EPILOGUE
"Every man's life ends the same way. It's only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another…"
-Ernst Hemingway-
And that's my story. Pretty confusing huh? I guess I'm no good writer at all. They said that age begets wisdom. Well, I'll say I didn't have one. Even now that I'm old…
Come to think of it. The war wasn't over for us. After the Third Reich fell and the Japs got nuked, soon there came the goddamn "Cold War". When will the bastards stop? There came Korea, then Vietnam…
But hey, as O'Shea said, the world is not nice. These things keep happening over and over again no matter how hard we try to stop them. And that's your problem now. My time. Our time is long over. Hope you people won't do what we did.
The same mistakes happen again and again. The world may not be a nice place. But it's up to you to see if you can make a difference.
Because that's what all you can hope to do.
As for us. Well. Look at us not as the heroes we wanted to be. Just as the citizens of this country. The brave ones. For those who are brave never die. The courage lives on. And with that, we live on.
Able Company; 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division continued to fight in Carentan between June 13-15, 1944; a day after Private Turner was wounded. The Germans did make a counter-offensive at the 13th; originating at the south, but was repulsed the following day. Later that night, the responsibility of securing the junction at Carentan was passed unto the 502nd and the rest of the 506th Regiment was put on reserve. Later in the month; Able Company was withdrawn from the frontlines and was sent back to England to fill in replacements for the comrades they lost.
Approximately 50 men of Able Company had died during the Normandy Campaign.
After that time, the Company would be seen fighting in Holland and then in the Ardennes in Belgium later in September and December (respectively); during at which had proved to be the toughest times at the Company's history…
Captain Richard Dale Collins; commanding officer of A/506th, of Charlotte; North Carolina, received the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions during the Ardennes Offensive in the winter of 1944. After the war; he remained in the army to continue to fight in the battlefields of Korea (1950-1953) and in Vietnam (1959-1975), the latter where he received the Purple Heart after being wounded in the Mekong Delta.
He retired in 1976 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He then became an assistant football coach for the Oakland Raiders during the 1980s. He died in 1999.
Private Hugh Hanley McCarran; Medic of 1st Platoon of A/506th, of Statenville; Georgia, continued to fight for Able Company until the end of the war. He moved to Columbia; South Carolina where he pursued his career in medical school. He became a cardiologist in 1954. In 1970; he migrated to Berlin; in Germany in search of greener pastures. He returned to the US in 1985. He still lives today.
Private David O'Shea; Rifleman of 1st Platoon of A/506th, of Brooklyn; New York, was crippled in the Ardennes Offensive at Christmas Eve; December 24, 1944 after being hit by mortar fire. He recuperated in Southampton in England, but was transferred to the medical bases in Oahu, Hawaii. After the war, he got discharged from the Armed Forces and returned to New York. He did marry his girlfriend Rose and they had 2 children. David became a 7th Grade teacher in 1956. He died in 2002.
Sergeant Travis Donnelly; commanding officer of 1st Platoon of A/506th, of Nashville; Tennessee, rejoined Able Company after recovering in a friendly fire incident during the offensive at Ste. Come-du-Mont. He was killed in action in Holland, during Operation: Market Garden in September 1944.
Private First Class Dieter Ernst Rosenbaum; Radioman of 2nd Platoon of A/506th, of Weymouth; Boston, Massachusetts, continued to fight for Able Company until the end of the war. He received the Bronze Star for his actions during the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944 for single-handedly provided covering fire for a group of retreating paratroopers when part of their positions have fallen in Bastogne, Belgium. He was the only German of the 506th to receive such an award.
After the war, he settled in Boston where he became a historian for Harvard College in 1950. He returned to his homeland in Munich, Germany to reunite with his loved ones whom his family had left behind. He got married and had 3 children. He became a journalist and later a critic of West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1955. He died in Munich in 1994.
Lieutenant Francis Speyer; lieutenant of 1st Platoon of D/506th, of Brunswick; North Carolina saw action in Operation: Market Garden in September 1944. Was promoted to Captain to fill in the absence of his unit's commanding officer after being wounded. He was killed in action during the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944.
Lieutenant Vincent Martin Alderman; lieutenant of 1st Platoon of A/506th, of Lake City; Michigan continued to fight for Able Company until the end of the war. He remained in the army and saw action in Korea; where he received the Purple Heart after being wounded in the US counter-offensive in Seoul. He pursued Law in the University of Michigan and became a district attorney in 1960. He married and had 5 children, 1 of which died during infancy. Moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1978. He died in 1997.
Chris and George; both from Ellsworth, Kansas; friends of Robert; were killed during the course of the war. Chris Hartsfield fought with the 2nd Marine Division and was killed during the invasion of Guadalcanal. George Langley joined the 1st Infantry Division and was killed during the battle of Sicily, Italy.
Arthur Doe; "Mr. Doe", after being arrested in Kansas; served 50 years in prison after proven to have been evading authorities in Chicago during 1930's. He died in 1970, without even completing his sentence.
Private Robert Lee Turner; Rifleman of 1st Platoon of A/506th, of Ellsworth; Kansas returned to his hometown in 1945 after recovering from his injuries. He married Gretchen in 1947 and had 3 children; 2 of them would fight in Vietnam; one would die in the Battle of La Drang and the other earned the Bronze Star for his actions in Hue.
He became an employee in the car factory in Kansas where his father Matthew used to work. After hard work; he earned the management's trust and became a supervisor then later as a manager of the entire plant in 1958. He moved to Michigan, with his family, to take over the management of the Ford main plant in River Rouge in 1975. Since then he became a marketing consultant of the company; even today. He still lives in Michigan with his wife.
This fanfic is dedicated to my grandfather who fought in Philippines; in Bataan. May he rest in peace. (1918-2000)
"Those who have enjoyed such privileges…as we begin to enjoy…we forget in time that men had died to win them…"
President Franklin D. Roosevelt