Chapter 4:

It has been exactly one year since that night in March. 17-year-olds Wilhelm and Rudi came racing home from school one afternoon, sealed envelopes grasped in their hands. The results from their entrance exam to the university in Munich had finally arrived. Wilhelm for his entry into the university's medical school program, and Rudi for an entry into the engineering program.

The two teenagers sprinted inside the Klink residence and immediately plopped themselves on the living room sofa, both eager to read their results. Mrs. Klink even came out from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel, grinning from ear to ear as she watched the boys be consumed with overwhelming excitement.

"Oh boy, I can't wait to see what entry program they put me in," Rudi said, tearing the top of his envelope open and yanking the fancy paper out to read. He then frowned and turned to Wilhelm. "Oh no, you don't think they'll deny me because of how bad I did in the writing section, do you?"

"Rudi, if they rejected you, then it was a complete loss for them. Anyone in Germany would be lucky to have you as an engineer." Wilhelm replied, with encouragement. He slowly tore his envelope open and began unfolding the sheet of paper at the same time his best friend did.

"Come on airplane division, come on airplane division," Rudi mumbled to himself, frantically scanning through his letter. He got to about halfway down the page, read the congratulatory note, and jumped to his feet as he cried with glee. "YEAH! Level 2 entry courses! Wilhelm, can you believe it; a whole grade up from freshmen!" He turned to the young Klink, who sat there with a mortified look to his face. He was as pale as bedsheets, and one could have sworn he had quit breathing for a moment. Rudi frowned, and all his excitement had been forgotten. "Wilhelm?" He asked.

"Wilhelm dear, what is it?" Mrs. Klink questioned, her heart slowly breaking at the tears coming to her son's eyes.

Wilhelm shook his head, not wanting to believe what he read was true. "I...I didn't get in," he gasped. "I failed by one point."

Rudi's jaw dropped from its hinges, his dark blue eyes holding deep empathy for his best friend. Not knowing what to say, he turned to Wilhelm's mother for advice. Thankfully, she was one step ahead of him and sat down on the side of the sofa while wrapping an arm around her devastated boy.

"Oh Wilhelm...I'm so sorry, mein süßer," she said, resting her head against his.

Wilhelm hung his head and let the tears flow down his cheeks, sniffling soon following. "I'm not gonna be a doctor...I'm not gonna work with kids...I won't be saving lives anymore." He buried his face into his hands and began to cry.

"My sweet boy," Mrs. Klink said, rubbing what she could of her son's head that was not covered by his military cap. "I'm so sorry."

"Wilhelm, I…" Rudi could not finish. He shook his head. How could he celebrate and be happy about his acceptance into the engineering school, when his best friend's dreams had just been destroyed right before his very eyes? He was not even sure if suggesting other career options at the moment was the best idea. He needed to give his friend hope, though. Any kind of hope. He knelt down in front of Wilhelm and put his arm on the coffee table. "Maybe this just wasn't what God had in mind for you, mein Freund. Maybe you're supposed to help people in another way."

"How, Rudi?" Wilhelm sniffled, turning his wet and red eyes up to his only confidant. "What other way can I help people for a living? What other way can I have the ability to work with children?"

Rudi shook his head, guilt ridden that he had no answer for him. "I don't know, Wilhelm...But that's what university will be good for. You can find another path to go on. One that you love just as much as you loved the idea of being a doctor."

Wilhelm closed his eyes, hung his head again, and resumed crying as General Klink entered through the door, finishing early with another busy day at the shop. He spotted his son on the sofa and felt his mouth drop, wondering what had upset him so much. He turned his gaze to his wife, who looked up at him, let out a silent sigh, and shook her head. No words needed to be said for her husband to understand.

"Aw Wilhelm," General Klink began, trying to think of the right words to say. "I'm so sorry, my boy...I know how much you wanted to be a doctor."

"I was trying to think of other careers he could pursue that he'd be able to work with kids and still help other people...but I can't think of anything, Herr Klink," Rudi said, feeling absolutely useless.

General Klink licked his lips and tried to think of something. He knew his son was brilliant with math and science, but was there a field of work he could do that would allow him to work with kids in those subjects, though? There was police work, but Wilhelm was too softhearted. Some of the crime scenes he would have to work would be too much for him. He could be a secretary for a school, but Wilhelm was far too smart for that kind of work. It then hit him. An idea so brilliant he wondered how he had not thought of it before.

"I got it," the general said, with the snap of his fingers. "Wilhelm, you're excellent with numbers and keeping track of finances. Why don't you become a bookkeeper for a toy store?"

Wilhelm sniffled a bit, his mother handing him a handkerchief, as he made his eyes to his father. "A bookkeeper? You mean those people that sit in the back of businesses all day and keep track of revenue and stuff?"

"Well, they don't sit in the back doing that all the time. Most of their time, but they're allowed to get up every now and then and wander around wherever it is they're working. Talking to coworkers, seeing how business is running and if they can help anywhere...Wilhelm, my point is if you become one at a toy store, little kids would be wandering in all the time looking for new toys to play with. You can help them find what they're looking for and talk to them about their favorite games to play."

Rudi felt a smile come to his face and turned to his friend. "Wilhelm, that's a great idea to go with. Yes, you wouldn't be around children 24-7, but you would get to see and talk to them for part of your day. And with how friendly you are to others, you would bring in a lot more business to those store owners. You'd be helping people keep track of money and to maintain steady business." He explained.

Wilhelm thought about the idea for a long moment and softly nodded. "That makes sense," he answered softly. "There would be less schooling, too. I'd graduate with the rest of my class and be making money sooner instead of later."

"And you would have weekends and holidays off. You'd be able to stay home with your own little ones and maybe a pretty fraulein perhaps?" Rudi added, the last part with a knowing wink. He got the reaction he was going for, which was an amused smirk.

"Rudi, I swear the only two things you think about are airplane mechanics and girls," Wilhelm said, shaking his head.

"I blame pubertärt, alright?" Rudi remarked, getting his friend to smirk again. He then patted Wilhelm on the shoulder and gestured his head towards the stairs. "Come on, mein Freund; let's go find you a math program that's not stupidly hard to pass." (1)

A small grin came to Wilhelm's face as he shook his head again. Rudi helped him off of the sofa, and the two teens climbed up the stairs, anxious to start planning out their time at the university in Munich.

(Present day)

A single tear rolled down Klink's face, but he brushed it away quickly so Hogan would not see it. Unfortunately, the American had been very attentive to his story, and the look on Hogan's face showed just how awful he felt for him. All the times he had joked about him being bald and failing medical and law school entrance exams. He had no idea it had brought that much pain and sorrow to the kommandant. He even felt a little guilty for his insensitivity.

Hogan shook his head and swallowed a lump forming in his throat. "I'm sorry, Colonel," he said softly. "I...I never knew. Had I known, I never would have made all those bald eagle comments or reminded you of failing the entrance exam into medical school. I don't know how I would handle it if someone told me I could never be an airplane pilot after the war."

Klink saw genuine empathy in Hogan's chocolate brown eyes, and it touched him greatly. He enjoyed talking with Hogan as a person instead of as a military officer. It was just another reminder to him that the Allies were not evil like Hitler wanted him to believe. They were humans just as much as Germans, and they were only fighting for a cause they believed in.

"Thank you, Hogan," Klink finally answered. "That means a lot to me coming from you."

Hogan gave a smile back and was about to ask the kommandant another question, when the sound of the wind from outside grew louder and more violent. Tree branches could be heard whacking the window panes on Klink's quarters, rain drops hammering the roof of the little house. "Boy this storm's a nasty bugger. I think it's actually getting worse out there." He commented, then turned his curious gaze back to Klink. "You ever seen a storm like this here in Germany before?"

"I have seen storms similar to this, but nothing ever this violent before. Last time I can recall a storm anywhere near this bad was back when I lived in Munich."

"Better start making some tea, then," Hogan remarked. "I think we'll be stuck in here for a while."

"Tea for me, maybe; you, I'm making some warm milk and honey to make sure you don't fall ill with pneumonia." Klink rose to his feet and made his way to the kitchen, when a question came to Hogan's mind, and he stopped his German counterpart as he entered the threshold of the kitchen.

"Kommandant," he said. "If I'm not mistaken, you would have been in school until the arrival of the Great War. Did you volunteer for service, or were you drafted out of college and had to put your studies on hold?"

"Drafted," Klink answered, with a nod. "I would never volunteer to fight in a war. In fact, I've never even been fond of firearms unless in use for self defense. I only fought because I needed to protect my Germany...and because I had to in order to stay alive."

"I think you mentioned once you started out in the army. What made you transfer out and join the air force? How long were you with the army, anyways?"

Klink let out a breath of air as he tried to remember the exact amount of time. "Let's see here," he began. "I was drafted in September 1914...I think I transferred out exactly one year later once Kurt and I had returned from trench training. I couldn't stand the idea of being with the army afterwards, so I immediately went over to the German Air Force and began my training as a lieutenant." (2)

"Did you have Burkhalter from the get go, or did you not meet him until after you went to the air force?"

"I didn't meet General Burkhalter until I became a captain and was assigned to my military base in Stuttgart. Up until then my commanding officer was a man named Colonel Bartsch. Tall, thin, quiet...kind of looked a little like Count Dracula." Klink shuddered. "Creepy man. I only spoke to him when I had to." Without another word, Klink stepped inside the kitchen, turned on the lights, and let the door silently close behind him.

As the kommandant prepared their beverages, Hogan leaned back in the chair, placed his left hand on his belly, and closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. He wondered when this storm would finally pass over and come to an end. He wondered if it would get to be as bad as the hurricane he lived through while he and Rick were in Florida one summer vacation in college. And as he rested his eyes for a bit, he began to wonder what Klink's time in the army had been like. Who was this Colonel Bartsch? How did Kurt help him get through five months of hell in a trench located in the middle of nowhere? Most importantly, how did a nice guy like Klink survive through all of that horror?

(1) pubertärt - puberty

(2) Warrant Officer Kurt Hauke is Klink's close friend in the German Army and a character I created. He is first mentioned in my story "Stories of a War Hero". He is killed during World War I in combat while fighting the Allies.