Copyright: 10/2018 .
Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc., ABC, Image Productions etc. Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, this WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story.
(Words in italics or in brackets [ ], represent a foreign language.)
A POUND OF FLESH
As the war moved across Europe, so did the hospitals. The 16th Field Hospital had been in the French town of Saverne for 10 days, when the Germans decided on a counteroffensive. The hospital was usually given a three day notice for a move. This time they were only given a few hours to evacuate their current patients, tear down the tents and pack up their gear.
Lieutenants Jenkins and North were packing up their gear when an orderly rushed into their tent.
"Lt. Jenkins, Captain Prentiss requests that you join him in the OR."
"What OR? I thought the tent had been taken down."
"It was ma'am. We got a wounded man and we're using the Captain's tent as the OR."
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute. Marilyn, could you finish my packing and make sure my gear gets placed on the truck?"
"Sure, Laura, don't worry about a thing."
"Thanks a lot! I better get my butt over there before Dave comes and drags me out of here."
Laura ran out of their tent. She looked around and noticed there were only a few tents still up. She quickly headed for the captain's tent.
"Dave are you in here?"
Capt. Prentiss lifted the flap on the tent. He looked upset.
"What took you so long?"
"Long? Geez Dave, I just got your message."
"Sorry but I need you, we've got to remove some shrapnel from this kid. If we try to transport without removing it, he'll never make it. He's losing too much blood; an artery was nicked when he was hit."
"Tom is going to help us. Aren't you Tom?"
The young medic took a large gulp as his appearance turned a sour apple green.
"If you say so sir."
Laura leaned down and whispered to the injured soldier. "Don't worry, he's one of the best surgeons I've ever worked with. Oh, my name's Lt. Jenkins, you can call me Laura."
"I'm Cpl. Terrence Garland but everybody calls me Terry."
"Nice to meet you. Hey, you're not related to Gen. Terrence Garland, are you?"
"He's my father, but I haven't seen him in long time. My parents got divorced when I was a kid."
"Just relax now. We're going to put you to sleep for a little while."
They could hear the trucks moving out as they worked on the young soldier.
Laura heard the flap of the tent rustle but never looked away from her work. She figured it had to be Colonel McDaniel checking up on their progress.
"Dave, how much longer?"
"We're just about done Colonel, maybe five more minutes."
"I hate leaving you here."
"We'll be fine, sir. We'll be no more than ten minutes behind you. It'll be fine."
"Take care of my girl. She's the only one who knows where to find my glasses."
"That's an easy one sir, they're usually on top of your head. Don't worry we'll be fine."
The colonel smiled but he couldn't stop agonizing over the fact that he had to leave them behind.
"There's an ambulance and a driver waiting for you. So get the hell outta here as soon as you can. Remember, the town's name is Saint-Louis. It's approximately 25 kilometers west of here."
As Captain Prentiss finished stitching up the wound, Laura grabbed two woolen blankets and wrapped up the soldier to keep him as warm as possible. They all put on their winter jackets, and helmets. Laura held the plasma in one hand and opened the tent flap with the other.
The driver opened up the back door of the ambulance as the men slid the stretcher inside. Laura and the captain got in the back with their patient, while the medic road shotgun. The driver turned the motor on and the ambulance came to life.
"Well we're off! So you can stop worrying. We'll be in Saint-Louis before you know it."
Laura let out a huge sigh. "I've never been so glad in all my life."
They had been riding down the road for almost twenty minutes when they heard what sounded like a gunshot. Then they heard the distinctive flapping sound of a flat tire. The driver slowly pulled over to the shoulder of the road.
He and the medic got out. The driver opened the back door. "Sorry sir, we've gotta flat."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, it's not your fault. We're going to leave the patient inside where it's warm."
"It'll only take a few minutes sir, and then we'll be on our way."
As the driver jacked up the ambulance, Tom pulled off the flat tire. He noticed that the hole had been made by a bullet. He nonchalantly rolled the tire into the ditch and walked to the side of the ambulance to get spare tire. As he removed the spare he pretended to need help.
"Captain could ya give me a hand for a second?"
"Sure, what do you need?"
"I'm having a bit of a problem with this last lug nut can you hold the tire in place?"
"Sure Tom."
As he pretended to work on releasing the tire, he began talking in hushed tone.
"Sir, we've gotta big problem."
The captain smiled at Tom. "Besides the flat, what else?"
"The tire was shot out."
"That is a problem. Okay, get the tire on as fast as you can, I'll let Laura know."
Captain Prentis walked to the back of the ambulance.
"Laura, Tom found a bullet hole in the tire. As soon as the driver lets the jack down, I want you to get in that ambulance and get the corporal's tags."
"What do you want me to do with them?"
"Get rid of em', they can't find out who he is."
"Okay."
As soon as the jack was let down Laura hurried inside. She lifted the young man's head and pulled off the chain. She looked around and there wasn't a place to hide them. She shoved the tags inside her bra, hoping the Germans wouldn't look there.
"Our tire was shot out. If the Germans capture us, don't tell them who you are, say you were knocked out and you don't know who you are. Oh heck, right now just pretend you are asleep."
When the door opened, Laura was checking his pulse. She saw Dave with his hands in the air.
"Laura, don't be scared."
"Your captain is correct. We will not harm you. I am Hauptsturmführer(a) Berger. We are here to trade Gen. Garland's son for Gen. Gerhard Von Bauer."
Laura looked straight into the German officer's eyes.
"Captain, we have no idea who this man is; he didn't come in with dog tags, take a look."
Laura pulled down the blankets and sheet.
"See no dog tags."
"We know it's him. [Kruger come here.] "
As the ambulance driver stepped to the rear, Hauptsturmführer Berger couldn't decide which American was more astonished.
"Ah yes, Pvt. Peter Kramer is really our Schütze (a) Peter Kruger."
"Now, what is the name of this man?"
Kruger smiled at the Captain.
"This is Cpl. Terrence Garland, Jr., just check his dog tags."
"He hasn't any tags. Did you see them?"
"No sir, but I know it is Cpl. Garland, I have a picture of him.
Kruger pulled out the picture and handed it to Berger.
"May I see the picture?"
"Of course, Captain."
Berger handed the picture to Prentiss.
Capt. Prentiss smiled and shook his head.
"This is a picture of young boy. He looks to be at the most, fifteen. The soldier looks nothing like this picture."
Berger pushed Prentiss out of the way.
"Lieutenant, help him sit up, I want to see for myself."
Laura gently lifted Cpl. Garland.
Berger looked at the corporal and began to turn a bright shade of red.
["Kruger, you are an idiot. He looks nothing like this picture."]
["I am sorry Captain, I was told that it was the corporal. And as Capt. Prentiss said, the picture is old but who's to say that it isn't Cpl. Garland?"]
Berger began to smile again.
["Yes Kruger, who's to say, it isn't him."]
"Everyone get back into the ambulance. We will be taking you to my headquarters."
"Capt. Berger, we are noncombatants. Under the Geneva Convention…."
"Enough, get in the ambulance now!"
It was 0430 by the time the squad had made it to the village of Lutzelbourg. The squad was nearly frozen even though it had only taken them less than hour to circle around. Saunders and his men had finally made it to an area that had a high enough hill for them to see the lay of the land.
From what Saunders could see, it looked as if the Germans had moved out like S-2 had said but they still had to make sure of that fact.
The Sarge handed the binoculars to Kirby.
Kirby surveyed the town. Some of the buildings were damaged but most were intact.
"Sarge, it's still early, looks like nothin' much is goin' on down there. Do ya think we should try for the church tower? I think we could see everything from up there and I know the church has gotta be warmer than this."
Saunders took back the binoculars and tried to see if there were any movements by the church. He then hand the binoculars to Caje. He had always trusted Caje and today wasn't any different.
"What do you think Caje? Do you think we could make it to the church without being noticed?"
Caje looked through the glasses and made several mental notes about the buildings and the roads.
"There are a lot of buildings between here and the church. It'll give us good coverage but once we get near the church, it's all open area. We'd better be careful."
Caje handed the binoculars back to the Sarge. Saunders looked at the map once more before he folded it and placed it and the field glasses back inside his jacket. He let out a small sigh. The men knew had made his decision.
"Alright, it looks pretty easy until we hit the town square. There are several buildings surrounding the church. When we get there, I'll decide which building we can use to hide in. Let's go."
The squad moved down the hill trying to stay invisible. They quickly moved from one building to the next. The men made it to the town's square in no time. Directly across from the church was a school. They knew that no one would be in the building at that time. Saunders led the men to the back of the building.
"Kirby," whispered the Sarge. "Do ya think you could jimmy the lock?"
Kirby smirked when he saw the lock. He blew on his hands, took out a pocketknife and began working on the lock. As he swung the door open to let the squad inside, Kirby turned to his sergeant and gave a small laugh.
"Hell Sarge, my sister's piggy bank was harder to break into than this place."
The men could hardly wait to get inside. They could instantly feel the warmth right down to their bones. Littlejohn felt like a huge melting snowman. The men made their way to the front of the building. As Saunders and Caje peeked through the curtains, looking for any kind of movement. All of a sudden they heard the sound of a squeaking floor board. The squad immediately turned their rifles in the direction of the sound. They found a frightened old man who had just entered the room.
["Please do not shoot! I have a wife and a grandson, please do not shoot!"]
Caje stopped aiming his rifle and stepped forward.
["Who are you?"]
["My name is Louis Pivoteau, I am the caretaker. What are you doing here?"]
"Who is he Caje?"
"He's the caretaker, Sarge. His name is Louis Pivoteau."
"Ask him about the Krauts."
When the old man heard the word Kraut, he knew what they wanted.
["Do you want to know about the Boche?"]
["Yes, are there any Germans in this area?"]
["Most of the Germans left two days ago."]
["Most?"]
["Yes, there is SS captain and he has two or three men with him."]
"Sarge, Louis said there's an SS captain and two maybe three soldiers that stayed behind, all the others have left."
"Caje, ask him if he knows why they stayed behind."
The old man became impatient.
["Let me get my grandson, he speaks English."]
["Where is he?"]
["He's is in the cellar, I told him to stay there until I came back."]
Caje shook his head. ["I will go with you."]
"Sarge, I'm goin' to the cellar with Louis to get his grandson. He speaks English."
"You're not going alone, it could be a trap. Nelson go with Caje and the old man."
"Okay Sarge."
Louis led the way to the back of the room and down a flight of stairs.
["Lucien come out," called his grandfather.
["Grand-père are you all right?"]
["I am fine."]
The young man came out of his hiding place. The boy looked to be about ten. He was visibly shaken, thinking his grandfather could be hurt.
["Lucien, they are Americans. I need you to tell them what we know about the Boche."]
When they returned, Caje told Saunders that the boy was a bit scared but his grandfather had explained to Lucien that he should tell them everything they knew.
In the hopes of putting the boy at ease, Saunders placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at him.
"Hello Lucien, I'm Sgt. Saunders, if you need help, just ask Caje."
"Thank you, I do speak English but I may need help with some words."
"My family are with the Maquis. They have been watching the Boche. There were some that did not leave with the others."
"Uncle André and I saw the Boche leave the hotel early yesterday afternoon. We were in the woods watching them. Then we saw the American, how do you say, [conducteur d'ambulance et médical?]"
The boy pointed at Doc.
Caje interjected, "the ambulance driver and the medic."
"Yes," Lucien said. "The ambulance stopped and the driver and medic got out. They were replacing a punctured tire. We were going to help them but the captain and his men were there. The captain and his men to took all the people away."
"How many Americans were there?"
"There were five, an injured soldier, the driver, the medic and, and… [médecin et infirmière."]
"Yes, a doctor and a nurse," said Caje.
The boy shook his head yes.
Littlejohn had a look of true hatred on his face. "That just ain't right. They shouldn't be taken prisoner."
Doc walked over and stood next to Littlejohn.
"Yea, isn't right. We know we can be shot at or be taken prisoner at any time but that's part of the job."
["Lucien, take these men to see André."]
"Grand-père said that I should take you to see Uncle André, he can tell you everything."
"Is it far from here?"
"No, not far at all. Follow me."
The boy led them out the back door and down the same narrow corridor the squad had used a few minutes before. Lucien knocked twice and stopped and then knocked three times in succession. A man as big as Littlejohn opened the door.
["Uncle André, Grand-père told me to bring these Americans to see you."]
Caje stood behind the boy. ["I am Pvt. Paul LeMay. We need to speak to you about the SS captain and the medical personnel they took."]
["Do you all speak French?"]
["No but I can translate."]
["There is no need, we shall all speak English, yes Lucien?"]
The boy smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Come in all of you. I am Lucien's Uncle André."
The men entered the back of the shop. As soon as they entered, the men could smell the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread. Littlejohn inhaled deeply. The growling of his stomach gave away the hunger they were all feeling.
"Oh, excuse me."
"Do not be embarrassed. It happens more than you would think. People come in here and smell the baking of the bread or when we have sugar, the pastries."
André laughed as he grabbed a baguette and handed it to Saunders.
Saunders broke the baguette into six pieces and handed them out to the men.
André whispered to Littlejohn. "I will bring you some more later."
"Now we must go down to the cellar. The SS captain likes to have my baguettes for breakfast. He will be sending one of his men to pick up them up soon."
An older woman called out to André. ["André, come back. Oberschütze (a) Hahn is coming."]
"I must personally take care of Oberschütze Hahn. He is here to pick up the captain's morning bread. Lucien take them to the hiding place."
Lucien led the men down into the cellar. He walked towards a wall that held several shelves. Saunders and the men watched as Lucien moved an assortment of boxes on one of the shelves and began to search for something. All of a sudden they heard a distinct click. The boy replaced the boxes and pushed on the wall. They were amazed as the door swung opened.
"Please come in."
The men were astonished as they walked into the room. Lucien promptly closed the door and locked it.
"We'll be safe in here. The door is made of metal and the walls are thick stone. Even Uncle André tried to break in, laughed Lucien. All he got from trying was a sore arm and shoulder."
Littlejohn subconsciously rubbed his arm.
Caje nudged Kirby to look in Littlejohn's direction. Both men chuckled as they watched him rub his arm.
Saunders saw another door at the opposite end of the room.
"Where does that door lead to?"
"It is a tunnel, it has been there for many centuries. It leads out of the town. Grand-père believes it was built during the "Wars of Religion" (b), so people could escape from being killed."
When Kirby looked at the boy, he was reminded of his younger brother, George. He gave the boy's shoulder a small squeeze. He took a deep breath and decided he needed to lighten his mood.
"Gee Sarge, I coulda used somethin' like this when I was a kid. When I did somethin' that my ma didn't approve of, she'd get really upset with me."
Littlejohn had to laugh at that statement. "She was just upset?"
"Ah, well let's just say, I thought if I could run away from her until she cooled off, it would be a lot better for everybody concerned."
"Everybody or just you, Kirby?"
"Yea," laughed Kirby. "But I didn't have a chance. She'd catch me every time. I couldn't sit down for a week. I swear, the woman must have ran track in another life!"
"I know I tried her patience. When my old man left us, I thought I should be the man of the house. I did a lot of those things to keep food on the table. My ma would make me apologize and do work for them. The owners knew why I did it. After I'd work for them, they'd send me home with stuff my family could use."
Kirby never said why he was always in trouble as a kid. Now the guys knew and understood; he was trying to help his family the only way he knew how.
A combination of knocks on the wall stopped the conversation.
"It's Uncle André," said Lucien."
The boy slid open the latch and pushed the door open and the baker walked in.
"We will not be interrupted. There is much more that I must tell you. I take care of Oberschütze Hahn because I can speak German. I pretend to only speak a few words, this way they will speak more freely around me."
"Yesterday, when we saw them capturing your people, Hauptsturmführer Berger was speaking directly to the driver of the ambulance. I could hear enough to tell you that he was an infiltrator.
The squad anxiously waited for André to remember the soldier's name.
"Cage, what is the English word for guirlande?
"Do you mean garland?"
"Yes, yes, that is it! The driver said the wounded soldier's name was Corporal Garland and he could be traded for one of their generals. Is this corporal very important?"
Saunders looked perplexed and just shrugged his shoulders.
It was if a light went on above Littlejohn's head.
"Sarge, I think I know who it is. The corporal could be Terry Garland. Don't you remember him Billy? We were all at Camp Roberts."
Billy's face lost all its color.
"Oh man Littlejohn, if that's him… Sarge, it's not good; see his dad, I mean his father is Brigadier General Terrence Garland."
"Alright, let's not panic until we haveta. André, I need to get outside and call into HQ and tell them what is going on."
"I can do it. I will show them the way, uncle."
"No Lucien, you must to go to school."
"But Uncle André…"
"No, go to school! Tell Yvonne I need her. Lucien, everything must look normal. If the Boche see you, they may wonder why you are not in school."
The boy kicked at a pebble on the floor.
"I will go."
As Lucien proceeded to leave, André gave the boy a huge bear hug.
"Uncle, I can't breathe, I need air!"
Just moments before, there was a sternness in the man's voice. Now there was only laughter in his voice and love in his eyes for the boy.
"You always say that but you are still breathing, now go on and learn something so you can be more than a baker when you grow up."
As the boy turned to leave, he looked up at his massive uncle.
"I would be proud to be a baker just like you."
"Hey kid, said Kirby, "I can tell you're pretty smart, listen to your uncle. He knows what he's talkin' about."
Without saying another word, the boy nodded at Kirby and ran up the stairs. As he passed by a table he whispered to a young woman who only nodded. She wiped her hands on a cloth, removed her apron and straightened her thin bare dress. The young woman then proceeded down to the cellar.
When the young woman saw Saunders and the squad, she greeted them with a pleasing smile.
"Sergeant Saunders, I would like you to meet my sister, Yvonne."
Yvonne extended her hand to Saunders who immediately took it.
"Hello Sergeant, I am happy to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am."
"André, you need my help?"
"You know I must be here in case the captain wants something. Would you lead Sgt. Saunders and his men through the tunnel? He must use his radio. When they are done, bring them back here."
"Of course."
"You don't have to bring us back here, I am sure there are places where we can hide."
"Sergeant, it isn't safe out in the open for you and your men. Our mayor is a good man unfortunately his wife is a greedy woman; and there are others in this village who are willing to sell you out for money. It is much better if you come back here."
"Alright, I just don't want any of you to get hurt by hiding us."
"Don't worry, the only people who know about this tunnel are the people who work here in the bakery. And if you work here, you are family and we are all in the Maquis."
Yvonne led the men through the tunnel and into the daylight. Saunders noticed that they had been traveling uphill for some time.
"Ma'am, where are we?"
"You are west of the town. Did you came from this direction?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"About two kilometers from here is the woods."
Caje recognized the area.
"She is tellin' you the truth, Sarge."
Before Saunders could ask, Littlejohn handed him the radio."
The Sarge pulled the antenna out as far as it would go. Saunders only thought was that the lieutenant could hear them.
"Checkmate King Two, this is White Rook, over. Come in Checkmate King Two."
They heard crackling and then silence.
"Littlejohn, hold the radio above your head."
Littlejohn took the radio and held it as high as he could.
Saunders tried again.
"Checkmate King Two, this is White Rook, over. Come in Checkmate King Two."
"White Rook, this is King Two. What did you find, over?"
"Most have moved out, only a few left. There's a bigger problem. They captured an ambulance with staff and patient, over."
"We know. The driver brought us the news, over."
Saunders told the Lieutenant about the ambulance driver.
Hanley explained to Saunders about the trade.
"They want the trade to take place tomorrow at 1400 hours. White Rook, can you stop it, over?"
"We'll do our best. It'll have to be today, over."
"White Rook, I'll check back in 45, I may have a way for you to get into their HQ, over."
"Roger that, over and out."
Now Hanley had all the pieces to the puzzle.
Kruger pretending to be Kramer had driven the ambulance to Saint-Louis. He had explained to Hanley that someone had leaked the information about Cpl. Garland and the Germans wanting to make a trade for Gen. Gerhard Von Bauer. He also told Hanley that if a trade is not made, they all would be killed.
Hanley told him to go get something to eat while he made some calls. Hanley called Capt. Jampel and he called a colonel. The story went up through the ranks until it reached Gen. Garland. The General knew they would never make a trade his only son. A squad who happen to be on recon was his son's only hope.
"Brockmeyer, did you hear everything?"
"Yes sir."
"I want you to make sure that there is a spare on that ambulance. I also want you to hide a clean uniform for Kirby in the back of the ambulance."
"For Kirby?"
"Yes, Kirby and hurry up!"
Brockmeyer jumped up as if he were on a spring.
"Yes sir. I'll get it all done right away."
Lt. Hanley slowly made his way inside the mess tent and called out to the driver.
"Private Kramer, did you get enough to eat?"
"Yes sir, plenty."
"Good, I'm sure they didn't give you much to eat."
"It took me awhile to speak to the right people. Gen. Garland got permission for the trade. He told me that Gen. Von Bauer is being held in England. They are flying him here. He will be at the designated area tomorrow at 1400. I know you would rather stay here but they are expecting you to come back with an answer. The people you left behind are depending on you."
"Sir, don't worry I'll do my best. I better get back and let them know the answer."
Kramer got in the ambulance and took off down the road.
Hanley ran back to his office.
"Brockmeyer get me White Rook."
"I already have him on the line, sir."
"White Rook, I want you to shoot out the tire of the ambulance and replace it and the driver, over."
"Did you say replace the driver, over?"
"Yes. There is also a clean uniform for Kirby in the back of the ambulance, over."
"For Kirby, sir, over?"
"Yes, he is replacing the driver. He will tell them that a sniper was in the village and shot Kramer and he volunteered to be the driver. The nurse that they captured is Lt. Jenkins. Just by seeing him, she'll know that you are there to free them, over."
"Make sure he doesn't go off the deep end and try to take them out all by himself, over."
"I'll give him a long talk and hope it works, over and out."
"Yvonne we can't go back to the tunnel yet. We need to hide out by the road from Saint-Louis. We need to hurry."
The young woman laughed at Saunders request. She pointed at a road that was about 60 meters away.
"Sergeant, don't you recognize this road?"
Saunders shook his head. He realized it was the same road they had bi-passed earlier that morning.
"I guess all we have to do is pick a hiding place."
The Sarge walked over to where Kirby was standing.
"I need to talk to all of you, especially you, Kirby."
"Sarge, I'm innocent, whatever Lt. Hanley said; I couldn't have done it."
"Take it easy Kirby. No one is accusing you of anything. Everybody gather round, I need to tell you what the Lieutenant has in mind."
The men assembled next to Saunders as he laid out the plan. When he finished, he took a deep breath.
"There's just one more thing, Kirby. The nurse they are holding is Lt. Jenkins."
Saunders watched as Kirby's eyes sparked with anger.
"What? Did they hurt her? Is she all right?"
"Calm down. I'm sure she's fine. They never would have taken the chance of hurting any of them. You gotta go in there and stay cool. You can't give anything away."
Kirby swallowed hard but said nothing.
The squad waited in the bushes for the ambulance. Their wait wasn't very long.
As the ambulance past, Caje took aim and fired. The ambulance swerved a bit but the driver kept control.
He couldn't believe what was happening. If it was a Wehrmacht gruppe(c) that had just shot out his tire, Hauptsturmführer Berger would shoot them!
As Kramer got out of the ambulance he saw Saunders aiming his Tommy Gun at him. He then noticed the rest of the squad aiming their rifles.
"What the Hell's goin' on here? What do you think you're are you doin', Sarge?"
"Put your hands up or if you wish, hände hoch!"
"What are ya talkin' about? My name is Pfc. Kramer, my serial no. is 27569473. I'm an American just like you."
"Oh you may have lived in the U.S. but you're no American. You came back to Germany when the war started. Now put your damn hands up or I swear I'll shoot ya right where you're standin'!"
Kramer put up his hands.
"Caje, tie and gag him. Littlejohn, you and Nelson change the tire. Kirby see if there is anything in the back that you can use to clean yourself up with."
Kirby opened the back of the ambulance and began scrounging around until he found some wet and dry towels plus his clean uniform.
"Well Sarge, I guess the Lieutenant realized that I would be mess. The only thing he didn't think about is how cold it is."
"Kirby shut up and get yourself clean."
"Yea, I am, Sarge, reluctantly but I'm doin' it!"
He stripped to the waist and tried to get off as much of the grime as he could. After the spare had been replaced, he crawled inside and quickly changed his clothes.
"Well how do I look?"
Yvonne heaved a sigh. She then picked up one of cleaner towels and wet it with some of the snow on the bushes. Satisfied it was wet enough, she walked towards Kirby.
"Hey, whaddya think you're doin'?"
"Your face and hands are still dirty."
"I washed it."
Yvonne began to scrub his face and hands.
"Sarge! Tell her to stop, she's takin' my skin off!"
"You know what they say Kirby, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness and I think this is as close as you'll ever get to God."
When she was finally satisfied, Yvonne stopped scrubbing.
"Now you are clean."
Kirby became silent. He was afraid if he said anything else, she would attack him again with a towel.
"We've wasted enough time, Kirby get going. Tell them the trade will be made tomorrow at 1400 hours. Make sure everybody's head is down at 0300 hours. Good luck."
"Thanks Sarge."
Kirby got into the ambulance and took off. Yvonne had told them that the Germans had made their headquarters at the Hôtel Point de Vue. She explained to Kirby that the road would take him into town. When he got to where the road split off, the hotel would be on the right.
Yvonne, Saunders, the squad and their prisoner headed back to the tunnel.
"Sergeant, please cover his eyes," said Yvonne. "We do not want him to see anything."
"Alright. Littlejohn, blindfold him and lead him back."
Littlejohn took out his handkerchief and tied it around his eyes. He took hold of Kramer's jacket and set off in the direction of the tunnel.
As Kirby drove down the road, he kept thinking that he needed to keep his cool when he saw Laura. There was to be no heroics. I gotta remember not to get crazy if they've hurt her. There is more than just Laura at stake. Before he knew it, the Hôtel Point de Vue was within sight, just as Yvonne had said. He parked the ambulance, got out and proceeded into the hotel.
Oberschütze Hahn stood at the window watching for Kruger. He was very surprised when he saw a different driver.
["Hauptsturmführer, there is an American driving the ambulance. Kruger did not come back."]
[Go get the American."]
Kirby noticed the lobby was completely empty as he looked around for someone to help him. He then heard someone walking down the steps.
Hahn took his rifle and pointed it at Kirby.
"Who are you?"
Kirby gave him his most innocent lopsided smile that he could muster.
"I'm the driver, Pvt. Kirby, William G."
"Turn around."
"Huh?"
Hahn seized Kirby by his jacket and spun him around. He began patting him down.
"Whatcha lookin' for? A gun? You should know that we don't carry arms. But hey, go ahead and look. Ya ain't gonna find anything."
When German had finished his search, he spun Kirby back around and pointed him in the direction of the stairs.
"You need to speak to Hauptsturmführer Berger."
The two men walked up a flight of stairs. Directly at the top of the stairs was a door. Hahn opened the door and ushered Kirby into what turned out to be the sitting room.
Kirby first noticed the captain. He seemed to be a bit on edge. There was also another private sitting in the room. He was hoping that there was only three of them.
"Hauptsturmführer this is Pvt. Kirby."
"Where is Pvt. Kramer?"
"He was walkin' back to the ambulance when a sniper shot him. Ya know he's a hero."
"A sniper? Yes sir, a German sniper killed him. Like I said, Pvt. Kramer was a hero. They'll probably give him a medal posthumously. Ya know, when they're dead."
Hahn raised his eyebrows as he looked at Berger, who could barely keep a straight face.
"And you are?"
"Pvt. Kirby, William G., Serial No. 37428620."
"Do you have a message for me, Private?"
"Yes sir. They'll make the exchange here tomorrow at 1400 hours, just like you said. Right now they're flyin' the General to France. I was also asked if I could check on our people. May I see them sir?"
"Of course."
Berger nodded at Hahn.
"Follow me."
Hahn crossed the room and held the door open for Kirby to enter.
Kirby held his breath. He prayed that Laura wouldn't give anything away.
"Hello Captain, I'm Pvt. Kirby. I'm sorry sir, I know you were expectin' your driver, Pvt. Kramer but he was shot by a sniper."
Laura had been standing next to Cpl. Garland's bed. She had been checking his pulse when she heard his voice. She didn't dare look in his direction. Laura tried to stay calm.
"I'm Captain Dave Prentiss. We're glad you're here. I want you to meet the rest of our little group."
"I'd like you to meet Lt. Laura Jenkins, Pvt. Tom Barnes and I guess you know by now, this is Cpl. Terry Garland. We tried to tell them that they had the wrong person. It didn't really matter though, they were going to say it was him anyway."
"Nice to meet all of ya."
Barnes and Garland nodded in Kirby's direction.
Laura walked over to Kirby and put out her hand.
Kirby decided to take a chance.
He lifted her hand to his lips and whispered, "0300."
"Hello, Pvt. Korby?"
He almost lost it when she said his name.
"Ah it's Kirby, ma'am."
Laura was quite indifferent towards him.
"Oh sorry, Kirby."
"Pvt. Kirby you've now seen them, please go sit down."
Hahn closed the bedroom door as he ushered Kirby back to the sitting room. Kirby sat down in a chair facing the front door.
Laura sat on the side of the corporal's bed.
"Dave, Tom, come here," whispered Laura. "Something is going to happen at 0300 hours."
The captain looked confused.
"How do you know?"
"He told me."
When?"
"I had a feeling he would try to tell me something if I offered to shake his hand. He kissed my hand and said 0300. "
"Well, I guess we wait."
"Lieutenant, may ask you a question?"
"Sure. What do you want to know Tom?"
"How come you were kind of mean towards Pvt. Kirby?"
"To be honest, I would have rather given him a big hug but I knew better. Um, he's my fella. I have no idea why he's here but I sure am glad. That means Sgt. Saunders and the rest of the squad are close by. They'll get us out."
Dave looked for his wrist and gave a contemptuous laugh.
"I've got no idea why I'm looking for my watch, they stole everything. If they could have gotten the silver from my fillings, they would have taken that too."
Laura turned away from the men and pulled out her watch from where she had stashed it and the corporal's dog tags. Her cheeks turns tuned pink as she handed the watch to the Captain.
"Just don't say anything, Dave," she demanded.
"I can't help it. Your safe is better than Fort Knox."
Laura shook her head and sighed. She couldn't help but smile at the men.
"Well I guess I broke the tension. Now Captain, can you please tell us the time?"
"It's 1600 hours, we've got a long wait. Corporal I want you to rest. In fact, we should all try and rest."
"That's all I've been doing."
Laura helped him lie down. She walked over to an empty spot on the floor.
Tom stood up and offered the Lieutenant a seat.
"Here ma'am, please take this chair. I need to stretch a bit."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
They all settled in for a long wait.
Yvonne, Saunders and the squad with their prisoner in tow returned to the tunnel. Yvonne left them in the tunnel. Littlejohn helped Kramer to the ground. He and Billy sat on each side of him.
Yvonne leaned over and whispered in Saunders' ear.
"I'll be back, lock the door behind me. Open the door only if you hear two knocks and then three knocks. "
As she left, Saunders slid the latch in place.
"Sarge would it be alright to remove the blindfold?"
"You can remove the gag and blindfold. Check to make sure that he hasn't loosened any knots."
Billy removed the blindfold and gag.
"Well Sarge, you were right. He was working to get the knots loose. I guess I'll have to make them tighter."
Caje found a place on the floor next to Doc. He made sure he was directly across from their prisoner. He leaned his rifle against the wall. Caje closed his eyes and a smile played upon his lips.
Billy watched Caje. His curiosity got the best of him.
"Caje watcha smilin' about?"
"I was thinkin' about a lady I met a long time ago."
"Was she pretty?"
"I didn't notice."
"What?"
"Well, she had other qualities."
"Billy was totally spellbound."
"What kind of qualities?"
"Ya see, when I was about thirteen or so when we went for a visit to New Orleans. It was around my birthday and mon oncle, Gaspard took me to meet Miss Beulah at her house. I still remember how wonderful her home was."
Billy couldn't believe what Caje was saying to him. It had to be true because Caje had never lied to him.
"Caje you were just a kid."
"A lot of boys my age visited her."
By then all the men were as interested as Billy including their prisoner. Caje just wished Kirby had been there, he would have truly enjoyed this story.
"Can I ask you something? Did you know why you were there?"
"Of course, I knew. It was obvious why I was there."
"Caje, how could he, I mean he was your uncle."
Caje couldn't take anymore. He began to laugh so hard, tears were rolling down his cheeks.
"Billy, she sold cakes out of her home. I went there to pick out any kind of birthday cake I wanted. I got a Doberge(d) Cake. It was the best cake I ever ate. When I go to New Orleans, I still visit her pastry shop."
"A birthday cake! That's what you were smilin' about?"
"You've never had that cake, laughed Caje. What do you think I was doin' at the age of thirteen?"
"Let's just say that I was thinkin' what Kirby might have been thinkin!"
The men laughed but agreed with Billy's assumption.
Two hours passed by and then Saunders heard two knocks. Caje started to get up and Saunders pulled him back down.
"Wait."
Then they heard three knocks in succession.
"Okay, go ahead an open it."
Caje opened the door and found André, Yvonne and Lucien carrying a jug of water, a large tureen, bread and bowls.
"We've brought you something to eat and drink."
"Thank you, we appreciate it."
Yvonne dished out a thick soup and gave each man a large slice of bread.
"Are you going to feed him?"
"Yes ma'am, we must feed him."
"Littlejohn untie him and watch him while he eats."
Littlejohn looked longingly at the tureen.
"Okay, Sarge."
"Don't worry Littlejohn, I'll make sure there's plenty left."
The men ate in silence. Littlejohn never took his eyes off of Kramer. When he finished eating, Littlejohn began to tie him up again.
"Sergeant, if I give you my word not to escape, can I keep my hands untied?"
"You must think I'm a fool. I've seen the SS give their word before and they tried to kill some of my men. So the answer is No! Make sure his hands are tied tight.
Kramer laughed.
"I had to try."
Littlejohn looked over his work and was satisfied.
"Sarge, is it okay if I get something to eat?"
"Go ahead, I'll watch him while you eat."
Yvonne filled up the bowl to Littlejohn's delight. He smiled at the food. It was the best thing had eaten in a very long time.
Saunders walked several feet away from Kramer. He motioned for André, Yvonne and his men to gather around him.
"André, is there a way to get into the hotel without being seen?"
"We have a plan. Yvonne and I are going over to the hotel tonight. I made the captain a flans pâtissier. He loves it."
Saunders looked at Caje."
"Oh, it's a custard tart, Sarge."
André continued his plan. "We must cross two canals. Both will be easy. The first one has a little bridge and the second one is next to my cousin, Maurice's house which is behind the hotel. Maurice owns the hotel. I'll have him open the cellar door. We will go up the back stairs so no one will hear or see us. The captain has the second floor suite, facing the front. I will let you know how many men there are. We had better leave now."
Yvonne and André headed for the hotel. Once inside the hotel, André spoke softly to Maurice. The man only nodded his head, when they heard footsteps.
André was smiling like he always did when he saw the Germans.
["Ah, it is you André and the lovely Yvonne."]
["I have made something special for Hauptsturmführer Berger, may I give it to him?"]
["You may come up. You may come too Yvonne."]
["Thank you."]
They followed the private up the stairs.
["We have company sir. André brought you something."]
["Come in André, what did you bring me?"]
["I remembered how much you liked my flans pâtissier."]
["Thank you so much."]
["We must get back. The dough for the bread will rise too much. I hope you enjoy it."]
Yvonne pretended to look uncomfortable.
["Yvonne is there something wrong?"]
["I must use the toilet."]
Berger had become so trusting of André and Yvonne, he never gave her request a second thought.
["Of course, it is through those doors. Yvonne, please ignore the people in the room."]
Yvonne gave a little giggle as she opened the door. She turned around and smiled at him.
["What people, I see nothing."]
Yvonne realized that they could not see the bathroom. She noticed that the doctor was sitting close to the bathroom door.
Yvonne whispered to the doctor at 300 hours get on the floor and try to tell Kirby.
She quickly entered the bathroom, flushed the toilet and washed her hands and made a speedy exit.
When she returned, she smiled at Berger and said very quietly, "Merci."
André was standing near the door.
["Come Yvonne, we must go now. I hope you enjoy the dessert. We will see you tomorrow morning. Good night."]
["Thank you, I will enjoy it."]
While the three men sat eating the tart, Kirby kept thinking of ways to do them in. He was so hungry. All they had given him to eat was some bread and cheese. He was starving.
Oberschütze Hahn kept watching Kirby. He didn't know why but he didn't trust Kirby.
["Sir I don't trust him. I think they have no intention of making the trade.]
["Well if they don't, I will get my pound of flesh. We will kill them all beginning with this private you don't trust and ending with Cpl. Garland."]
Saunders and the men tried to rest but all they could do was look at their watches.
Hauptsturmführer Berger and his men were doing the same thing. Everyone was on edge.
"We will again take turns watching the prisoners. Hahn you will have first watch, in two hours, Huber will take over and after that, I will watch them."
Huber didn't feel threatened by Kirby. To him, Kirby was just ambulance driver.
Kirby felt it had to be close to 0300 hours. He stretched a bit and nonchalantly looked at his watch, the time was 0245 hours. He decided to make a move.
"Excuse me, I need to use the washroom."
"Washroom? What do you have to wash?"
"No, no. That's not what I meant. I need to use the toilet."
"I don't know. I must ask Oberschütze Hahn."
Schütze Huber quietly walked over to where Hahn was sleeping.
["Hahn," he whispered. Wake up, I must speak to you."]
["What is it?"]
["The American must use the toilet, what should I do?"]
["Take him in there. If he tries anything, kill him, now let me sleep!"]
"All right, you may go but do not try anything. Believe me, I will shoot you."
"I ain't gonna try anything. I just gotta use the toilet."
The men entered the bedroom. Kirby noticed that they were all pretending to be asleep.
As Kirby started to enter the bathroom, he heard a thud. He turned around and saw Tom holding the private who was now unconscious.
"Hey, the Germans took all our smokes. So I decided to use the ashtray for other purposes."
Kirby nodded in agreement as they placed him on the floor. He took hold of Huber's rifle and his magazine pouch just as Huber started to come around.
"Oh man, I hate to do this to anyone," grimaced Kirby.
He grasped the front of Huber's uniform and slugged the man as hard as he could. Kirby shook his hand.
"Damn, that hurt!"
Laura got up out of her chair and walked over to Kirby.
"Oh Kirby! Your hand is swelling up. Do we have anything in the pouch to wrap his wrist and hand?
Tom looked inside and shook his head no.
She took hold of his hand and gave it a kiss.
"There, all better."
"Thanks a lot."
He then looked at his watch for the hundredth time. By his watch, the guys should be coming through the door.
"What time do you have?"
Prentiss looked at Laura's watch.
"It's a little past 0300, where are they?"
"André how long will it take us to get to the hotel?"
"It will only take us no more than ten minutes."
"Hey Sarge, what are we gonna do with Kramer or whatever his name is?"
"We'll have to take him with us."
Yvonne lifted the hem of her dress and pulled a handgun out of its holster.
Cage raised his eyebrows.
["What a clever place for a weapon."]
Yvonne pretended not to hear Caje's comment.
"Sergeant, let me take care of him for you. I promise, he'll be no trouble at all."
"That's what I'm afraid of, he'll come with us. We are taking him back to stand trial."
"For what? They will find me guilty, and the put me to death."
Saunders knew he was right but they took him alive so they had to bring him back.
"We must go by the book."
"Littlejohn, blindfold and gag him. Let's go."
They unlocked the door and headed upstairs.
André opened the back door and led the men to the first little bridge. Once they crossed the canal, they all proceeded to the next bridge. They crossed the second bridge without a hitch.
André opened the gate to his cousin's backyard. A cobblestone path made its way from the gate to the rear of the hotel. When they got to the back of the hotel, Yvonne tried to open the cellar door.
"The door is locked. Maurice said that he would open the door. Now what do we do?"
"We don't have Kirby to help us, but I'll give it a try. Cage give me your knife."
Saunders hoped that he could break in as easily as Kirby had done many times before.
Saunders tried to work the lock but was unsuccessful.
"Sergeant, would you let me try? I think the knife is too big."
Saunders moved out of the way to let Yvonne have a go at it. She pulled out a nail file, slipped it into the lock. Yvonne jiggled it around and was astonished when she opened the door.
"Thank you Yvonne, I guess it needed a woman's touch."
Yvonne and the men quietly entered the cellar.
"We must use the back stairs, otherwise we will be seen."
Saunders looked at his watch. It had taken longer than they all expected.
"It is past oh 300 hours, Kirby is probably wondering what happened to us," whispered Saunders.
When they got to the second floor a young girl was waiting for them.
["Helain what are you doing?"]
The girl pulled out a gun from her pocket and aimed it at André.
["I know why you are here, if you don't leave, I will shoot you."]
["Helain, why are you doing this?"]
["I overheard you and Maurice talking. If you go in there, I know you are going to kill him."]
["Kill who?"]
["Conrad, Pvt. Huber, we are in love."]
["The Boche is our enemy. They are holding the Americans hostage. These men are here to free them."]
["He loves me and I love him. If you go away now I will not say anything to them."]
André explained to Saunders what the girl had said. He was getting impatient. Time was running out but he wanted to try to reason with her before he had to do something to the girl.
"Do you speak English?"
"Yes."
"The Germans are holding medical people and an injured soldier hostage. These people don't carry guns. These are good people. They come over here to help anyone who is in need of medical help, which includes people like you and our enemies. If we don't do as the Germans ask, they are going to kill them. Do you want their blood on your hands?"
Helain hung her head and began to cry. Saunders could hardly hear her say, "No."
She handed the gun to Saunders.
"Please try not to hurt him."
"We will do our best. Yvonne, stay here with the girl and Kramer. Don't shoot him."
"I promise, unless he tries to escape."
"He's all tied up, he's not going anywhere. We're late, let's go before Kirby decides to take them on all by himself."
They quietly made it to the door. Saunders nodded at Littlejohn. Littlejohn moved back a little and put the full force of his body into the door. The door crashed open.
When Berger and Hahn heard the noise, they quickly snatched up their rifles and began to fire in the direction of the door.
Kirby looked over at Capt. Prentiss.
"Sir, nobody gets up off this floor and leaves this room until someone says all clear."
Kirby opened the bedroom door slightly and slipped out.
He grimaced as he pulled the trigger.
He then heard the Sarge's Tommy Gun and the rest of the squad firing into the sitting room.
Bullets were flying in every direction. Kirby realized the light from the bedroom was drawing attention to him. He was a very large target and couldn't shoot back. He saw a cabinet and dived behind it.
Finally everything went quiet.
Caje and Billy entered the sitting room. They found Hahn dead but Berger was hanging on by a thread.
"My name is Hauptsturmführer Berger. I want to speak to your officer."
"Sarge, the SS Captain is still alive. I guess he wants to talk to an officer in charge."
"That's me."
"Sir, I'm Sgt. Saunders. I'm in charge."
The man gave a small chuckle.
"I wasn't even worth an officer. I was going to show them all. I would get the General back and then they would promote me to Sturmbannführer(a). All I did was make a mess of everything. I said if I didn't get the General back, I would get my pound of flesh. They would all die. Now I am the one who is dying."
"Let me get the doctor."
"Thank you Sergeant but it isn't…"
The captain's eyes became fixed.
Sarge felt for a pulse, the man was dead, he placed his hands over Berger's eyes and closed them.
Saunders stood up and looked for Kirby.
"Kirby, where is the other man?"
"His name is Huber. He's in the bedroom. I had to knock him out."
"That'll make her happy," Saunders said under his breath.
"Huh? What did you say Sarge?"
"Nothing. Is everybody alright?"
"I told everybody to stay down. I'm sure they're fine."
When it became quiet, Laura stood up. She was desperate to see Kirby. She needed to make sure that he and the rest of the squad were all right.
"Lieutenant get down. No one has said all clear."
"Dave, I'm done lying around on this floor. Kirby, she cried, I'm coming out and somebody better get in here, the guy you knocked out is coming around."
"Laura, I told you to stay down until someone told you it was all clear" yelled Kirby.
Laura walked into the room. The Sarge watched as she mentally checked off each man in his squad. When she was satisfied that they were all safe, she strolled over to Kirby. She knew that it would take more than a smile to get back in his good graces. Laura placed her hand on his back and ever so lightly began rubbing it.
"Bill," she purred. That soldier you hit is coming to and the doctor really needs to look at your hand."
Saunders looked from Laura to Kirby.
"Nelson tell the others they can get up and guard the German."
"Okay Sarge."
Capt. Prentiss walked out of the bedroom.
"Sergeant, I am Capt. Prentiss. Will we be leaving soon?"
"I think we better get out of Dodge as soon as possible."
"Laura, would you please check on the corporal's bandage and get him ready for transport?"
"Of course Captain."
Laura's eyes sparkled as she gave Kirby a good smack on his bottom.
As she walked away, Kirby had the biggest smile Saunders ever saw.
"Kirby, she is going to be a handful. When you two get married, you're going to have one helluva life."
"Yea Sarge and don't I know it!
The Captain took a deep breath and proceeded to examine Kirby's wrist and hand.
Saunders noticed Kirby's swollen hand.
"Is it broke Captain?"
"I believe it is sprained but when we get back, I'll want to get an x-ray just to make sure."
Saunders looked around for André.
The man was quietly sitting in a chair.
"André, we need to get out here. I just hate to leave you with all this mess.
"Don't worry my friend, we will have this all cleaned up by morning. By lunch, you would never know anything happened here. But you are right, you need to leave now in case the Germans return. I want to thank you for talking to Helain. This way no one will ever know about her and the boy. I know she will be happy to know that you were able to save him."
Tom made his way towards the Sarge.
"Excuse me Sergeant, I need someone to help me lift the stretcher."
"Doc, can you help Tom with the stretcher?"
"Sure Sarge."
"Thank you André for all your help. We couldn't have done it without you."
André stood up and gave Saunders a bear hug.
The Sarge roared with laughter.
"Lucien's right, you can't breathe!
"Sergeant, take care of yourself."
"You too my friend."
Everyone was waiting for Saunders at the door.
"Sarge, we're ready."
"We better get the hell outta here. We need to take the staff car."
"Go ahead, it's one less thing we have to get rid of."
As the group headed down the stairs, Yvonne and Maurice were waiting for them.
"You see Sergeant, I kept my promise. I am returning your prisoner and he is still alive."
"Thank you Yvonne and not just for this but for everything you and your brother has done for us."
"You are very welcome."
Yvonne leaned over and kissed Saunders.
"When this war is over, please come back and visit us."
"I'll do that. Yvonne, thank Lucien and tell him goodbye. And let Helain know about Huber."
"I will."
The men put the corporal into the ambulance. The Doc, the Captain and Laura also got into the back.
Laura watched as Kirby walked away from the ambulance. She couldn't believe he wasn't getting in the back with her. Laura's bottom lip began to quiver.
The Sarge knew how to remedy Laura's problem.
"Kirby where do you think you're going?"
"Whaddya mean Sarge?"
"Kirby come back here and get in that ambulance, you're hurt."
"Me, Sarge?"
"Yes you."
Kirby shrugged his shoulders and started to get in the front seat.
Saunders walked up to Kirby.
"Go make your girl happy and get in the back."
"Tom you're driving and Caje you're riding shotgun."
"Littlejohn, can you drive this car?"
"Yea, sure Sarge."
Saunders pointed at the two prisoners.
"You two, get up front. Billy help them. We'll sit in the back, so don't do anything stupid because we will shoot you."
Everyone got in their assigned seats.
Kirby couldn't believe how happy Laura looked. Her face glowed like the morning sun.
"Well I said it before, we're on our way. We'll be in Saint-Louis before you know it."
The corporal put his hands together and glanced over at Prentiss.
"Captain, from your mouth to God's ears!"
The End
(a) Hauptsturmführer (which means Head Storm Leader) was the SS equivalent to a Captain. Sturmbannführer (which means Storm Command Leader) was the equivalent to a Major. Schütze (which means Rifleman) was the equivalent to Private and Oberschütze (which means Head Rifleman) was the equivalent to Private 1st Class.
(b) Also known as The French Wars of Religion were a prolonged period of war and popular unrest between Roman Catholics and Huguenots (Reformed/Calvinist Protestants) in the Kingdom of France between 1562 and 1598.
(c) A Wehrmacht gruppe was the equivalent to a U.S. infantry squad.
(d) A Doberge (pronounced DO-bash) Cake was created by Beulah Levy Ledner whose original cake was 9 layers with a custard filling, a buttercream frosting and topped with a fondant icing. A favorite Doberge cake is a half and half cake made ½ chocolate and ½ lemon.