"Did you see that?" I stared at Buck with wide eyes. "I just saved your life!"
"I was two feet from the ground, Sergeant," Buck rolled his eyes. "I'm sure I would have survived the fall, thanks." I gave him a cheeky grin and he just pushed me away.
"I don't know, Buck. They say a grown man can drown in two feet of water," I called after him, walking fast to keep up with his naturally long strides. "I'm sure two feet of air can be just as deadly."
"I don't think you can drown in air, Benny."
"That depends on the chemical saturation of air."
"What?"
"What?"
"… You're a strange kid… really." He gave me a sidelong look.
"Why d'y'all think mamma sent me to the Army?" I drawled in the thickest Southern twang I could muster.
"Smart woman," Buck laughed.
"She called me the devil on more than one occasion."
"That doesn't surprise me." I ignored him.
"So, I started using it as an excuse to get out of church."
"Did you?"
"Yup, I would walk into the sanctuary, yell out 'It BURNS,' and then run back out."
"And the Army not only gave you a gun, but promoted you too," Buck laughed.
"Eh, nobody ever accuse the Army of being smart. Just look at him." I pointed at a Sergeant from another company who had somehow managed to get himself tangled in his own rifle strap and was spinning in circles trying to find a way loose.
"No, no they did not." Buck laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.
Easy Company had just stopped to rest for the first time since D Day and we were currently trying to locate a group of Easy men that had been spotted wandering around town.
In the past days following the battle at Brecourt Manor we had come upon quite a few "E" men as we went from town to town securing them and driving out the German forces. Among the men we had gathered on D+1, one in particular sergeant was amongst them.
0000000000000000000
"Luz?" My heart dropped to the general vicinity of my stomach as I spied the familiar looking figure of my best friend.
"LUZ!" I yelled as I jogged through the crowd, pushing them aside as I made my way over to said man. He turned sharply as I shouted his name again. I watched as his eyes took on a light I had never seen before and he hurried over to meet me halfway. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me into a tight hug.
"It's so good to see you, kid." He whispered before pulling away from me and checking me over. I laughed and pushed him away,
"I'm fine, George." I rolled my eyes.
"I was worried sick about you, Jo." Luz looked me dead in the eyes and I smiled at the sincerity and concern I found in them.
"I'm alright, really. Buck and I have been watching each other's backs."
George's look of curiosity prodded me to tell him about the events that surrounded the new found friendship Buck Compton and I had struck up. It had started when I saved him from the Kraut at Brecourt, then he saved me at Coup du Ville when he pushed me to cover just before a grenade went off at the spot I had been standing only moments before. I had then saved him by pulling him out of the way of a mortar blast and then he knocked me out of a machine gun's line of fire. The combination of hunger, exhaustion, stress and these events had triggered the start of a running joke between the big man and myself. Which lead back to the current situation we had found ourselves in.
0000000000000000000
Winters had ordered me to see if there were any Easy Company men around town that had yet to rejoin us and Buck decided he wanted to tag along.
"So, a man walks into a bar…" Buck began.
"Ow, that must have hurt." Buck looked at me confused. "Did he go see Roe? He might have a concussion."
"Wiseass," Buck muttered as he caught on to what I was jesting at. I grinned at his annoyance. We continued our banter as we searched for any wayward men.
The friends you make in a time of war are like no other friend you will ever have. A person can say that their best friend will have their back in a sticky situation but you can put your life in the hands of a friend you make in war and you know, without any doubt in your mind, that they will defend you with their life if it comes down to it. They would willingly give their life to save yours and you would do the same for them in a heartbeat. That's what makes it more than just a friendship, it's more like a kindred, a love that goes beyond that of friends, even beyond that of family. They become an extension of you, they share your soul. It's a beautiful thing but it is also terrifying. Terrifying because at any moment that friend can be ripped from you and it feels as if a part of you is ripped off, as if your soul has been ripped in half and it's something you can never recover from. I pondered this as I made my way over to Winters.
"Good work." Winters nodded. I had gathered up as many Easy men as I could find in and around town and reported the numbers back to the Lieutenant. Buck had grown bored and walked off after about an hour and a half stating 'Officer… things' as his excuse.
"Come on, Benny." Welsh clapped me on the shoulder as he started to walk off.
I raised my eyebrow at Buck, but he just shrugged. Welsh was now in charge of 1st platoon and since we were still trying to recover our numbers and running short on NCOs I was ordered to join first as we attempted to take another town. I shrugged at Buck, who was now in command of Second, and followed after Welsh.
"Where we going, sir?" I asked as I caught up with him.
"Carentan." He replied as he stopped in an archway to take a sip from his canteen. I figured it held something a little stronger than water and I declined when he offered me a drink. He shrugged and took another swig.
"LET'S GO FIRST PLATOON!" Welsh yelled without warning. I had to rub the ringing in my ears out as I glared at him. He took another swig from canteen. "EASY'S MOVING OUT! ON YOUR FEET!" I rubbed my ear again and he grinned at me.
"Listen up! It'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking. And no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz." I grinned at George and he just chuckled.
"So where we headed to Lieutenant, huh?" One of the men asked.
"We're taking Carentan." Welsh replied.
"That sounds like fun," Hoobler commented dryly.
"It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor's sending the whole division."
"Remember boys…" George snorted and imitated the General's voice. "Give me three days and three nights of hard fighting, and you will be relieved!" We laughed and the mood was instantly lifted. It was always good to have a person who could lighten the mood and give ease to everyone, even if was short lived.
Hoobler volunteered to take point and I took my place beside George, patting Blithe on the shoulder as I passed him and Welsh welcomed him back. We moved out with second and third following behind.
"Another thing to remember boys… flies spread disease. So, keep yours closed." George mocked. I rolled my eyes but I laughed along with the rest of the men.
It was dark by the time we made it to a small lake close to the town that was surrounded by dead Germans and bombed out trucks and carriages.
"Hey, Perco, why'd we stopped?" George asked as Perconte as he walked down the line.
"We lost F Company." He replied.
"What, again?" I rolled my eyes. If I had pulled a stunt like that in Ranger school the Sergeants would have had my ass roasted on a spit regardless of my officier status. I relayed as much to George.
"Can we not talk about roasting things on a spit? I'm so damn hungry I could eat a horse." He complained.
"Well, if you really think you can," I pointed to a blackened beast that was still attached to its burning burden. I smirked at George as he sent a rude hand gesture my way. We were still on light and noise discipline so there wasn't much we could do other than taking the small respite that the little hold-up offered us. It was entirely too soon when the word was passed down the line that we had found F and our little break was over.
0000000000000000000
It was D+6 and full light by the time we finally reached the town of Carentan. I was still stuck with first platoon so I was staying close to Luz. At least we could keep tabs on each other this way.
I was next to George and Welsh when the order went out, a whispered, "Let's go, First! Let's go!"
I jumped to my feet and ran at the town. The call went up, a German order, and the bullets started to fly. Welsh, George and I made it to the cover of a bombed out building but when we turned around we realized we were the only soldiers around.
"God damn it!" Luz exclaimed as he turned to fire his gun around the corner.
"Where the fuck is everybody?" Welsh yelled over the din of machine gun fire. "Where'd everybody go?"
"I have no idea!" George yelled back in a panicked voice.
"I think they took cover!" I yelled to the Lt. as I fired around the corner of the building. Without the rest of the Company for support we were pinned down in our present location. All we could do was shoot blindly around the corner, switching out places when one of us had to reload our rifles.
"Oh shit!" George cried as we took cover from a grenade blast.
"I think we found the rest of the company." I remarked. Both men took a moment to glare at me before they continued firing.
"We need some covering fire," Welsh yelled. "Ready, Luz, Benny?" Luz and I fired around the corner of the building as Welsh grabbed a grenade. "Okay, I'm out!" We covered him as he ran to the building with the MG, he popped the grenade and threw it through the window taking the gun out of commission and freeing up the Company so they could move freely into the town.
"Let's go, Luz!" I yelled as we joined Welsh in clearing out the building that housed the MG. When we were finished, Welsh ordered Tipper and Liebgott to start clearing the rest of the building.
"Benny, meet up with others and tell them to start clearing the buildings, two per house." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." I nodded to him, chancing a glance at George before I took off down the street. I ran to everyone I could, relaying Welsh's orders and shooting as I was being shot at.
"THEY GOT US ZEROED! SPREAD IT OUT! SPREAD IT OUT!" I heard Lip yell from somewhere. I jumped from the road and pressed myself close up against the wall of one of the buildings.
"They zeroed in on us!" I yelled at the men still in the street. "Get out of there!" I jumped up and ran along the wall. I turned the corner and bumped into a solid figure, ducking as he whipped his gun around.
"Jesus, Benny! I could have killed you!" Buck yelled at me. I ignored him and pulled him into the safety of the building across the sidewalk just before a mortar landed at the spot we had just vacated. He turned to me wide eyed.
"I'm two up on you now!" I grinned.
"That one where I almost fell doesn't count." He snarked.
"I say it does. You owe me two!" With that, I ran out of the building and started to yell at the men to get off the street. I had managed to meet back up with George and Hoobler and we continued our task of clearing out the buildings.
0000000000000000000
"Benny, you're back with me!" Buck ordered. I turned to George and shrugged then grabbed my gear and jogged to catch up with Buck.
"Sir," I nodded. "What's up?" He looked at me a moment. I'll admit that I still got a kick out of using some of the idioms and slang words of my day for the very look that Buck gave me at that moment.
"We need to keep Carentan, so we're going to have to cut them off at the pass." He told me.
"So we're going east, to the high ground." I deduced as much after I took stock of the town and realized that the fields were flooded on the other three side of the city and that east was the only direction that had the high ground. It was a perfect position to hold off the advancement of the enemy. I relayed my train of thought to Buck as we walked along the streets of the town.
"Yeah… you should have been an officer, Benny." Buck smiled. I laughed at how close he had come to the truth. I was an officer, I had all the training, but it frustrated me to no end that I couldn't use it. I squashed that little green-eyed demon before it was able to rear its head too high.
"Lt. Compton, Sgt. Benally." A voice greeted us. I glanced up and found myself looking in the face of Lt. Speirs. I nodded and answered with a "sir."
"Speirs, we're going to be moving out soon to the high ground at the east." Buck informed him. Speirs nodded his understanding then stalked off. "Well, nice to see you too." Buck muttered.
"Not one for words, eh?" I nudged Buck.
"No he is not." Buck said slowly as he shook his head.
0000000000000000000
We had almost reached the hedgerow when the first shot was fired followed by a barrage of bullets. We ducked down and made our way to the safety of the trees that offered a ditch for cover from the onslaught of German bullets.
"Fucking hell!" I growled when I had made it to safety. I took a moment to collect myself then rose and started to fire back.
The rain made that night even more miserable than it needed to be. The exchange of bullets between us and the Germans had come to a lull sometime ago, affording us the opportunity to dig in and create foxholes for ourselves to provide enough cover to keep us somewhat safe.
I sat in one such hole cold, miserable, muddy and grumpy as I listened to those bastards sing songs in German.
"The fuck do they have to singing about?" I growled as Buck slid back into the foxhole.
"I don't know." He replied, equally as grumpy. "But I wished they would shut the fuck up." He took a swig from his canteen and offered some to me.
"That wouldn't happen to be Lt. Welsh's canteen, would it?" I asked, remembering that the Lieutenant kept something a little stronger in his canteen that would leave a warm and welcome sensation pooling in the pit of my stomach.
"No, why do you ask?" I waved away his question and took a sip from the cool water.
"Doesn't matter."
Winters came by sometime later to let us know what s2 found out and that the plan was to attack at 0530 tomorrow.
"How's the leg, sir?" I asked as I noticed his slight limp.
"I'll live, Sergeant." He nodded to me. Buck ordered me to go about 2nd and let them know about the attack and that we needed to fix our bayonets when the time came.
"Medic!" Someone yelled as I was making my way back to the foxhole. I ran towards the call and was the first to arrive on scene to find Roe and Liebgott crouched over a bleeding Talbert.
"What the fuck just happened?" I asked as I knelt down beside the three.
"Smith stabbed him." Liebgott replied.
"I'm sorry, Sarge! I thought he was a Kraut." Smith looked absolutely horrified at having accidentally stabbed Talbert.
"Yeah, well that's what happens when one wears a Kraut raincoat in the dark." I eyed the offending item. "How is he?" I asked Roe.
"He'll be fine." Roe said as he applied Sulfa to the wounds.
I nodded and filled in the officers as they came to find out what the commotion was all about. I thought I had glimpsed Speirs in all the excitement but if he was there, he left just as quietly as he came. After Floyd was safely on his way back to Carentan I found my way back to the foxhole and settled down for the night. I wasn't sure how long I it took for sleep to overcome my exhausted body but I remember the feeling of Buck's body bumping into mine as he slid back into our mud filled shelter before everything went black.
0000000000000000000
It was morning and we had made it through the night without much drama after the Talbert/Smith incident. Buck had dropped back into the foxhole before sunup with some food and we ate in a companionable silence. Afterwards, I followed him as he called the other Sergeants in second to gather around the map and lay out the plans of attack. He had just finished explaining the plan of attack to us and ordered us to send out the word to the rest of the platoon when the first of the enemy mortar rounds went off. We scrambled to the nearest foxhole, yelling for the rest of the company to take cover as we did. There were several blasts, one so close that it sprayed us with mud and grass as we waited them out. Once it was safe enough we returned fire, trying to suppress whatever attack the Germans had planned.
"Stay low and keep firing at the horizon!" I ordered the men as they brought the machine gun out and started to fire on the Germans. I took my original position and continued to fire my rifle as I relayed the orders that Winters yelled at us as he passed by.
"Holy shit! Buck, do you see that!" I yelled as I pointed to the tree line, Buck looked over and cursed. The tanks made their way through the trees and started to fire on the left flank taking it out and leaving us exposed from the left as Dog and Fox Company were forced to pull back, leaving just Easy Company to maintain the defenses.
"Stay low, keep firing!" Winters called as he walked up and down the line.
"Keep firing!" I ordered. "Don't let up! Show those fuckers what Easy is made of!" I fired at the horizon, knowing that my gun would be useless against the tanks.
"What the hell is he doing?" Buck said from beside me.
I followed his gaze to find Welsh and McGrath crouching down in front of a tank with a bazooka. I watched in horror and fascination as they waited until the tank was right up on them before they fired, taking the bottom of it out and effectively putting it out of commission.
"Well I'll be damned." Buck grinned as we continued to fire on the German line. There was a pop to my side and I turned as a yell went out. Buck jumped to the aid of one of the men who had been hit, pressing a bandage to his wound and calling out for a medic. I noticed the attention of those around the men turned towards them.
"Keep firing!" I barked, snapping them out of it and bringing them back to the here and now. The supply of fresh ammo we had been given was starting to dwindle. The numbers of men getting hit were raising, the number of men getting killed were as well. "MEDIC," was being called out from every direction. It all seemed hopeless.
BOOM!
A tank exploded, then another one and another.
"What the hell?" I whispered.
"Shermans!" Buck yelled and my attention was pulled over to the line of Sherman tanks that came out at our left coming to our aid.
"About fucking time!" I watched them for a moment, Buck and I both celebrating before we ordered the men to keep firing on the retreating forces.
"Don't let up!" Buck ordered and Easy Company started to fire on the enemy with a whole new vigor. "Hit them with everything you got!"
A celebration cry went out over the crowd as the last of the Germans were disposed of or ran off with their tail between their legs. Buck handed me a cigarette and lit it.
"I don't smoke." I muttered as took a long, deep drag.
0000000000000000000
So many battles, so many wounded, so many lost.
D+25.
Far past the three days and three nights we were promised before relief. We were tired and war-weary. We hadn't had a good meal since June 5th and we all smelled something awful. Buck, George and I were joking and laughing, the word had come that we were being pulled back to a field camp north of Utah beach and then back to England. Our moral was high until I glanced over and watched as Blithe was being loaded onto a jeep by stretcher and carted out. The laughter died down as we watched the jeep drive off with the wounded man… if only word had come a minute earlier.
0000000000000000000
I hissed through my teeth as pain shot up through my side.
"You alright, Benny?" Buck glanced at me. I cursed silently that a man so big could move so quietly and put on a smile as I looked up at him.
"Fine, sir." He didn't look convinced but nodded anyway. He had turned to leave when he stopped short and shot to my side.
"Jesus Benny, you're bleeding," I looked down and noticed the red liquid starting to blossom across my olive drab t-shirt.
"Shit." I muttered. We had been on a nighttime training mission when some jumpy replacement had accidentally slid his bayonet across my side. George and I had treated it as best we could under the circumstances but with the rigorous training we had that day, the wound had reopened.
"Come on, you need to go see Doc." Buck said. I waved him off.
"I'm fine, sir." My heart rate sped up. "It's just a scratch."
"A scratch doesn't bleed like that, Jo." He stated. "Why are you fighting me on this? It's can't be bad enough to get you a ticket home."
"I'm fine sir, really." I put pressure on the wound trying to staunch the blood flow.
"Do I have to go get Doc and bring him here, because I will." He made to leave.
"No sir, please." I hissed in pain as I jumped up to stop him.
"You obviously need to get that looked at." He pointed to my wound. I grumbled something unintelligible as George came rushing back into the room and locked the door.
"I got a couple of bandages, some gauze and some Sulpha so it won't get infe-" George caught sight of Buck. "Sir." He nodded, trying unsuccessfully to hide the aforementioned objects behind his back. "Fancy seeing you here."
"What the hell is going on?" Buck looked between the two of us.
"We should tell him." I muttered after a moment.
"Tell me what?"
"Are you crazy? We can't tell him." Luz muttered back.
"Tell me what?"
"I think we can trust him enough to tell him." I argued.
"Tell me what?"
"He'll send you back and court martial me if we tell him."
"Tell me what?"
"We'll never know if we don't tell him."
"TELL ME WHAT?" Buck yelled in frustration, breaking George and I from the muttered argument we were having. We both looked at him sheepishly. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to order you to tell me?" He asked in exasperation.
I could tell by the look on George's face that he was worried. I was too. But after all Buck and I had been through, I knew that if anyone would accept the fact that I was a woman, he would.
And if he didn't…
George sighed and motioned for me to tell him. "Please, just don't shoot me… her, I'm not too worried about." I glared at him.
"Her?" George and I glanced at each other.
"Caught that, huh?" Luz winced.
"Yes… what do you mean, her?" Buck looked back and forth between us his face practically screaming confusion. I sighed and began my long and drawn out explanation. I didn't give him just the 'I'm a girl' version, but the full blown 'I'm a girl and from the future' spiel. He sat there in silence as he took in everything I told. When I was finished I looked to him for a reaction.
…Nothing.
"Buck?" I prodded after a minute.
Nothing.
"Sir?" George tried.
Nothing.
Then… laughing. A lot of laughing. Hysterical laughing.
"Right," Buck wiped a tear from his eye. "You're a woman… and from the future!" He laughed some more. "Good one, and I'm called Buck because I'm really a deer in man's clothes."
"I'm telling the truth!" I tried to get through to him. I looked to George for help but he just shrugged and lit a second cigarette.
"Sir." I tried, Buck kept laughing.
"Sir!" Still laughing.
"Buck!" More laughter.
"Buck!" Even more.
In retrospect what happened next probably wasn't the best way to go about things. In fact, there were many ways I could have gone about it that would have been way better than how I handled it.
But I was annoyed…
And I was in pain…
And all of his stupid laughing was giving me a damn headache.
So, I lifted my shirt.
And I flashed Lieutenant Lynn Buck Compton.
Well, at least his laughter stopped.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
So, there you have it, the next chapter, as promised. I have been trying to integrate Jo as best as I could into this story. It would really help me if you let me know what you think by leaving me a review. I'd like to welcome the new readers, say hello to the veteran readers, and thank those who have added my story on their alerts and favorite lists. I can't tell you how much it means to me. I hope you all continue to read and enjoy!
Please, please, please, read and review!
Always,
Amanda
Edited 8/13/17