Chapter 9:
March 2nd 1944
Plymouth, England
Having been ordered to take part in training exercises for the last week of his association with the 82nd Airborne, Alex Galzetti was dressed in his uniform, having being relieved of his jump boots, his garrison cap he had been issued ordinary shoes, and a peaked cap.
Alex was thankful that he got to keep the parachutist's badge. The ribbons on Alex's chest were freshly cleaned as well as his new rank which was a Staff Sergeant in the Army, he hadn't been issued a 4th Infantry uniform yet, but he would be soon after about a few days in camp.
Before leaving the staging area of the 82nd Airborne, an unofficial goodbye had been given to him by Sergeants Capelli, O'Malley and Dempsey. They were the men he had trusted with his life and he considered them to be his closest friends.
Whilst on the ride through the South-West Area of England, Alex had been in deep thought. Thinking about his brothers in arms he couldn't help but think he wouldn't be with 'em for the big show.
He couldn't help but think about the goodbye between him and his friends.
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Flashback Scene
1st March 1944
Leicestershire
Nottinghamshire Region of England
Alex Galzetti was finalising the end of getting his gear together. Today was his final day of being in the 82nd Airborne Division.
For some of the men in his unit, it would be heart-breaking to see their friend leave. Alex was best friends with Tommaso Capelli since they first met in Sicily, the pair regarded each other with respect.
Especially during Piano Lupo and afterwards, the pair were alike in many ways.
Other soldiers included Henry O'Malley and Alex Dempsey who Alex made friends with; they were the soldiers he trusted himself to lead.
He had endorsed Tommaso Capelli's promotion to Sergeant in the Italian invasion and knew they would do just fine wherever they would be.
Alex called Tommaso, Henry and Alex along with himself the fighters for freedom, Alex felt hard leaving his friends.
He turned to hear footsteps of his buddies as they said, "Couldn't let you leave without a goodbye, just ain't us."
Alex smirked as he said to them, "You didn't hafta do this."
"You're one of us, Sarge. You kept us alive and we owe you one for that." Henry had said. Alex chuckled as he said, "I know you guys are goin' to be alright when I go. Just know I'll be with you guys till the end of the line, from heaven to hell."
Alex Dempsey smirked and nodded as he gripped Alex Galzetti's hand in his and pulled him in for a brotherly hug as he said, "Keep my brother alive, huh?"
"You bet I'll do that." Alex had said.
Henry walked over and fist-bumped him as he said, "See you soon, Sarge." "It was an honour to fight by your side, Corporal." Alex said as his voice broke.
Tommaso was soon left and the pair stared at each other, Tommaso had smirked, "How do you wanna do this?" "Just a hug will do, little brother." Alex had teased.
Throwing a mocking glare at his friend, he hugged Alex and said to him, "Stay fuckin' safe, you bastard." "Keep your head down out there, huh?" Alex asked.
The pair broke the hug as Alex continued, "Don't do anythin' I wouldn't do." "I won't, you get some luck up there, see you soon." Tommaso had said.
Alex nodded his thanks to his friend, he collected his seabag as he turned to his friends, he then said, "Thank you, all of you. I will not forget you, nor will I forget the times we had. You're my family, every one of you is my family. Good luck, I'll see you soon."
The three paratroopers saluted the Staff Sergeant who then said, "Buona Fortuna, amici miei."
End Flashback
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Present Day
Plymouth, England
Heading towards the 4th Infantry Division staging area, Alex's thoughts were clear as day. Knowing that the 4th Infantry was only a National Guard outfit before the war, only arriving in England in January 1944.
The 4th Division was a good outfit from what he heard, but now he had to prove that he could help the new guys with gaining experience and tactical know-how.
Arriving at the base camp, the driver pulled to a stop as MPs halted them, seeing that the soldiers were of higher ranking than he was, Alex saluted them as he said, "Staff Sergeant Alex Galzetti, I've been assigned to the 12th Regiment."
Alex handed over the paperwork to the Sergeant who looked it over, he then said, "Head on through, Personnel tent is just in the center of camp."
"Thanks, Sergeant." Alex had said and saluted the man.
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Arriving in the camp, the jeep stopped outside the tent as Alex thanked the driver, he then reported to the personnel tent as he looked around, it looked pretty busy as he saw a clerk typing with one hand.
He walked over as the clerk looked up and asked, "Checking in, Staff Sergeant?"
"Yes, I am, Corporal." Alex replied with a neutral tone in his Italian accent. He handed his orders over to the man who nodded and went to another clerk. The two nodded as the other clerk came over, "Welcome to the 12th Infantry, Staff Sergeant Galzetti."
"Honoured, where do I need to report to?" Alex asked.
The clerk smiled, "The Corporal's just grabbing the 2nd Battalion's duty jeep, they'll pick you up and you'll be on the way."
"Thank you, Sergeant." Alex said.
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15 minutes later, Alex found himself in the jeep driving towards the 2nd Battalion's area.
Upon arriving at the battalion tent, Alex collected his gear including his M1 Garand. He wanted to get into a combat uniform, standing in his dress uniform wasn't his idea of being comfortable.
The young clerk spotted Alex and told him that the battalion commander wanted to speak with him.
Alex wondered for the love of himself what he could have done to warrant the commander's attention.
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Following the order, Alex went inside the tent and he saw a major with his back to him.
Alex stood to attention and saluted the officer as the Major returned the salute after turning around.
The major then spoke, "My name's Major Charles Robinson, you must be Staff Sergeant Alex Galzetti."
"Yes sir, that's me. I recently just got in, sir. Transferred from the 82nd Airborne Division." Alex said.
The Major nodded, "Injuries?" "No sir. I was requisitioned by one of your company commanders. A Captain Steven Dempsey."
Major Charles scoffed, "Another battle-hardened veteran, a wop is what they give me."
Alex took offence to the word, but he didn't want to let Major get under his skin. Replying to the comment Alex then said, "Major, I'm committed to my duty, I served under Captain Dempsey's command during the Philippines. I fought side-by-side with him at Salerno."
Taking a small breath, Alex continued, "If Captain Dempsey wanted me here. It was because I have the experience. Because I am dedicated to fighting for this country and fighting the good fight."
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Soon enough, another soldier entered the tent, it was a First Sergeant from what Alex had seen. He had blonde hair with ice blue eyes and a slightly thin build than Alex himself who was bigger and heavier with muscle.
The First Sergeant then said, "Major Robinson?" "First Sergeant Simmons, this is Staff Sergeant Galzetti, he's your new Staff Sergeant. Galzetti, this is William Simmons, your company first Sergeant. He's also a friend of mine, we know each other from our time together in the NYPD and the Prosecutor's office."
Alex nodded as he turned to see Sergeant Simmons the pair stared at each other long and hard as Alex said, "Sergeant Simmons, good to see you made it out."
"Can't say the same to you, Galzetti." Simmons had said.
Major Robinson looked between the two NCOs as he asked, "You two know each other?"
"We were in the Philippines together, fought throughout the fall and served at Bataan together." Alex said in his levelled voice.
Simmons could feel the hardened glare that Alex levelled at him, in his mind Alex also added, "Even deserting the men that had been trapped and fighting without supplies throughout the campaign."
Soon enough, a Captain walked in, he had blonde hair and blue eyes, very tall and had a heavy build, Steve Dempsey had then said in a clear voice, "Sergeant Simmons, I expected you to be at Company Office, the next time you disobey a direct order, I'll write you up myself."
"Sir yes sir." Simmons hissed before leaving the office.
Alex smirked to see his old friend had retained his confidence and control especially since he was now a captain.
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Soon afterwards, Alex had been dismissed by the Major as Steve and himself exited the tent.
Once they were outside, Alex smirked, "Good to see you, Steve."
"You too, Alex. It's been a while. I'm glad to be serving alongside you once more." Steve had said. Alex nodded, "Me too."
Alex was shown the entirety of the camp by Steve. It wasn't much in this part of England, but Alex was kinda looking forward to being around some of the men in the 4th.
After getting out of his dress uniform, Alex got into a standard issue combat uniform, he had a normal helmet with a netting over it, there was a horizontal line on his helmet.
Knowing that he hated any sign of his rank on his uniform, he washed his helmet making sure to get rid of the line.
Once he had gotten rid of the line, he looked at himself in the mirror and he put the helmet on, Alex nodded as he picked up his jacket, he put it on and didn't do it up, he looked at his watch as he realised, he was about to be introduced to the company by Steve Dempsey.
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When he arrived at the command tent, everybody in Dog Company stood waiting, when Steve entered, the men had stood to attention but didn't salute, Steve had then insisted, "At ease!"
"Gentlemen, I have good news, today we've brought in a new soldier into Dog Company, I know y'all will treat him with the proper respect and sufficient discipline that I've instilled into you all." Steve continued.
He took a slight breather as he said, "This soldier is one of the best and he is an excellent battle-hardened veteran. He's seen combat in the Philippines, Sicily and Italy, he was a former paratrooper and if that doesn't guarantee you that he's good enough, then he'll deem you an unworthy soldier. So, give a warm welcome to Staff Sergeant Alex Galzetti."
Alex was signalled by Steve to the podium as he got up to the podium. The men all stood to attention as Alex looked at all the faces, they looked young or older than him, some had shaved, some hadn't.
Alex then said, "Everyone, I know that I'm the new Non-Com, I've got a lot to live up to and I've got to keep you guys alive. As the Captain had told you, I've been in combat since the Philippines, I fought my hardest out there. Sicily and Italy that weren't no picnic, but make no mistake I'm not some pushover NCO… I've seen some good buddies of mine die by the enemy, I've seen shit flow down. Any personal grudges you have with each other, that stops now, we rely on each other out there in the field and that's all that matters."
The men nodded as they all stood to attention, Alex nodded back as he headed off the stage, Steve took over the remainder of the company meeting as it was adjourned within 30 minutes.
Everyone was dismissed and headed back to barracks or had gone to accomplish tasks of their own.
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Alex walked out of the tent as he saw a familiar officer in 2nd Lieutenant Robert Thompson. Alex smirked as he said, "Lieutenant!"
Lieutenant Thompson turned as he laughed in joy before saying, "That you Staff Sergeant?!"
"You bet it is, Lieutenant!" Alex laughed. Lieutenant Thompson and Alex shared a strong handshake as Alex said, "I ain't seen ya since we split up back in Australia."
"Yea', after the Philippines, I got reassigned to the 164th, fought on the 'Canal and did about a month in Bougainville." Lieutenant Thompson said. Alex nodded, "Glad to see your alive. I wondered what happened after we survived."
Lieutenant Thompson smirked, "Miss me, did ya?!" "Knock it off, LT. Whose platoon am I in?" Alex asked.
"I got you, Sarge, you're in my platoon." Lieutenant Thompson said. Alex laughed as he said, "God help me."
"You'll be fine, Sarge. Trust me?" Lieutenant Thompson teased. Alex shoved his Lieutenant laughing, "Of course I trust ya, Bobby, we've known each other since the Philippines."
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Hope you guys are enjoying this story. Hope you like and comment. Good luck and stay safe out there. We're strong together.