
"Have you introduced yourself yet?" he asked.
"No, not yet." I said. Many of the men looked over at me when they heard my accent. Winters nodded and looked over at the men.
"Listen up, Easy. As you have noticed we have a new member. This is Elizabeth Nolan, she's the Combat Nurse. You can either introduce yourselves on the way up the mountain or after the run." Winters said. I nodded and found myself between a red head and a guy with dark hair.
"So, are you Irish?" the red head asked as we began our run.
"Cajun-Irish." I said.
"Damn, that's one hell of a combo." The other man said.
"I'm Donald Malarkey." I smiled and nodded and turned to the other guy.
"Bill Guarnere, it's nice to see such a pretty face around here." He said.
"No kidding, what's a pretty girl like you doing here, anyway?" another voice asked.
"I was picked, though my two older brothers volunteered for the military. My younger brother isn't old enough." I said as we ran down the road.
"That sucks," Malarkey said.
"It is what it is. I'm here and I just hope I'll make it back safely." I said thinking of my son.
"Amen to that, sister." A different voice said.
I laughed and I kept up with the company as they ran. It took us about 23 minutes to get to the top of the hill. I was getting out of breath because it had been a while since I had actually ran. When we got back to the main camp I was handed a canteen that I gratefully took a couple of mouthfuls from. I looked up to see another dark haired guy with a kind smile. I smiled back at him and he sat down next to me and soon the rest of the company was around me.
"So, are you going to tell me your names or am I just going to slap you to get your attention?" I asked lightly. The company laughed and everyone went around as they introduced themselves to me.
The names of the men around me seemed to buzz in and out of my ears. Roe seemed to understand that and whistled loudly to get their attention. The men quieted down and looked over at Roe.
"What was that for, Doc?" Malarkey asked.
"Elizabeth is getting confused with all of you speaking at once." Roe said.
"Right, let's just go around de circle." I said with a smile. I looked over at the man sitting next to me; he took the hint and started.
"Joe Liebgott, I'm from San Francisco." The rest of the men went around.
There was Bill Guarnere, who I met on the run, Carwood Lipton, Joe Toye, George Luz, Frank Perconte, Warren (Skip) Muck, Alex Penkala, Robert (Popeye) Wynn, Johnny Martin, Floyd Talbert, Darrell (Shifty) Powers, Wayne (Skinny) Sisk, Walter (Smokey) Gordon, George Smith, Albert Blithe, Roy Cobb (I didn't like him much), Earl McClung, Joe Rameriz, Don Malarkey, Don Hoobler (Hoob), Denver Randleman (Bull), Burton Christensen (Pat), William Dukeman, Charles Grant (Chuck), James Alley (Moe), Walter Hendrix, Edward Tipper (Ed), Don King, Robert Van Klinken, John Janovec, Alton More, Cleveland Petty, Myron Ranney, John McGrath, Allen Vest, and John Plesha. There were many others as well but these names stuck with me.
"You want a smoke?" Liebgott asked as he lit up. I shrugged and took the lit stick from his lips. The men smiled and some of them walked off leaving me with Bill, Lipton, Toye, Liebgott, Luz, Perconte, Skip, Penkala, Talbert, Shifty, Malarkey, Hoobler, Bull, Moe, Raph and Eugene.
"Another Cajun, now that's a hoot." Hoob said.
"And why is that?"
"There are not a lot of guys here from the same place." Malarkey said.
"Well, we do live in a large country." I said dryly, taking a drag from my cigarette.
"Come on guys, we need to get changed and get to the mess hall for dinner." Lip said.
Groaning we got up and separated to change into the fatigues. I stomped out the butt of my cigarette and followed Eugene and Ralph. Once back into the barracks I changed back into the fatigues. I kept my hair back into the ponytail that I did for the run and followed Eugene and Ralph back out into the camp.
"So, how is the food around here?" I asked as we caught up with some of the guys.
"Well, it's at least edible." Liebgott said as he walked next to me.
"Now I'm kind of worried." I said. The men started to laugh as we walked into the mess hall.
The smell of food cooking filled my nose as it cooked. I looked over at Lieb and he looked back at me. He smiled and stood in line, I followed him and Lip got in line behind me. I took a trey and moved forward in line and getting a glass of water and then a plate full of something I could not recognize. I followed Joe to the table where Bill and Toye were sitting and eating.
"So, what exactly is this?" I asked Bill who was sitting across from me.
"It's better not to ask, Lizzy." Bill said. I quirked an eyebrow at him as he took a bite of the questionable meal.
"Since when do you call me Lizzy?" I asked.
"That's your nickname, I'm sure the guys will find something to better suit you." Joe L. said.
"Okay," I said as I took a small bite. There was about no taste in the meal but I ate it anyway.
"So, Liz, can you tell us a bit about your family?" Lip asked.
"Yeah, do you have a boyfriend or husband back home?" Malarkey asked as he sat down on the other side of Lipton.
"Well, I don't have a boyfriend or a husband." I could see several of the men smile at that. "I do have a four year old son though."
"You have a son but you're not married or have a boyfriend?" Luz asked.
"Yes, I do, he understands why I'm here. His name is Andrew and he looks like me." I said.
"What of his father?" Bull asked. I knew that I couldn't tell them the truth, not yet anyway, maybe somewhere down the line they'll learn my secret.
"I don't want to talk about it." I said firmly. The guys seemed to understand because Luz changed the subject.
"Do you have any siblings?" he asked.
"I do, I have two older brothers, two older sisters and a younger brother."
"Damn, almost sounds like my family, I'm one of ten children, and I'm actually the youngest." Bill said.
"Well, I'm happy to say I'm not the youngest, that would be Anthony, he's 17."
"Do you think he'll join once he turns 18?" Malarkey asked.
"I don't know, I hope not." I said. The group of guys around seemed to nod, understanding where I'm coming from.
"What about your older brothers?" Liebgott asked.
"Well, Daniel is an army man, from what I understand is that he is going to Europe. James is a marine. I don't know a lot but I do know that he is heading to Japan, but he is somewhere in the Pacific."
"Has he seen any action yet?" Bill asked.
"I don't know, I haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks. Mail is always slow when they are an ocean away."
"Tell me about it. I'm from the other side of the country and mail is still slow." Don said.
"So how did your parents feel about you coming to join us lonely guys?" Toye asked.
"Well, my parents just want me to be safe, my son on the other hand…"
"What? What did you son say?" Lip asked. I blushed brightly and took another bite of the mystery food.
"Come on, Red. Tell us." Luz said. I quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Red?"
"Well, you blush bright red. So Red is your nickname." He rationalized.
"Really, is that how people get nicknames around here?" I questioned.
"Yeah, so just go with it. You'll probably get more nicknames along the way." Lip said.
"Yeah, so now answer our question." Lieb said.
"Well….he told me to find him a dad." I said quietly. They guys around me fell quiet and stared at me.
"You're shitting me." Skip said.
"Nope, that's what my little guy said. He's sweet and really smart too." I said with a smile.
"Sounds like a kid whose trying to look after his mom." Lip said with a kind smile. I smiled back and took another bite.
"Can you show us a picture?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, I brought one with me." I slipped a small photo out of my breast pocket. It was of me and him. Andrew was smiling brightly and holding a large baseball bat. He was wearing jeans and a bright colored cotton shirt. I handed the picture to Bill.
"He does look like you." Bill said as he handed the picture around to the other guys.
The picture was still being passed around by the time our meal time was over. Joe Liebgott had finally got a hold of the picture. I was walking beside him through the compound as he studied the picture.
"He's a good looking kid." Joe said. He handed me back the photograph and I pocketed the picture.
"Thanks, I think I did a good job. Especially since I was 17 when I had him." I said.
"Does he know his father?" Joe asked.
"No, it's hard to tell him when I have know idea who it is." I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked. I realized that I had said that out loud and I looked away quickly, not answering his question. "Liz, what did you mean by that?"
Tears burned my eyes as I realized that my secret was about to be revealed. I looked ahead of us to see that the company was all ahead of us. I looked over at Joe and I saw that his brown eyes were searching my own.
"What I'm about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else." Joe nodded; I took a deep breath and began my story.
"When I was sixteen I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with a few of my friends. On the third night that we were there I was knocked out. I was practically by myself when it happened. I woke up a bit to fell pain and this pounding in my lower region. As my senses became sharper I was screaming and crying. I remember his green eyes and a bit of blond hair. The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by one of my friends. Couple of months late I found out I was pregnant."
I looked back at Joe. His eyes were filled with fire, like he was trying hard to hold back his anger. Suddenly, I was engulfed in a warm hug. It startled me for a second before I wrapped my arms slowly around him and hugged back.
"I'm so sorry, Lizzy. No one should have to go through that." He whispered into my ear. I stepped away from him and smiled.
"We should go back before anyone gets any bad ideas." I said. Joe smiled and we went to go and join the others.
When I got back to the set of barracks that Easy Company was at Joe and I the rest of our company. I stood over by Eugene and seemed to study my face. I didn't know what he saw but he just looked at me.
"Are you alright? You look like you've been crying." He said. I looked over at him and that's when I knew that my eyes were red.
"I'll be okay, Gene. Its okay, I've dealt with. I've already had time to deal with it." I said.
"Well if you need to talk about I'm here if you need to talk about it, Liz." I nodded and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, Gene. I'll keep that in mind if I ever need someone to talk to." I said. Gene nodded in satisfaction and we went over to the barracks the men stayed in.
"There's a poker game every night. The men don't really play for money; it's usually for smokes or anything else they can get their hands on." Gene said.
"Sure, sounds like fun." I said. Gene smiled and went to the barracks next to ours. Spina was following us and as we entered the cabin, the sound of laughing and the smell of cigarette smoke permeated the air.
"Now this party can really get started, Red's here!" Luz said. I laughed as Joe cleared a spot next to him and Luz.
"I'm not here by myself though. I have Gene and Spina with me." I said as I sat down next to the two of them.
"Have you ever played before?" Bill asked. I decided to play with them some. It seemed like a good idea to let the men know that I can mess with them as well as they mess with me.
"Well, James and Daniel tried to teach me, I think I've got the hang of it." I said with a smile.
"Well I'll be happy to help you out. I'm not playing but I know how to." Lipton said. I smiled gratefully at him.
"Thanks Lip." I said. Lipton nodded and sat behind me so he could help me throughout the game.
Don dealt the hand and that's when I noticed that we were playing Texas hold'em. I smiled inwardly as I looked at my two cards. Then ten of us; Don, Moe, Shifty, Tab, Toye, Skip, Joe, George, Bill with Lip sitting near me so he could help me. There was another poker game with Gene, Spina, Bull, Martin, Tipper, Smokey, Hoob, Grant, Perco & Skinny. In my hand was a 10 and a 9 in the heart suit. I glanced back to see Lip smile and that's when I knew that he did see my hand.
"So, what are we betting with?" I asked as I looked up at the men I was playing with.
"Well, that depends, do you have any cigarettes?" George asked.
"I have some." I said pulling the lone full pack I had on my person.
"Then we'll bet with smokes." Bill said.
The game began. The entire game I had Lip help me out until the very last hand between Joe and I. I gave Lip a discreet smile and I couldn't help but giggle as I took this hand on my own. Don decided that he was going to be the dealer. When I got my two cards, two aces, I schooled my features to go into a bluff. Don flipped over the first three cards. It was 2 of club, a 5 of spades and then an ace of heart. Everyone looked at me; I had five slender smokes left.
"It's your bet, Red." Luz said. I bit my lip in thought and then tossed out my last smokes.
"All in."
"There's no way." Joe said.
"Well, if you want to find out, match me." I said.
"Alright, let's see what you got." Joe said tossing out five smokes. Don flipped over the last two cards and looked at us. The two cards were King of spades and a Jack of hearts. Joe flipped his cards over first. He had a 2 and a King.
"Sorry kid." Joe said as he went to grab the pot.
"Sorry, Joe, but I think I got it." I flipped over my cards and the room looked at me in shock.
"Three of a kind." Bill said in shock.
"She bluffed us." Toye said.
"I thought you said you didn't know how to play." Joe said as I grabbed the pot.
"I didn't say that, I said my brothers taught me and I thought I had the hang of it." It was silent for maybe a second before everyone laughed loudly.
"Would you look at that, Red knows how to mess with us." George said with a laugh.
"Ah, I figured I can show you guys I can mess with ya as well as you can mess with me." I said. I counted the slender sticks that I had one and smiled to myself, I would be set for a good while. The door behind us opened and Winters stepped in with Nix.
"Sorry, guys, but it's lights out." He said. I groaned and stood up and headed with Spina and Eugene out of the general barracks.
"See you guys in the morning." I called to my new friends.
"Sleep tight, Red!" George sounded. The three of us walked over to the medic barrack and we wordlessly climbed into bed.
"Good night." I said with a yawn.
"Good night, Liz." Spina said.
"Night, Miss Liz." Eugene said. I slipped into a deep sleep, getting ready to start a full day at Camp Toccoa.