Convoys and Advice
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 2
Troy and Moffitt had started to turn away until they heard the name.
"Dietrich?"
"Do you know him Sergeant?" Captain Beauregard asked.
"Yes Sir." The sergeant answered, wondering what the lieutenant meant by badly wounded. "He's the top German commander in this sector. He is the commander of the base near here. Do you mind if we take a look Captain?"
"By all means Sergeant, be my guest." The Captain turned to his lieutenant. "Lead the way Lieutenant."
"Yes Sir."
The three men, followed by a group of soldiers, soon stood near the German halftrack where Captain Dietrich had been removed from his vehicle. He lay stretched out on a blanket, unconscious. A medic worked to control the bleeding from a wound in his chest.
Troy studied the still form. The captain's face had a waxy look to it that didn't bode well for his recovery. He looked washed out with sunken features and a boneless quality that Troy knew was a sign of something serious. His breathing was rapid and shallow, hinting that he was in shock.
"How is he?"
The medic looked up at his captain. "Not good Sir. He has a bullet lodged in his chest."
"What are his chances?"
"Not good Sir." The medic repeated his earlier answer. He pressed his hands harder against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "If we move him with this bullet in there we'll kill him for sure."
"Sarge, the jeeps are ready." Tully and Hitch arrived to tell the sergeants that the jeeps hadn't been damaged. "Dietrich?"
Troy looked up at his men, noting the looks of concern for the injured German. "Yeah, he's hurt pretty bad."
"That's one tough kraut." Tully observed as he watched the medic struggle to control the bleeding. "He's been hurt before and come back to fight us again."
"Not this time private." The medic replied as he held his hands over the wound. "We can't move him without killing him while that bullet is in there and we can't stay here."
"Take it out." The blond demanded.
"I can't private, I'm only a medic. I'd kill him trying to take it out. What he needs is a surgeon."
"Then get him one." Hitch insisted. "We can't just let him die." The blonde's voice rose in anger.
"Hitch." Troy cautioned.
"A surgeon could save him Sarge. He'd do the same for us. You know he would." Big blue eyes pleaded with the sergeant for support.
"We don't have a surgeon with us." Captain Beauregard told him quietly. "I'm sorry, but if the medics can't help him, he will have to take his chances with the bullet in there."
"The Germans have a surgeon Captain, a good one!"
"I'm not about to send him back to his own base Private."
"No Sir." Hitch explained. "The surgeon is here. One of the trucks that you captured was carrying wounded. They have a surgeon with them, I saw him!"
"Who Hitch?" Troy asked, his curiosity aroused.
"Captain Friedrich. I saw him tending to their wounded Sarge."
"Who?" Captain Beauregard asked in confusion.
"A surgeon named Captain Friedrich. He's stationed at Dietrich's base. He's a good surgeon Sir. If anyone could save Dietrich, he could." Troy held his breath as he waited for the Captain to make a decision.
"Just how would you know this Sergeant?"
"We keep a close eye on Dietrich's base. Like I said, he's the top German commander around here."
"And we have had the pleasure of watching the Captain at work Sir." Moffitt added. "He has saved Private Hitchcock's life twice."
Captain Beauregard opened his mouth to ask another question but just then the medic shifted his grip.
"I can't stop the bleeding Sir." The medic called as he pressed harder on the wad of gauze. "He's going to bleed to death pretty soon."
"We'll have to save that story for another time Sergeant." The Captain decided. "Lieutenant, see if you can locate this Doctor Friedrich."
"I'll go with him Sir, I know right where to find him." Hitch hurried off to get the surgeon with the Lieutenant and several other men following behind.
They found the doctor bandaging the wounds on one of the German prisoners. The doctor didn't look up as the men stopped beside him.
"Is this him?" The Lieutenant asked.
Hitch nodded.
"Doctor, you need to come with us." The Lieutenant demanded.
Doctor Friedrich looked up without rising. "I have wounded to tend." He stated flatly. His eyes found Hitchcock and he smiled at the private. "I see that my work was not spoiled by returning you to your friends."
"No Sir," Hitch smiled in return. "They followed your instructions to the letter. I never really thanked you."
"There is no need Private, but if you really want to thank me, try not to get shot again." The doctor replied dryly. "Now if you will excuse me, these men need my help."
Hitch glanced around at the wounded Germans; none appeared to be in any immediate danger, not even the one he had run down. "We have someone who needs you Doctor."
"You have your own medics; these men have no one else." The doctor spoke to Hitch, ignoring the Lieutenant.
"You need to come with us." The Lieutenant repeated.
"Doctor Friedrich, we need a surgeon, our medic can't take the bullet out." Hitch pleaded.
"I am German Private; these German soldiers are my responsibility."
"I'll ask our medic to take care of them." Hitch responded. "Captain Dietrich needs you Sir, not a medic, you."
At the mention of the Captain's name, Captain Friedrich stopped what he was doing. "Captain Dietrich?"
"Yes Sir, he caught a bullet in the chest and they can't stop the bleeding. The medic said that he can't take the bullet out without killing him. You're the only one who can save him."
Doctor Friedrich nodded and wiped his hands. Giving instructions to one of the soldiers, he rose to follow Hitchcock and the Lieutenant.
"I will need my surgical kit."
"Where is it?"
Nodding toward the truck, the doctor told Hitch where to find it.
"I'll get it. Is there anything else that you'll need?"
Thinking for a second, the doctor added blankets and extra bandages to the list. While Hitch went to collect the needed items, the doctor followed the Lieutenant to his patient.
"Doctor," Moffitt acknowledged the officer as he knelt next to Dietrich. "Captain Beauregard has ordered that you be given everything that you need."
The doctor nodded, his attention on his patient. "I'll need a clean place to operate. Hot water. Morphine. Some ether. A mask and some bandages. Your private is bringing my surgical kit and some blankets." Finishing his initial exam, he sat back on his heels. "We're going to need blood, several units."
"We aren't carrying any blood with us Doctor; you'll have to make do without it." Captain Beauregard explained.
"We'll get it for you." Moffitt assured him.
"How Sergeant?" Captain Beauregard demanded. "We don't have any."
"You have plenty of unwounded prisoners Captain." Moffitt answered. "The doctor can do a direct transfer from live donors. I'm sure that the Captain's men will be more than willing to help their commander. The Captain is a popular commander." Moffitt turned to Captain Friedrich. "We just need to know his blood type so we can ask for volunteers. Will four men be enough?"
"That will suffice Sergeant." Doctor Friedrich checked Dietrich's dog tags for the correct blood type. "As I noted before Sergeant, you and your friends are very resourceful and determined."
Moffitt smiled. "With your permission Captain." Captain Beauregard nodded his permission as he watched the preparations for the surgery. Taking Tully and Hitch and several of the American soldiers, he headed for the group of German prisoners.
"Oh Sir." Hitch stopped and turned toward Captain Beauregard. "Would your medic be able to finish treating the German wounded? Captain Friedrich didn't have time to take care of all of them."
"I'll send a medic right over." The southern officer promised.
The Rat Patrol and the American officers stood around and waited as the doctor operated to remove the bullet from the German captain's chest. Troy kept checking his watch and glancing at the hills above them. Not to be hurried, Doctor Friedrich took his time, handling his instruments with a delicate touch. An American medic acted as his assistant, making sure that the patient didn't wake up during the surgery. A second medic arrived after treating the wounded Germans and helped to monitor the vital signs and keep an eye on the blood donors. Moffitt's goal of four volunteers had doubled before he could say enough. The volunteers stood to one side watching the proceedings with worried frowns.
Troy checked his watch again.
"Is there someplace that you need to be Sergeant?" Captain Beauregard inquired after noticing the repeated action.
"I don't like sitting here while those patrol cars are out there Captain." He glanced at the hills above the valley. "If it's all right with you Captain, I think that we should go take a look around. Dietrich's base isn't that far away, we don't want to get caught flat-footed out here."
At the mention of the base, the Captain scanned the hills too. "Go ahead Sergeant; I told you before, I don't like most surprises. Your little group is probably the only exception I'm likely to run into today."
"We'll take a look around and be back in a bit Captain." Troy called to his men and the jeeps pulled out, leaving the American troops stranded in the valley until the doctor was finished working on Captain Dietrich.
Nearly two hours later they returned to say that they had chased the patrols cars off and had failed to find any sign of another column. "Those patrol cars are keeping an eye on you Captain. I have no doubt that they radioed the base for help. The sooner you get moving the better off you'll be."
"We were waiting on your report Sergeant. We didn't want to move out and run right into more Germans. Now that we know what's out there, we'll head back to our own base."
"Don't underestimate those patrol cars." Troy warned.
"We're aware of them Sergeant, don't worry."
Troy nodded, unconvinced. "How is Captain Dietrich?"
Captain Beauregard smiled. "You were right Sergeant, that surgeon is good. He wouldn't be rushed and he insisted on calling all of the shots where the Captain's care is concerned. He managed to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. The Captain isn't out of the woods yet, but he looked much better by the time the doctor finished."
"Doctor Friedrich has his own code of ethics. He told me once that he was a doctor first and a German second."
"Was that when he saved your private's life?"
"One of them Captain. The first time we didn't give him much choice, we held a gun to his head. That was before we realized that he would have done it anyway. That one nearly cost him his own life. A colonel accused him of treason for saving the life of an enemy."
"What happened?"
"The colonel was suffering from battle fatigue and was deemed an unreliable witness. Lucky for us or the doctor wouldn't have been around to save him the second time."
The Captain cocked an eyebrow to encourage Troy to continue.
"Hitch got shot in the back. Dietrich took him to Doctor Friedrich right away and the doctor saved his life."
"Why would the Captain do that?"
"He had his reasons, mostly his sense of honor." Troy got lost in the memory for a minute, recalling his own part in the near tragedy. Shaking it off, he continued, "Anyway, Dietrich has always treated prisoners humanely. He believes in respecting the enemy until they prove they don't deserve it."
"You mean like 'innocent until proven guilty'?"
"Yeah, like that. For a kraut, Dietrich is all right." Troy studied the officer in front of him, wondering if he understood what he was trying to convey. "Some Germans think that to show compassion is a sign of weakness. Dietrich doesn't fall into that category. Don't get me wrong, he's all German, one of the best officers they've got."
"He sounds interesting Sergeant, I hope that he survives the journey to the base. I look forward to speaking with him once he recovers."
"Just don't get him started on us." Troy warned with a laugh. "He's usually not very happy with us." Some movement caught his eye and he noticed that the privates had returned with the jeeps. "I guess we're ready to go Captain. I wish you luck and a safe journey."
"Take care Sergeant, I look forward to more conversations with you in the future."
"I'd like that Captain." Troy climbed into his jeep, hoping that the Captain didn't get too complacent about the German patrol cars. The Rat Patrol knew better than most just how fickle fate could be in desert warfare.