September 7
The Tunnels – 1950 Hours
Marie has happily left this past hour. She has been cared for by me and the remaining men in the barracks. Much to Rob's amazement, and with LeBeau's help, she has grown a little more plumb and has chattered happily in German to the men, although they just smiled and nodded (I think only a few understood her, like Olsen and Wilson). I just hope that she is as glad to be in England as she was here, the happiest days of her life after that terrible time. She has started to trust the world again, little by little, and I am happy for it.
Best of all, only Schultz caught her in a bedcheck last night, so that wasn't so bad. All he asked was that we take her away and get her out before our lovely kommandant saw her and we did. A promise is a promise to Schultz and whatever we can do to ease his load, we can.
Life here has gone back to what it was supposed to be for us normal prisoners of war. We have been good for Schultz: playing card games, not gambling and escaping. We were even being on time for a roll call. Everyone has been accounted for every time and behaving themselves. Later, I plan to ask Klink whether this calls for some extra rations of white bread and a hot shower for all the men for two weeks (maybe the remainder of the month) if we're all good little prisoners and not digging tunnels, taking radio messages and running missions for London. But the latter three cannot be avoided. Messages are bound to come by sooner, if not later this evening.
I can feel that this war is going to be over soon. It's only September. So much can happen in the next year and because D-Day has pushed the Kraut's plans back for three months. Hochstetter hasn't caught us yet and we have escaped his grasp so many times because of cunning thinking and ingenuity. Maybe in this next year, in the chilling German winter and short spring and summer, we could outsmart the Gestapo and the Krauts more. They may suspect something is going on here, but they have no evidence that we prisoners are doing anything. And we can thank Rob for all of this.
Damn, Rob has just popped his head down here. Roll call has been over for an hour, but now that Marie is gone, he can argue with me about that week. "Don't you feel lucky that Schultz only caught her?" he boomed. I'm not flinching and it infuriates him more that I'm here and not up in the barracks, like what was ordered by him. I wanted to see Marie off and not watch the guys play card games. It's a good enough excuse.
This is my cue and a time to stop writing.
I'll miss you, Kinch…rest in peace, my brother.