October 5, 1944

"This is it boys. Get across the river. Across the field and over the dike. That's a lot of territory to cover." Hashey said. I looked at George and we rolled our eyes at each other. Replacements… "Where's you want us to go?"

"You Hashey, you get the penthouse." George and I ignored them and continued to the card game we had started up. We were resting for the night when I had dropped my gear and wandered over to where first squad was billeted for the night, leaving Malarkey to watch after the newly appointed replacements in 2nd. Things had been strange since Buck had been sent to the hospital and I found myself seeking comfort in the familiar companionship of my best friend more and more often.

"Am I going to have to transfer you to first, Benny?" Winters asked as he taped his grenades.

"If you could, just until Lt. Compton comes back, I'd have no problem with that, sir." I said as I stole a cracker from George. Winters grinned at me.

"We'll see about that." He joked. I smiled at him and placed my card face down on top of the pile of cards.

"Gin." I said and showed my cards. George grumbled and glared at me. "It's too bad we're not playing poker." I mumbled as I looked at the royal flush I held in my hands.

"Coulda, shoulda, woulda." George muttered as he marked down the points on our score sheet. "That's 210, you win, Jo." I gave him a cheeky smile and he mocked me.

"New guys giving the replacements the what for, and why is." Talbert said as he sat with George, Winters and I. "I swear one of them's never shaved." George shot me a look and I rolled my eyes. I grinned as Luz beckoned Talbert's dog over. He was one of the most beautiful and well behaved German Shepherds I had ever seen. Our card games was forgotten as Luz and I turned our attention to the giant puppy, scratching and playing with dog seemed to have a therapeutic effect on the men around the Company easing the anxious energy that had built up around us. There was just something about petting an animal that released the tension and calmed emotions.

"This, is a hell of a dog, Tab." George said as he gave the dog a piece of food and listened on the radio for any news.

"Thank you," Tab said as he tossed a stick for the dog. "There you go." The dog ran after the item and scooped it up, tail wagging.

"What'd you call it, Tab?" Winters asked.

"Trigger." He replied.

"That's good, I like that, Trigger." George said as he placed the phone on his shoulder and popped some food into his mouth.

"Good name for a dog, Tab." I said as I stole another of George's crackers.

"You got anything on this?" Talbert asked, pointing to George's radio.

"Nope, it's all quiet." He replied reaching for his cup.

BANG!

The door was flung open and we turned to see several men carrying Alley into the room.

"We've got penetration!" Liebgott called out. "Alley's hurt, we need the Doc."

"Alright, get him on the table."Winters ordered.

"Alright I got this." Tab said as he walked over to help the men place the wounded man on the table. "Alley, you're going to be okay."

"C'mon, Boyle, get Doc Roe." Winters ordered. I ran over to Alley and tried to keep him from moving his head too much. I gave his wounds a once over, noting that Roe was more than skilled enough to handle the situation.

"Where am I?" Alley asked, voice husky in confusion. "Something happened, what happened?" He asked Lip.

"It's okay, Alley." I assured him, rubbing my thumbs over the side of his head trying to comfort him. "You're gonna be fine."

"Where was it?" Winters asked.

"Crossroads," Liebgott answered, "where the road crosses the dike." Joe Lesniewski blamed Liebgott for the incident and he argued back. Winters interrupted them and sent Joe out to get Welsh.

"Lipton, assemble me a squad." He ordered. "Benny, since you're here." Winters looked at me and I nodded.

"Right behind you, sir." I said.

"First squad, on your feet! Weapons and Ammo only!" Lipton ordered. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Give me room!" Roe said as he came running in and started ordering Liebgott and Boyle to help him with Alley. I met his eyes and we nodded at each other. I stepped back and let him do his job as I grabbed my helmet, guns, ammo and grenades and headed out of the house.

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We ran low and silently down the dike, the only sound coming from the slight jangle of dog tags, ammo and the crunch of the brush as it was crushed under out boots. Most of the noise was masked by the water that ran through the dike. There was a sound of machinegun fire and we dropped to the ground.

"MG-42?" I heard Tab ask Winters.

"Yeah."

"What the hell they shootin' at?" He asked. "What's down that road?"

"Regimental Headquarters." Winters answered. "But that's three miles away. Why are they giving away their position?"

"They ain't as smart as me and you?" Tab replied.

"I think I'll check it out anyway." Winters said. "Hold here, wait for my signal." Tab turned around and had George relay the orders to the rest of the platoon as winters ran up and over onto the road.

"Whadda you think they're shootin' at, Jo?" George asked me.

"No idea," I shrugged. "Imaginary fiends?" George rolled his eyes at my stupid attempt at a pun.

Winters appeared above the horizon giving the signal and we made our way up and over to the road then down the embankment on the other side. A machinegun crew stayed behind to provide us with covering fire when the time came.

"This is our fallback position, here." Winters yelled in a whisper. "Mortars, deploy here. First squad, on me. Go." We jumped up and ran through the ditch in a single tactical column towards the group of Germans that surrounded the MG-42. Once we were close enough, Winters signaled for us to hold as he went to see what we were going up against. He signaled for us to take up positions on the road and then ordered each one of us to take out a different person. The world went silent as I zeroed in on my target. The only sound I could hear was the slow and steady pounding of my heartbeat. I evened out my breathing, waiting.

Winters started firing and we followed suit. I took my target down quickly, shooting him in a spot that would assure a painless and instantaneous death. I continued to shoot at the rest of the targets as they scattered.

"Fall back!" Winters ordered and the mortar crew fired their first round. We fell back to the safety of the ditch, ducking low as the bullets whizzed by us on our left, right and overhead. Once we reach the spot where the ditch made an L shaped curve, we took up positions.

"Suppressing fire!" Winters ordered and we fired on the German platoon. I continued to fire at the faint figures over the horizon as Winters ordered Harry and Peacock to bring in the balance of First. Dukeman was order to go up the flank and take out the machinegun but he was taken down by a German bullet, it pierced his heart.

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Dawn had broken by the time that the balance of first had arrived and we remained crouched low, hidden in the tall grass. Our guns had fallen silent sometime ago as had those of our enemy.

Winters ordered Tab to take ten men along the dike, Peacock to take ten men along the left flank and he would take ten men up the middle.

"Benny, you're with me, tell the men to fix bayonets." He said. I nodded and passed the word. "Go on the red smoke." He ordered. We watched, waited for the signal. He turned to look at me, "Wait for the smoke, Benny." Winters ordered again. I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion as he tossed the smoke canister. Then did something no one was expecting.

He ran, leaving us behind as he took the lead. I understood then why he turned and repeated his order to me. The men started to get up to follow him.

"Wait for the smoke." I ordered, though everything inside me told me to take off and run after the Captain. It seemed like hours before the red cloud finally formed, snaking its way into the cool morning air and flooding the sky in a blood colored haze. We were on our feet in an instant, following our leader.

We were halfway across the field when Winters fired his first volley. We finally reached him as he finished unloading his second clip. There was a company of soldiers that we had caught off guard and we started our onslaught, mowing them down as they tried to run for cover.

"C'mon boys!" Someone shouted as we took down man after man. The adrenalin was pumping through my body so fast I thought I'd jump out of my skin. My focus was so tight I think I could have shot gnat out of the sky.

This is the part of war the civilians will never understand. The world portrays us as great heroes. But this, this was the dirty bit that no one thinks about. This was what war was about, survival, bringing down your enemy before they could bring you down.

We were death in olive drab.

Another Company of Germans appeared over the ridge but they were suppressed by us just as the first. Our mortar rounds went off, throwing huge clouds of dirt and misting blood of the unlucky into the air. We continued to shoot until the Germans started to fire their 88's at us and we had to take cover. Boyle went down and we provided covering fire as Winters and a couple other men pulled him to safety.

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The battle was finally over and we were able to get an up close look at the men who we had fought.

"Schutzstaffel." I said to George as I saw the double lightning bolt S insignia on their uniform. "SS."

"Shit." George lit up a cigarette. I nodded and took it from him. He glared at me a lit up another one. As I looked at the carnage we had caused, I felt my stomach turn.

My hands had killed again. My mind was waging a war on itself. My healing instincts fighting against my instincts as a soldier. I wanted to heal but I was forced to destroy over and over again. I turned from the dead soldier and made my way back up the embankment.

"Jo? Hey, Jo, you ok?" George asked. I turned back around and forced a smile.

"Yeah, George," I swallowed hard. "I'm fine."

"Alright." He smiled and I turned back around as my forced smile dropped to a frown. I reached the road and was intercepted by Roe who had arrived to treat the wounded.

"Hey, Jo, you think you could help me?" He asked. I felt my insides twist in a knot. I couldn't speak, so I just nodded my head. I followed him around like a puppy as he ordered me to do this and that, "Put pressure on that," "Sprinkle some sulfa," "Elevate his legs." They were mundane tasks, things that I would have left to the nurses or medics had I been in my time, but I found myself clinging to them as if they were a lifeline.

It was strange to think about it, of all the people in the world Eugene 'Doc' Roe was my savior. He brought my two warring sides to a standstill.

"Shh, it's going to be fine." I walked over and comforted a young replacement as he was loaded onto a jeep. He quieted his cries and looked up at me.

"Sarge?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine. "Did I do good, Sarge?"

"You did great, kid." I said to him, gently patting his cheek. He sighed deeply and smiled up at me as the jeep took off. I met Roe's smiling face.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothin'." he replied, turning his head and looking at me as if he was trying to figure me out. I gave him a sidelong like.

"You're a strange one, Roe. And I mean that in the nicest possible way." He grinned and shook his head.

"Thanks, Jo. I feel the same about you." I chuckled.

We took a break sometime later, the men had made coffee in a giant pot and we helped ourselves to some. I smiled as Roe took a cup to Cpt. Winters. They were an amazing couple of men, I mused. Roe would risk his life to save the lives of soldiers, running straight into a heavy attack to treat and evacuate a wounded soldier. And Winters was what every officer should strive to be. He led the men with a courage and bravery that few others would ever be able to attain. His men loved him and they would follow him to the ends of the Earth, knowing that when worst came to worst, they could rely on him to see them through to the bitter end.

I sat on the ground and surveyed the world around me. I found myself, not for the first time, marveling at the men that surrounded me. They were all so different. So many things would change in the next hundred years. The world would become more dependent on technology. Officers would start to whine when they were without their sat-navs and their personal communication devices. Yet here these Officers were leading men with a map and a compass and doing it a damn sight better than several other officers I knew from my time that had all the technology they could ever want and still couldn't tell their ass from their elbow. I was glad that Ranger School required us to train as if we didn't have the world's technology at our fingertips. If not for that I'm sure I would have never made it as far as I had in this time. I again marveled at the strength of the men in this time. They all knew they were fighting a losing battle, we saw it at every corner here in Holland every time American troops had to pull back from a town, yet they still kept their moral high. Still managed to laugh and joke, still managed to keep their humanity even after they had seen the horrors of the world.

And it would only get worse from here before it got any better.

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Winters was promoted to battalion XO. While we were happy for him we were worried. He was our leader but Sink was taking him away from us, turning him into a glorified pencil pusher.

Our only consolation was that Lt. 'Moose' Heyliger would take over the company. He had been in E Company when we were still in the states but was transfer to another company before we left for England. Moose took every pain to make sure that he looked after us. He was a great man and a great leader. He, like us, never let his guard down. He was always waiting for something to happen, he was a veteran and he understood everything we were going through. He lead patrols with the same courage and bravery we had seen in Winters since D-Day and we found ourselves willing to follow him the way we had followed Winters.

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October 22-23, Oh-hundred Hours.

We made our way silently across the Rhine in collapsible canvas boats. A week earlier Sink was contacted by British Colonel Dobey who had swam across the Rhine after escaping from a German hospital having been captured by the Nazis. He had a group of men waiting across the river for a rescue. Most of them were British troops but there were also some Dutch resistance fighters and a few American pilots. He was an absolutely brilliant strategist, planning out the attack to an efficient and quick retrieval.

It took us three trips across the river to retrieve all the men on the other side, an air of urgency surrounded us as we worried that at any moment the Germans would start to fire on us. But that never happened. The entire operation was finished by 0130 and there was a great celebration had between those of us that had gone on the mission and the men whom we had rescued.

"Wahai Mohammad!" Col. Dobey yelled out, we all rose our glasses and returned the shout.

"Moose Heyliger and the American hundred and first, have done the red devils a great service. Making it possible for us to return, and fight the enemy on another day." The British General called out, we reacted with cheers. "To 'Easy Company'… victory and Currahee!"

"CURRAHEE!" We shouted in unison taking a drink in salute. The rest of the night was spent celebrating and getting to know the rest of the Brits who we had rescued. Several of us were given the red berets by the British soldiers. It was one of the last high points in Operation Market Garden that we would get to enjoy.

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It was November 25 before the Canadians took over and Easy Company was finally pulled off the line for a much needed rest. We were tired, hungry, and above all, we were defeated. Everything we did seem to be of no use. Our regiment lost 180 men and 560 were wounded in action. Among the wounded was Lt. Heyliger, he was shot three times by a jumpy private. He was sent back to England, the war was over for him.

As we rolled out of Holland, the Dutch lined up along Hell's Highway, waving orange flags, yelling out 'September 17,' and cheering for what they called 'bevrijder.'

Liberator.

But we felt anything but. We were defeated, mentally and physically. We never made it to Arnhem, we never made it to Germany. We failed.

And it felt horrible.

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Heyliger's replacement was a new recruit, Lt. Norman Dike. I was excited to hear that he was a West Point graduate, but that excitement was squashed after only a few days. He quickly earned the nickname "Foxhole Norman." He was incompetent and no one could ever find him when he was needed. I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time and assured George that he was not the norm as far as West Pointers went. It was a crapshoot. Sometimes the officers out of the Point were useless, but more often than not they were good leaders as they spent four years training to do such.

After three weeks of him, I wasn't so sure about the caliber of Pointers anymore myself.

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We had been sent back to Mourmelon-le-Grand, France where we trained for our next mission, whenever that was.

One thing that happens when you take soldiers, whose lives have revolved around fighting and surviving, off the line. They go stir crazy.

After a fight between the men and the 82d Airborne in Rheims when we had weekend passes at the same time, all the passes had been canceled. Division had a problem on their hands, that problem was bored soldiers.

Trust me when I say that a Battalion of bored soldiers is worse than a preschool full of toddlers on stims.

Division did a good job of keeping us entertained. They organized football teams, set up movie theaters and opened up a Red Cross Club where we were able to get some decent grub.

Most of all, Easy got back some of our wounded from the hospital. Among them were Guarnere and…

"Buck!" I exclaimed as said man waltzed through the barracks where George and I were sprawled out on a bit of off time, the rest of the company was off at a movie that George insisted was not worth the effort to see. I jumped up and stood in front of him, sticking my chest out I stood at attention and saluted the big blonde man. He grinned and pulled me out of the salute and into a hug.

"Hey, kid. I was worried about you." I smiled and hugged him back.

"I missed you, Buck." I smiled into his shoulder before pulling away.

"It's a good thing you're back. Jo's been following me around like a lost puppy since the day you were evacuated. It's sad… and annoying." George said as he stood up and shook Bucks hand. I flicked him the bird and Buck laughed. "It's good to have you back, sir."

"It's good to be back." He smiled. "So, tell me about this new CO, Dike." George and I both let out great groans and rolled out eyes. "That good?" Buck laughed.

"You have no idea, Buck." George and I spent the next half hour telling Buck everything about Foxhole Norman and by the time we were done, Buck looked more than a little worried.

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There was something different about Buck. The first few days after he returned I hadn't noticed anything different, but then again I was just so caught up in how happy I was to see him that I really hadn't notice anything. But then I started to fall back into the swing of things and I could tell there was definitely something wrong.

His eyes weren't the same. They held a dullness to them that they never had before. I caught him staring off into space listlessly, and he seemed to be more worried about the men doing stupid things that could get us injured. When we told him stories of the goings on in Holland he would look almost sick to his stomach and when we were alone, he would apologize profusely to me for leaving me alone. I tried to assure him that it wasn't his fault he was shot and that there was nothing he could have done to avoid it, but he would continue to blame himself over and over for leaving me alone to fight in a losing battle.

I began to watch him like a hawk, making sure I was always around him when that listlessness would return to his eyes. Even if it was just sitting with him and making sure that he knew I was there and I would always be there for him. He got better over time, but I continued my silent vigilance of the big man. I was worried beyond belief for my friend. But that worry would have to be put on hold for a while.

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"George, stop annoying the NCOs." I rolled my eyes as he parroted the lines in the old John Wayne movie.

"You're an NCO." He replied.

"Like I said, stop annoying the NCOs." He flipped me the bird and continued to repeat the movie, word for word. "Shut up, Luz." I growled.

"Look at me. I'm John Wayne. The costume department set me up with these great Navy whites." He said in an imitation of the Duke. Lipton and Toye turned around and shushed him. "What'd ya think?"

"I'm trying to watch this." Lipton said as he turned around to face Luz.

"I've seen this movie thirteen times, okay?" Luz replied.

"Couldn't tell." I snorted.

"Well I haven't, so shut up." Toye grumbled.

"Watch the movie, it's fine." George said as if they were the ones who were being annoying instead of the annoyed.

"Just remember who is scheduled to hand out latrine duty this week." I reminded Luz.

"You wouldn't." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Try my." I raised an eyebrow, daring him. Buck was in charge of handing out latrine duties and Luz knew I had some amount of sway over the Lieutenant and, if asked, George would be cleaning the latrines with a toothbrush by morning. I glanced over at said Lieutenant, he was staring at the screen but I could tell that he wasn't really seeing it. His mind was miles away back in that damn hospital. Military hospitals are a place you never want to find yourself, especially in a time of war. The mangled bodies, missing limbs, charred, gauze wrapped bodies and overall smell of disinfectant mixed with the faint odor of necrotic tissue and burnt flesh is enough to disturb even the strongest of men.

Malarkey, Muck and Perco were making a ruckus and Toye and Lipton turned around and shushed them, breaking me out of my vigil. I glanced back over to see Winters had come in and was sitting behind Buck, talking to him. I turned my attention back to the movie.

"Lip, favorite part." George poked the Sergeant and I swear I saw the man's body tense in an effort to not turn around and smack George. I grinned, mental image of Lipton bitch slapping my best friend zooming to the front of my mind. "Got a penny?" George said in an accent I couldn't identify. "Go-t a- Pen-ney?" He said, dragging out the words. I raised an eyebrow at him. He took a puff of his cigarette, eyes glued to the screen. "Got. A. PEN-NEY." He nearly shouted.

"Got a penny?" the actress on the screen said and George laughed in delight.

"That was a crap impression, Luz." I glared at him. "That didn't even sound like her." George ignored me, too enraptured in the movie to pay attention to what I was saying. Lipton turned around to stare at George in disapproval.

"What?" George asked, actually bewildered at why the even tempered NCO was giving him a death glare. I bent forward and hid my face in my hands in an effort to keep from laughing. I loved George, even when he didn't have a clue, which was pretty often actually, he still had an inane ability to crack me up.

"Lights!" Someone yelled as they burst through the doors. The lights came on and we grumbled at the men who had so rudely interrupted our movie. "Quiet!" The technician 5th class yelled.

"You can't do that to the Duke!" George yelled. I snorted a laugh and punched him in the arm.

"I said, quiet!" The man yelled. "Elements of the 1st and 6th SS panzer division have broken through Ardennes Forest. " We all sighed, realizing that our break from the fighting was now over. "Now, they've overrun the 28th infantry and elements of the 4th. All officers report to respective HQs. All passes are canceled." The room was in an uproar in an instant. "Enlisted men report to barracks and your platoon leaders." The man yelled as he marched out to the room. Everyone was grumbling on their way out. I stopped as I saw Buck continue to sit there, staring blankly off into space. I looked from him to Winters, wanting to stay and try to help my friend. Winters offered a small smile, giving me a look that said he would take care of it. I nodded uneasily and made my way out of the theater and back to the barracks.

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It was night when we were preparing to move out.

"I-I th-ink I j-just f-froze my as-s of-ff." My teeth chattered. Luz narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced around behind me.

"I can't tell, it was so small to begin with," he grumbled as he rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them.

"I-if I w-wasn't so d-damn c-c-cold, I'd f-flip you of-f." I glared.

"That sounds s-slightly less menacing when you t-teeth are chattering." He said, his own shivering starting to affect his ability to speak.

"W-we d-don't h-have w-winter c-c-coa-ts." I pointed out. George looked around and shook his head.

"This w-wouldn't be the a-army if we had everything we n-needed." I nodded, it came out jerkily as shivers racked my entire body. "The o-officers have c-coats." He pointed out.

"Yeah, w-we w-wouldn't want them t-to f-freeze, now w-w-would we?" I grinned. He shook his head, his own grin stretching across his face. I didn't point out that we were low on ammo, I didn't need to. That thought was weighing heavier than any other on the minds of the Company. Buck made his way over to us, a box of K-rations and a few scarves in his arms.

"Alright boys, take what you can and pass it out." Luz took the box from him and started to distribute the contents to the men. He handed me a scarf and I quickly wrapped it around my neck before grabbing my share of the K-rations. The small amount of warmth that the scarf provided me was enough to stop my teeth chattering and ease my shivering.

"Hey, Benny." Buck said as he came to stand beside me.

"Hey, sir." I answered, still a small quiver in my voice.

"I need you to watch the men, make sure they don't do anything stupid, alright?" He said.

"Yeah, sure Buck, no worries." I nodded. He smiled down at me and rubbed my shoulders. "Foxhole buddies?" I asked as I grinned up at him.

"Yeah," he chuckled and patted my head. "Foxhole buddies."

"Good, because I intend on stealing as much body heat from you as I possibly can." He laughed.

"Looking forward to it."

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The transport trucks rumbled down the street, each one packed with as many men as could squeeze in them. Not that I was complaining, I had Buck on one side, Shifty on another and Liebgott was sitting near my legs. I reveled in the warmth that I was surrounded by.

"I guess the blackout's not in effect." Buck yelled out over the din of the engines. "Luftwaffe must be asleep."

"What a difference a day makes, huh lieutenant?"

"Christ, I miss those C-47s." Guarnere grumbled.

"We got a tailgate jump here." Talbert added.

"Joy of joys." I mumbled to Buck, he grinned.

"I just wanna know where they're sending us." Babe said. "What the hell we're supposed to do with no ammo." I racked my brain, trying to remember what came next in history, but for some reason it just wasn't coming.

"Hey, kid, what's your name again?" Guarnere asked one of the new replacements.

"Suerth." He answered after lighting Popeye's cigarette. "Suerth Jr."

"You got any ammo, Junior?" Babe asked.

"Uh, just what I'm carrying." He replied.

"What about socks, Junior?" Toye asked. "You got extra socks?"

"A pair." He answered.

"You need four, minimum." Muck said, pointing at the man. "Feet, hands, neck, balls…"

"Extra socks, warms them all." We all said in unison.

"Okay, we all remember that one." Muck said. "But did we remember the socks?"

"I only need three." I mumbled to Buck. "I don't have balls." He chuckled.

"You've got bigger balls than some." He mumbled back.

"Yeah, I'd give my goddamn boots for a cigarette." Guarnere complained.

"We're all out of ammo and socks." Malarkey said.

"Anybody got a cigarette?" Guarnere asked. "I bet Junior's got plenty of both."

"I don't" He chuckled nervously.

"How about a hat?" Liebgott asked. "You got a hat?"

"Hey, you got extra ammo?" Malarkey asked.

"What about a coat, you got a coat?" Liebgott asked. I resisted the urge to kick him. "I need to pee." He said to Malarkey.

"Shut up about the coat Liebgott, no one's got one." Muck said.

"How about some smokes then?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, I got some smokes." The kid pulled out his pack and everyone's hands went out.

"Oh, now you're talking!" Muck cried. Various cries of "Hey, hey," and "over here," Went out through the truck as everyone tried to get their hands on Suerth's cigarettes. He handed the pack to the nearest hand and it was quickly passed around the group of cold soldiers. The trucks finally pulled to a stop on the side of the road and gasoline was poured into holes and lit to help warm us back up.

"Alright guys, 15 minutes." Buck said as we jumped out of the truck. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Keep warm guys."

"Where the hell are we?" Penkala asked.

"Sure we ain't in hell, it's too damn cold." Muck answered as we made our way over to one of the fires. I pushed my hands out of the sleeves of my jacket and warmed them over the fire. I was shaking from head to toe, my jacket barely doing anything to keep the cold from seeping into my bones. I turned to look for Buck and caught sight of a soldier walking past, his neck bandaged and a haunted look across his face.

"Fuck me." I mumbled as I caught sight of the men who had just showed up out of nowhere. I made my way over to Guarnere, Malarkey and Babe.

"What the hell is going on?" Malarkey questioned.

"Hey, you're going to wrong way!" Guarnere called out to the men. He tried to get the attention of one of the soldiers, but he just walked by in a haze. He grabbed the guy behind him. "Hey Pal, what happened?" He asked. "Where the hell are you going?"

"They came out of nowhere," The man said. "They slaughtered us. You gotta get outta here."

"We just got here." Babe said.

"Give me your ammo." Guarnere ordered. "C'mon."

"Take it," He took his ammo pouch off and handed it to us, "you'll need it." He walked off, still in a daze.

"Holy Christ." Bill said in amazement and fear.

"C'mon guys," I ordered. "Get as much ammo from these men as you can." We sprung into action, the rest of the Company following suit.

"Ammo," I said as I made my way through the crowd of retreating soldiers, "Give us your ammo." I grabbed as much as I could and passed it out to the men, keeping enough for myself as well. A lieutenant pulled up in a jeep stock full of ammo and we non-coms grabbed the crates and passed the ammo out to the men as evenly as possible.

"Hey, Buck. " I called as I walked up to the man. "Where the hell are we?"

"Belgium." He replied. "Near Bastogne." The color must have drained from my face as Buck was immediately at my side. "You alright, Benny?" He asked in concern. "You look like you're gonna pass out." I swallowed hard and managed a small smile.

"Fine, I'm fine." I managed to force out. I turned and left before he could ask me anymore questions. Bastogne, the Battle of the Bulge. I remember it all now. The 101st were ordered to hold the town of Bastogne where the seven roads crossed, blocking the German advance and keeping the vital crossroads protected. They were up against a well supplied German soldiers while they, we had no winter clothing and were low on food rations and ammo. Many men were going to be killed by German mortar rounds and the splinters they caused when they hit the trees. Many ot the men would die and it would be over a month before the battle was won. I stopped walking and leant up against a truck, cradling my head in my hands. I looked up and took in each and every face of E Company. Only about half of these men would make it out of Bastogne, some would be wounded and treated, then sent back, some would be wounded beyond repair… some would die.

I closed my eyes and turned my head to the heavens. I grew up religious, but I stopped believing in God years ago as many that had seen the horrors of war have. But in that moment I felt more helpless and scared that I had in years. Even though I felt it a fruitless action, if there was even a micromort chance that some omnipotent being was up there watching us go through hell, I was willing to take that chance. I took a deep breath and I prayed.

'Our father, who art in heaven,'

The rumble of the trucks hit my ears.

'Hallowed be thy name.'

The shouts of the men as they scrambled to get ammo and K-rations.

'Thy kingdom come, they will be done.'

Roe called out for the other medics to pull their supplies and distribute them out evenly.

'On earth as it is in heaven.'

I heard the worry in the voices of the men,

'Give us this day, our daily bread,'

The anxiety of what was to come hit me hard.

'And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.'

Lipton assured the men, letting them know that there would most likely be a drop as soon as we got there.

'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'

The officer started to shout out for us, letting us know that we were going to be moving on foot from here on out.

'For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever.'

"Benny, c'mon, let's go!" Buck called out to me.

"Amen." I grabbed what little I had and ran over to catch up with Buck as the trucks started up and rolled back to safety. We marched on through the night, into the forest of Ardennes and into the place where hell froze over.

God help us.

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I'd like to send a BIG thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, wild-in-spirit, loveonspeedial, Nooo, and CP2girls, you guys made my day! It's thanks to you that I was able to sit down and push this chapter out! Thank you for letting me know that there are people out there who enjoy reading about Jo and her adventures, it means the world to me. I would also like to thank everyone else who has read this story. I hope you like what you are reading.

I hope you all have enjoyed this. Please Read and Review and let me know what you think!

Amanda

Revised 07/10/17