Chapter 10 The Harbor
As the ship neared America there was great excitement.
Dietrich had been avoiding going amongst the American soldiers but Moffitt insisted.
He came to get Dietrich."You must come and look, I've never seen it before either."
They went up on the deck crowded with soldiers. In the harbor ship horns were blowing adding to the commotion.
New York City stood in the skyline. The Statue of Liberty ornamented the harbor filled with sea vessels of every kind.
Dietrich was very impressed but well aware this was not where he wanted to be.
Lieutenant Hanley told him he had a friend he wanted him to stay with.
He would be taking a train with Sergeant Saunders, Kirby and a corporal from Green Bay to a town north of Milwaukee.
A POW camp was there and they were going to arrange for him to be repatriated with other Germans.
Hanley handed Dietrich a packet of information and an envelope of money.
When Dietrich protested Hanley stopped him.
"I intend to visit you when you get home and settled, then you can reciprocate as my host."
Troy and Moffitt said their goodbye's to Dietrich, They were going directly to Washington to report.
They also gave him a copy of the names they recorded off the walls of the barracks.
They'd befriended Saunders and Kirby and knew they would look after the lieutenant.
Before they left they gave Dietrich their contact information with his promise to let them know if there was any kind of trouble.
They gave him their word to find out anything they could about the missing POW's
Doc shook the lieutenants hand. He was to board a southbound train. Dietrich thanked him gratefully.
He owed Doc his recovery. Doc's kindness would always be remembered.
Doc felt the had a unique perspective on the war.
His region lost it's bid for independence in a bloody civil war some 75 years before.
In it's aftermath the countryside still lie in ruins and desperate poverty.
Most of the educated men were dead and the struggle for survival in agrarian economy left little time for learning.
With the chaos and lawlessness following the war vigilante groups dispensed justice without benefit of trials.
Some of these groups still operate to this day.
Unscrupulous people from the North came to buy up everything and cheat people.
Usually a few moneyed men were virtual kings, owning the town and everything in it.
Southerners were generally thought to be ignorant and bigoted hillbillies.
Doc was anything but, His family valued an education. Anytime not spent working their small farm was spent reading.
Depression era programs had also greatly improved rural schools so Doc was well read and informed.
Like other soldiers from the South he met, Doc was determined to return to his community and improve conditions.
Doc was a devout Christian. He did not believe himself capable of killing another human so he chose to be a medic.
During the war he'd been wounded captured and beaten.
He'd seen the worst side of human nature but never tried to rationalize the evil he witnessed.
He quietly relied on the strength his faith in God gave him to alleviate what suffering he could.
There were some really bad moments.
During one battle he watched a fellow soldier accidentally drop a grenade, killing the man beside him.
His buddy's severe reaction caused him to loose his senses and demand a rifle.
He was later grateful to Hanley who refused and ordered him to do his duty as a medic.
Doc had sustained his family by hunting and was a crack shot.
But in the state he was in that day he surely would have just gotten his blamed fool head blown off.
Worst of all Doc was forced to kill a man with his bare hands.
A sadistic Nazi captain was trying to force Saunders to lead him across a minefield.
Saunders had ought right refused.
The German was going to shoot down one of the best men he'd ever known like a dog.
Doc had to act.
He attacked the man and ensured he would never again be a threat.
It was something he would have to recon with his God to eternity.
He reaffirmed his vow to help in any way he could.
To Doc every human life, those of animals and even the earth itself was a miracle of God and worthy of respect.
He was excited about returning home and bringing better healthcare to his impoverished neighbors.
He hoped Europe would not suffer as the South did after the Civil War.
The rebuilding he saw was heartening and there were still decent men like Lieutenant Dietrich to make a new start.
When they boarded the train Dietrich was nervous amid so many American soldiers.
Saunders and Kirby stayed right with him unconcerned.
Saunders slept and Kirby chewed gum, reading a comic in his seat next to Dietrich.
He glanced over at the colorfully drawn magazine Kirby was looking at and could make no sense of it.
At one of the train stations they stopped at OSO girls came through the car serving coffee,
sandwiches and doughnuts to the soldiers.
Dietrich smiled appreciatively when a pretty girl handed him lunch.
Beside him Kirby was turning on the charm.
"Hey honey why don't you sit down here and have some lunch with me."
The girl giggled and wagged a finger in his face.
Dietrich had only smiled out of politeness for so long. He actually found himself forgetting his troubles.
He chuckled at Kirby's antics, Who kept trying to interest the lieutenant in games of cards or explaining the nuances of his comic book.
Saunders ignored it all, napping so he could enjoy his big homecoming.
During one part of the trip a man brought his two little daughters into the troop car.
They stood up on a seat and sung several charming songs to the returning soldiers.
When they finished they were rewarded with applause and chocolate bars.
Dietrich's impressions were that America was somewhat disordered.
Their towns and cites bustled with activity, untouched by war.
The Americans had many expressions that were utter nonsense to him.
The variety of products available in their shops was astonishing.
The books and periodicals on the newsstands, posters advertising films were very colorful and interesting.
It reminded him of the brief flowering of culture in Germany before Nazi's had taken power.
He wondered what It would be like now that the war was over. Could they have freedom and order?
How long would he be to staying in America?
The train traveled farther into the heartland, deeper into the unknown for Dietrich.