Part 3
Date: April 30, 1945
Details: The Battle of Berlin is about to commence. Major Harry Estmen briefs his men on the coming battle.
"Listen up boys, play time is over. Time to take this fight to Hitler himself. We attack Berlin in one hour. Gear up and get to a transport. Dismissed"
Pvt. Dan Shercom made his way back to his tent. He looked around and saw friends joking and laughing, some writing a letter to family or their girl back home. Dan wished he had that opportunity. He didn't have a girlfriend and sadly, the rest of his family had be killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. That's what made him join. Many others like him had joined for the same reasons. Dan continued walking back to his tent when he heard someone calling him
"Dan! Hey Dan!"
It was Dan's buddy Jeff from back home.
"Hey Jeff, how's it going?"
"Oh come on Dan, aren't you excited? We're attacking Berlin. Berlin Dan. Hell if we win we could end this war in a couple weeks. You can't tell me you haven't wanted to take a few shots at Big H."
"Big H" as Jeff used it meant Hitler. Dan was still wondering were Jeff had gotten it from.
" 'Course I want to Jeff, its just…"
"'Just what'?" asked Jeff, suddenly growing serious.
"I don't know, its just ever since that Lyell guy got here and left I've had this sinking feeling that something went really wrong on that mission he was on. And I mean really wrong. I don't know man, I might not even go. Mark my words Jeff, something is amiss here, and I don't want to be caught in the middle of it."
"Dan…wha? You can't be serious Dan."
"Jeff, I'm not going. You shouldn't go either. Look, I don't want to talk anymore." With that, Dan continued walking. Jeff, looking deeperly angered, did a sharp about face and marched off to get his gear.
One Hour Later
Men yelled and ran around, check equipment and material necessary for the battle. Sargents shouted at their commands some encouraging words before the left. The noice of the tanks and transport trucks engines was deafening. Jeff Philips sat on the side of his squads only support vehicle, a Sherman tank. He could feel the engine vibrating in the metal frame. Major Estmen appeared from the command tent with a megaphone in his hands.
"Men," he said, "You are brave fighters, you have a 50 mile journey ahead of you. Don't let me keep you waiting. Lock and load gentlemen. Good Luck, and God's Speed."
The soldiers cheered to the major as the rolled past on Shermans and trucks alike. Jeff kissed his cross his mother had given him and said a pray.
"God be with us," he finished. The tanks rolled on into the early morning mist.
Dan watched his friends all leave on the tanks and was almost sorry he was not with them. But Dan knew he was right to stay. Something horrible was about to happen. He could feel that everyone who had just left wasn't coming back. He should have gone with them.
Dan awoke with a start that night to a loud, close explosion. He grabbed his Thompson machine gun and ran outside. He looked up into the sky and saw in horror, a squadron of P-51 Mustangs ingaged high over the camp. One had just been blown up and its hulk was falling back to earth. Dan watched the battle overheard and noticed that he had no idea what kind of planes the Mustangs were flying against. Meanwhile, the hulk continued to fall. Dan watched it until is crashed into the forest on the other side of the camp. Dan watched as more Mustangs were shot down. Dan couldn't believe it. Nothing could be a Mustang, nothing in the word. And here they were, dropping like flies.
All of a sudden, the brightest light Dan had ever seen lit the sky up brighter then day. Dan blinked his eyes for a moment.
"What the hell was that?"
As if to answer, the dogfight overhead stopped. Dan looked up and saw the last Mustang falling from the sky. Then he saw the mystery fighters move into strafing position. Dan jumped out of the way as three of them commenced a strafing run. Dan jumped into the prefabed wooded mess hall. A second trio took a run. Dan saw the command tent explode from a missile launched from one of the fighters. A third trio destroyed the troop tents. The forth trio decended on the mess hall like birds of prey coming in for the kill. Dan was blown against the wall be a missile blast that collapsed the whole building. Dan was pinned by a piece of roof. Dan watched as the planes flew away and noticed something before he pasted out. The planes looked as if they were rockets themselves.
Dan woke with a jump then calmed as he saw he was being pulled out of the wreckage of the mess hall by American soldiers. Dan looked around and saw more soldiers scouring the rest of the base, he also saw a German Tiger and Panzer tank, along with several Shermans, all painted in American colors.
"Who…are…you?" Dan managed to croak, "Were are the rest of the soldiers?"
"Sorry kid, we're all that's left. Welcome to Task Force 58.