Camp Toccoa, Georgia
August-November 1942:
Marie Docherty examined herself in her barracks mirror, inspecting her uniform one final time before she had to join the rest of Easy Company for the first time. She heard rumors about how stern their CO Herbert Sobel was on the company's appearance so she thought it best not to take any chances.
"Girl, you look fine, now come over here and help me!" Marie's friend and fellow female Easy Company soldier, Emilia Valdez, said as she struggled with putting her hair back in a secured bun.
"Okay, hang on." Marie sighed with a slight chuckle as she went over to assist her friend.
"You can never be too careful when it comes to Sobel!" Florence, another one of Marie's friend's from a different company, added.
Marie helped Emilia pull her thick, black hair back and twist it into a nice bun, as they listened to Florence.
Emilia Valdez was a Puerto Rican that had come to Camp Toccoa the same time Marie did. Emilia was a strikingly beautiful woman that made even the sternest, most devoted man do a double take when she walked by. She was tall too, but then again everyone seemed tall to Marie. Marie stood at 5'2 on the dot, which Emilia always teased her about.
Marie on the other hand was neither super pretty or super homely, she was just average. She had a round, youthful face that made her look like she could pass for a fifteen year old instead of a twenty-one year old. She had blond hair that ended at the bottom of her neck, and that almost looked like it could pass for a light brown. She had small, kind eyes that matched her hair's color. When Emilia and Marie first met a month ago, they became friends almost instantly. Emilia was feisty and wise with the same inward stubbornness that Marie possessed when it came to things they believed in.
Florence was from New Jersey, and was full of attitude but good humor. She joined them a few days after they had arrived in Toccoa. Marie wished that they all could be in the same company together, but it couldn't be. Although Marie wasn't as close with the other girls as she was with Emilia, she got along with her the best. Marie did like Florence, but she could be a little vain at times. Marie watched as Florence inspected herself in the mirror, not really checking her uniform, but checking on how great she looked. Emilia always joked that Florence had joined the Army just to flirt with men. The more time Marie spent with Florence, the more she believe it.
"Don't get Marie all worried about someone she hasn't even met yet." Emilia said to Florence.
"Just giving you a head's up, you'll need it. Ta-ta girls, good luck with everything!" Florence left the barracks and waved to them absentmindedly. Emilia shook her head at Florence and chuckled.
"That girl is going to have a hard time adjusting to military life." Emilia laughed.
"Hey, she can do more push ups than the two of us combined." Marie pointed out.
All the women on Camp Toccoa stayed in the same barracks despite being in different companies. There were only six women that were accepted in Camp Toccoa so far, so the idea of women serving in the frontlines was still relatively new. Also the Army wanted to keep women and men as separated as possible when on base to reduce the probability of fraternizing. There were two women from Dog Company, Barbara and Jane, and two women from Fox Company, Diana and Florence. The women had arrived a month after the 506th Parachute Infantry had started, so the men had already known each other for a month. Emilia and Marie had the disadvantage of not knowing the men as long as they'd known each other. Marie hated being late to the part, or feeling like "the new guy" in a group.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Emilia dismissed.
"So, you ready to join the men we'll be following into war?" Marie asked with very little pep. Truth was, she was filled with anxiety at meeting her company. She was afraid that they wouldn't like them, or shun them or something.
"Oh, it won't be that bad, Marie. Let's go make some new friends." Emilia gave her an affectionate pat on the head.
"It's Sobel that I'm worried about." Marie muttered. "I hear nothing but bad things about him."
"Well let's go judge him for ourselves." Emilia opened the barrack door and they both marched out to join the rest of the company.
Sobel was already scolding the men for every little thing that he could pick from them. Marie's stomach sank as she realized that everything said about Sobel was true as she watched him practically bully the men. He looked more like he was sizing them up then trying to instill discipline into them. He was smacking a bayonet on a soldier's helmet when he noticed that Marie and Emilia had arrived and were standing at attention. Sobel scowled at them for a moment, his eyes roaming over their faces and bodies, making Marie inwardly cringe. Sobel pulled out a slip of paper from a pocket on his uniform and looked it over.
"Ah, so you're the women joining our company…" Sobel interjected with little enthusiasm.
"Yes, sir!" Marie and Emilia shouted together.
"Incredible, I spend a month trying to shape these men into the best fit company in the United States Army, and now they send me two women to unravel all my hard work."
Anger boiled in the pit of Marie's stomach. Her father had warned her that this kind of thing was bound to be said when she enlisted, but it still made her mad. Her and Emilia were just as able to go into combat as all of these men.
"Oh well, I've always enjoyed a challenge. But I warn you, women, that if you can't keep up with my men, you'll be pulled out of here before your feet touch the ground!" Sobel warned.
"Sir!" Marie and Emilia responded in unison again.
Well, I enjoy a challenge, too, dick. I'll enjoy proving you wrong. Marie thought, furiously. She cursed him over and over again in her head as he went on.
"Valdez, Emilia - Technician Fifth Grade?" Sobel barked.
"Sir!" Emilia shouted again.
It reminded Marie with mild humor of teacher's taking attendance back in school.
"Docherty, Marie - Technician Third Grade?" Sobel barked again.
"Sir!" Marie piped up. He sneered at Marie in disbelief for a moment, making her want to smack him upside the head. Sobel was really not making a good first impression with her at all.
"How can a woman already have a rank as high as yours when she's just started?" Sobel looked like he was about to laugh as if it was all some kind of joke. Her rank wasn't impressively high, she thought, it was only the equivalent to a sergeant.
"I have this rank because of my experiences and from my education, sir." Marie forced her voice to remain level and not say anything through gritted teeth. She hated it whenever someone talked down to her, especially when the reason was just because she was a girl.
"Oh?" Sobel questioned. He looked playfully amused by her response, like he wasn't taking her seriously. This made Marie even more livid. Marie's father had warned her to keep her quick temper in check, but she didn't care, this man was totally unreasonable.
"I graduated cum laude from high school, and I graduated from college with high honors. I got my degree in Nursing, and worked as an RN before enlisting." Marie continued. She was chosen because of her skills and decided to become a combat medic to assist directly in the war efforts. It offended her the way Sobel spoke to her.
Emilia shot her a warning glance through her peripherals. She was afraid Marie would get in trouble because of her tone. The men from Easy looked at Marie, worrying that Sobel would punish her, too. Sobel instead folded up his paper and turned away from them to shout an order.
"We're running, Currahee! Get in your PT gear!" Sobel yelled. He marched off leaving a Lieutenant from Easy Company to turn and address the men to do as Sobel said. Emilia and Marie walked up to join the rest of the company.
"You need to watch your step with that man. He could ban you from being a paratrooper." Emilia warned Marie, but she only rolled her eyes in response.
"Ladies? I'm Richard Winter's." The Lieutenant addressed them. He seemed friendly enough; Marie wished that he were the company's CO instead of Sobel. "We're going to be running Currahee so you should go dress out."
"What's Currahee?" Marie asked, cocking her head.
Winter's laughed bitterly, not at them, but at the anticipation of running Currahee. "You'll find out soon enough, ma'am." Winter's gave them a weary smile then ran off to go dress out.
Three miles up, three miles down. Marie now understood Winter's reaction to her question.
Running Currahee was one of the most physically challenging things Marie had ever done in her short life. She panted as she tried to keep her pace steady along with the rest of the men. Sobel kept taunting everyone, and screaming "hi-ho silver!" at the top of his lungs every once in a while. It was driving Marie insane, she wished that he'd stop shouting that stupid saying altogether and just be silent for the rest of the run. Emilia didn't look like the run fazed her that much, but Marie then remembered how she told her that she used to run track in middle school, all the way through high school. This must have been a breeze to her, Marie thought, envying her friend a little bit.
A man running next to Marie stumbled and almost fell; by instinct she caught him under his arm and hoisted him back up. He smiled at her in thanks, and she returned the smile, but her smile soon faded as Sobel cut in.
"Do not help that man!" He snapped at her. Marie stuck out her tongue at him when he looked away. She didn't care if it was out of line, she really couldn't stand that man.
"Watch it! What if he saw you!" The man that she helped up warned.
"Yeah, Sobel's a man that you don't want to really piss off." Another man added.
"He's such an asshole, though." Marie mumbled. She knew they were right, but it felt good to outwardly express her distaste for Sobel.
"He is, but that's how it is. My name's Warren Muck, but you can call me Skip, and that's Don Malarkey." Muck introduced with a tired smile.
"Marie Docherty." Marie said returning his smile with an equally exhausted one. They had just reached the top of Currahee when Marie knew that they now had to turn and run all the way back down. But it wasn't that bad, Marie talked to Malarkey and Muck the entire time. They quickly became the first and the closest friends that Marie would make in Easy Company, next to Emilia.
"How often do you run on this damned mountain?" Marie asked, feeling very worn out but continued on regardless.
"More time than I can count." Muck replied. Marie was afraid of that, but when it came to Sobel anything was possible.
Marie and Emilia would spend the rest of the day introducing themselves to the men of Easy Company. Marie hung around with Muck and Malarkey the most when there was down time. It made her happy to learn more about people, especially people that she'd be going to war with. Bonds were important on the battlefield. Muck had told her all about growing up in Tonawanda, and about his girl back home, Faye. Malarkey talked about growing up in Astoria, college, and his girlfriend Bernice.
"What about you, Marie? Where are you from?" Malarkey asked. They were sitting in the mess hall, eating lightly and talking.
"I grew up in Georgia, so I didn't have to come far to get to Toccoa." Marie replied, pushing her food around her tray. "My dad owns an auto-body shop that I used to work part time at, along with my siblings."
"Do you have a boyfriend, or someone special back home, if you don't mind me asking?" Muck asked.
"No, not right now." Marie answered as she shook her head. Being in a relationship really didn't interest Marie at this point in her life. She had just turned twenty-one and she knew she had plenty of time to deal with those kinds of things later in life.
"Marie's really good at scaring off guys rather than attracting them." Emilia informed the boys, giving Marie a playful nudge with her shoulder. Marie shot her an annoyed look but couldn't help smiling herself. Their conversation was cut short when Sobel suddenly burst into the mess hall, causing everyone to stop eating and stand up at attention.
"At ease." Sobel ordered. "I'm only here for the women." Sobel peered over at Marie and Emilia's direction with an irritated scowl and motioned them over. The girls exchanged glances with each other and with Malarkey and Muck before heading over to Sobel.
"Sir." Both girls said as the stood in front of Sobel waiting for more orders.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sink needs to speak with the both of you. Get going." He motioned them out, impatiently. Both girls said yes sir, then rushed out to go talk to Sink.
They found Sink in his office, reading over reports and sipping coffee out of a mug. He saw them enter and stand at attention and stood up to greet them. Marie was nervous that they were in trouble for something, or if Sobel's complaints about women joining his company had made Sink rethink their positions and get them transferred.
"At ease, ladies. It's very nice to see both of you." Sink extended his hand with a smile. Marie and Emilia hesitated before they shook his hand, confused by his drop in formalities. They shook his hand quickly, then waited for him to continue on. "You two will start your specialty training starting tomorrow, but you'll still be joining Easy from time to time on PT runs and regular training. Ms. Docherty, you'll be spending most of your time in the med bay. Ms. Valdez, you'll be spending most of your time with the translators, making maps, and be assisting with engineering."
"Yes, sir." They said in unison.
"You two are great editions to the Army, and will prove to be great role models for young girls whom wish to serve in America's great and powerful military." Sink praised with a smile. Marie wasn't sure why Sink was saying all this to them, but she felt very flattered.
"Thank you, sir." They said in unison again.
"All right, now get back out there and get to work." Sink dismissed them. They saluted and left his office, bewildered.
"What on Earth was that about?" Marie asked Emilia, confused why the man in command of their regiment would call them all the way to his office just to praise them.
"Well you know Lieutenant Colonel Sink was all for letting qualified women serve in the frontlines and be part in the 101st." Emilia reminded her puzzled friend. "He did help pick out us and the other girls from a pack of potential hopefuls."
Marie pondered this for a moment and knew she was right. They were handpicked from the litter, which was a great honor, but also meant that they would have to work extra hard not to disappoint Sink.
"That explains why Sobel must have been unhappy to see us. Sobel must have complained about having women on his company and Sink shot him down." Marie suggested. Emilia nodded in agreement.
"Whatever happened, it's nice to know that Sink has our back at least." Emilia concluded. They returned to the mess hall to finish what was left of their meal.
The following days for Marie consisted of morning runs on Currahee, training in the med bay, and training for life on the battlefield in the middle of combat. They crawled through pig guts, learned some self-defense, ran some more, and learned how to fire and disassemble a weapon. Marie had spent so much of her time in the med bay that she'd often have to skip meals to catch up with the rest of the company, causing her to get sick in the middle of most of the exercises. Emilia had been busy, too. Marie barely saw her as often as she was used to, but the good thing is that they didn't have to be around Sobel as much as they thought they would.
Easy had to march twelve miles every Friday night, but it didn't bother Marie at all. She didn't mind being outside in the cool air when the sun wasn't up; summer's in Georgia could be brutal and it was nice to have a break from the heat. This also was the best time for Marie to talk to Emilia, Malarkey, and Muck. At the end of the march, Marie and Emilia returned to their barracks, but their return turned out to be unpleasant.
They returned to find Jane sobbing and packing up her things. She looked disorientented with grief as she did so.
"What's going on?" Emilia asked, alarmed. Diana was trying to console her weeping friend, along with Barbara, but Jane wasn't listening to them. Florence was in the corner, biting her nails nervously.
"They're kicking Jane out." Barbara told Emilia, sadly.
"What?! Why?" Marie was shocked. Kicking her out? Why would they do that?
"They… caught me… but…" Jane tried to tell Marie, but she was sobbing too heavily. Diana pulled her into a hug.
"They found out she was fraternizing with one of the men in her company." Diana informed them. Marie and Emilia just stood there, stunned by the news the received.
Marie laid in her bed that night, unable to sleep. She listened to Jane cry softly into her pillow. Her heart went out to the poor girl, although she knew fraternizing was a serious offense. They were all warned against starting romantic relationships with any of the soldiers and officers in the Army, they stressed that above everything else. But love would always find a way, and this time it had spoiled any chances of Jane becoming a paratrooper. She might even be discharged from the military for this. It didn't seem fair, but there was nothing any of them could do about it.
In the morning all the girls hugged Jane goodbye. She started crying again as she embraced all of them. They all promised to write each other so they could keep in touch. They went back into their barracks after Jane had departed. It felt so much more empty now, and if that wasn't enough, Barbara was the only woman in Dog Company now. Marie hoped that she didn't feel too alone with Jane gone.
News of the fraternizing spread like wild fire in Camp Toccoa. This infuriated Marie, it was none of their business what happened between Jane and some guy. Not to mention the fact that Sobel caught wind of this, and how had an idea of how to get her and Emilia kicked out of Easy. Sobel watched Marie like a hawk whenever she talked to Malarkey or Muck now. She knew that he was trying to find evidence of any kind to try to court martial her for fraternization. It made her uneasy whenever Sobel came around because she thought that he was going to accuse her and go off and tell his superiors. Winters noticed Sobel's actions and went out of his way constantly to direct Sobel away from his attempts to falsely accuse her. Marie felt grateful to Winters, although she knew Sobel wouldn't give up until both her and Emilia were gone.
One day Marie had just returned from the med bay, she had only gotten two hours of sleep and hadn't eaten in hours when she was called over by Sobel. He was inspecting his company, finding everything wrong as usual. Marie obediently went over to him and stood weakly at attention. She felt like she was going to faint but she fought it off the best she could.
"Sergeant Docherty, why didn't you join us on Currahee yesterday?" Sobel asked, eyeing her dangerously.
Seriously? He's doing this now? Marie thought, annoyed. He had it out for her, no matter what she did.
"I had to report to the med bay all morning and learn about morphine, sir." Marie stated.
"You're a solider in this company, are you not?" Sobel asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then I expect you to do the same as everyone else. You are to run Currahee, twice, and do so in your full uniform. Not in your PT clothes." Sobel ordered, he looked satisfied as he gave her this order. He was trying to punish her for doing what she was told and she knew she had to obey.
"Lieutenant Sobel, sir, the girl was just doing what she was instructed to do. She hasn't even eaten today, sir-" Nixon started in her defense.
"Enough, 2nd Lieutenant Nixon. She will do what I tell her to do. Your weekend pass is revoked." Sobel snapped at Nixon. Marie felt guilty for him being punished because of her.
"Yes, sir." Marie answered. She saw Muck in the group of men, he gave her a pitied look. Marie saluted Sobel then turned on her heel to head for Currahee.
On her way up Currahee she had to stop and vomit. Her already empty stomach had grown even emptier and sick as she puked on the dirt path. She tried to continue on, feeling herself stumble as she progressed. She felt painfully nauseous and dizzy; she could feel herself losing focus on the path. Marie couldn't take it anymore, she fell over flat on her stomach and face. The feeling of fainting was now overcoming her as she laid on the ground, unable to will herself to get up. She felt pathetic. If she was overseas in the war right now, she'd wouldn't have any excuses, she'd just be dead most likely. She cursed herself the entire time she laid there, feeling awful that Sobel had got the best of her.
"Hey, Marie! Are you okay?" Marie heard someone call to her, but they sounded too far away. She was too sick to turn her head to look at who it was. The voice got closer and she saw that it was Carwood Lipton and Bill Guarnere.
"My God, Marie, what happened?" Bill asked her, trying to help her up. Her legs wobbled as she tried to put weight on them. Her head lolled on one side; it felt too heavy to carry.
"I couldn't do it… I couldn't finish Currahee…" Marie's voice trembled as she spoke. She felt like such a failure.
"It was irrational that he wanted you to do this in the first place. Let's get you to the infirmary." Lipton tried to lead Marie but she suddenly tried to resist.
"No! If I go back, then Sobel will be right! I'm not fit to be in Easy Company!" Marie cried.
"That's ridiculous! You're dehydrated and starving is all. Come on, you can finish the run once you feel better." Lipton soothed. Guarnere nodded his head in agreement. Marie was reluctant to believe them but she gave in. They both helped her back down Currahee.
"What were you two doing up here, anyway? You're helping me disobey a direct order." Marie asked them.
"We came after you to make sure you're all right." Guarnere told her.
"Really?" Marie was actually surprised that they'd go out of their way to help her.
"Of course! We all care about you." Guarnere assured her. She felt touched by his words and smiled.
"Thank you…" She told them, warmly.
"No problem, Marie. Emilia is worried sick about you, too." Lipton informed her. That was to be suspected, Emilia was always worrying and fussing over her, like the mother that she never had. But Marie now realized that it wasn't just Emilia that cared for her, it was now the rest of Easy Company.
She now knew that being put in Easy Company was probably one of the best things that could happen to her.
Author's Note:
I saw other fic's of women fighting alongside Easy Company and I just loved the idea so I started to start my own! I hope I've captured everything a little accurately at least, given the fictional events. I'm sorry if the beginning is kind of slow, it'll pick up.
Thanks for reading!