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Chapter 7: Night of Nights

Upottery, England

May – June 1944

In five days, they would be invading France. Five days.

Marie paced around the women's barracks, trying to exhaust the anxiety out of her, but it remained like a thorn in her side. No one was allowed to leave the base, so she couldn't even use a weekend pass to get her mind off of D-Day. They had reviewed over everything a hundred times over: everything from equipment checks, foxholes, artillery, passwords (like flash/thunder), what the Kraut uniform looks like, and they had studied maps of the English Channel and Cherbourg enough to where it was permanently burned in their brains. But even with all the training, Marie still was petrified.

"Stop pacing, Docherty. You're making me nervous," Diana said, laying on her bed and reading a magazine.

Marie didn't respond, she continued to shuffle around.

"You're a medic, you won't be fighting. I, on the other hand, am part of the Airborne Infantry, I'll be doing the killing," Barbara retorted while she was making her bed, "the boys won't let anything happen to you. Besides, Krauts don't shoot at medics."

"Yeah, that Red Cross you have on is like automatic immunity," Diana agreed.

"Relax," Diana ordered, "just remember everything you've trained for, and you'll be fine."

"You're not at all nervous?" Marie asked her in disbelief.

"No," Diana replied, keeping her eyes on the magazine.

"Well the anticipation is killing me," Marie sighed, running her hands through her hair.

"It's just another jump," Barbara told her with a shrug while smoothing out the creases on her bed sheets.

Marie sighed again, shaking her head at them. They would all be jumping right into enemy territory, an actual warzone; something they had all studied but never experienced. Some of them were going to die.

Frustrated, Marie left the barracks to track down Emilia.

Marie walked into a tent where Winters, Meehan, and Emilia were going over maps and strategies before the jump. Emilia had been busy assisting with translating and geography so much lately that Marie had barely got to see her. Marie watched as Emilia drew on the maps with pencil, and pointed to different locations, her brow furrowed in serious concentration.

"Sergeant Docherty. What can I do for you?" Winters addressed her, noticing her standing at the tent entrance.

"Uh, sorry, sir. I just wanted to see Emilia for a moment," Marie told him shyly.

"Sergeant Valdez is busy at the moment, Sergeant Docherty," Meehan informed her.

Marie's eyes went downcast in embarrassment. "Yes, sir. My apologies. Wait…" Marie snapped her head up at Emilia. She looked at Emilia's sleeve and saw the "T" under three chevrons.

"Sergeant?" She questioned.

Winters smiled, "yes, we saw it fit to promote Valdez because of all the valuable work she's been doing. She's no longer a corporal."

Congratulations!" Marie beamed.

"Just give us a few more minutes, Docherty. You can talk to Valdez then," Winters concluded.

Marie saluted him then proceeded to wait outside the tent for her friend to finish up. Emilia eventually exited the tent. Marie drew her into a congratulatory hug.

"Technician Third Grade," Marie exclaimed, smiling at her friend.

"It's about time I caught up to you," Emilia said with a wink, "it's weird being a sergeant, or a staff sergeant I should say, since it's just a technical rank. Too bad us techs still don't have the authority to give commands and run platoons. I would've loved to boss the boys around."

Marie chuckled as she imagined the two of them giving Muck and Malarkey orders.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Emilia asked.

Marie's smile fading as the fear rushed back, "honestly, Em… I'm scared."

"We all are," Emilia told her, tucking a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear, "anyone who says otherwise is a liar."

"I guess that makes Barbara and Diana liars then," Marie said flatly, "they were giving me flack for being afraid."

"Just remember everything and you'll be fine. That's all we can really do," Emilia assured her.

"That's just it, I'm afraid I'm going to go blank in the middle of the jump. I can see myself being so nervous that I forget the entire objective."

"Remember the pathfinders are going to jump an hour before us to set everything up, so we'll have something to go by," Emilia reminded her.

Marie nodded to that, feeling some of the uneasiness lift off her shoulders.

"They'll send in the radar, then we're going to jump five miles inland from Normandy. We'll head for Utah beach; the rallying point is Le Grand Chemin. You know all this, Marie. Meehan has been over it with us a thousand times."

"We meet at Le Grand Chemin at 0700 hours," Marie added.

"Exactly. See? You got it," Emilia soothed. She patted her friend on the shoulder, "I've really got to get back to helping the lieutenants. I'll see you around. Try not to have a panic attack, okay? And don't keep expecting the worst, you're going to make yourself sick with all this worrying."

With that Emilia went back into the tent.

0000

Emilia finished going over various maps and intel with Easy Company's CO, and Lieutenant Winters. They had already left the tent as she stayed behind to assist in cleaning up some documents. She heard the sound of the tent flap being moved, and glanced over her shoulder. Sergeant Floyd Talbert stood at the entrance, appearing a bit preoccupied with his thoughts. Marie had mentioned to Emilia that this "jock" had been staring at her from afar since they first joined Easy Company, but Emilia had blown her off. Now studying his baby blue eyes pinned on her, she wondered if her friend was right after all.

"How can I help you, Sergeant Talbert?"

Talbert smiled shyly, averting his eyes down toward his paratrooper boots, a small smile etched on his lips. Emilia watched him curiously, awaiting his response.

"We're jumping into Normandy soon…" he stated, his eyes still downcast.

"We are," Emilia replied, her dark eyes still glued to the tan soldier.

"I just wanted to say… in case I don't make it-"

"Hey, don't start saying things like that, Sarge," Emilia responded, her voice soft and comforting.

She took a step forward, a pantomime that took him off guard. He acknowledged her closeness, his cheeks turning slightly red. Emilia noted that he was blushing, and smiled kindly at him. She didn't expect such a timid disposition from him. In her platoon, Talbert always seemed outgoing, straight-forward, and focused as a solider. Seeing him act bashful now made something stir in Emilia's stomach, but she ignored it.

"I just wanted to say somethin' in case I don't get the chance to," Talbert spoke, his eyes finally meeting Emilia's, "I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

It was now Emilia's turn to blush. Men had always ogled at her, especially since joining the Army. Men would yell dirty things at her, gesture inappropriately, she even noticed some of the men get erections when she around. She would hold her head high and pretend not to hear or notice such things, but this was the first time a man had said a genuine compliment to her.

"I, um…thank you," Emilia piped up, her voice quiet.

The two stared at each other for a moment, unsure how to break the heavy silence. Emilia suddenly felt inclined to embrace him, even though she had vowed to obey Sink's rules and keep a professional distance. She hugged Talbert, letting her head rest under his shoulder. Stunned, Talbert didn't return the hug right away. He eventually wrapped his arms around her. The embrace felt desperate, as if the two soldiers were seeking comfort out of fear. The jump was coming up, so that wasn't very surprising to the two of them. The two broke apart quickly, unable to look at each other.

"See you on the plane," Talbert muttered.

Talbert exited the tent without another word, leaving Emilia alone with her thoughts.

0000

Sitting outside by the giant C-47 aircrafts made the reality of D-Day blatant. Marie was walking around, trying to find someone from 2nd platoon so she could get her supplies ready. She spotted Malarkey amongst the ocean of soldiers, and started to head over to him when she saw Lipton walking around and shouting. He was reminding everyone to sign up for the ten-thousand life insurance. Marie knew she'd forgot something, she ran up to Lipton.

"Make sure you don't miss out," Lipton called out to the crowd of jittery soldiers.

"Where is the signup," Marie asked him.

"Right over there, Sergeant Docherty," Lipton told her while pointing.

"Thanks. My father could really use that money," Marie stated, following the direction of his finger.

Lipton gave her a sad smile, "you already think you're not going to make it?" Lipton asked her, softly.

She looked over at him with uncertain eyes, and was about to say something when Martin walked up to them, looking distressed.

Martin had a letter from his wife. She found out that Guarnere's older brother Henry was killed in Monte Cassino.

"I think you should tell him, Johnny," Lipton said with a sigh.

"Before the jump?" Martin didn't look pleased at his answer.

Lipton offered his sympathies but there was nothing that could really be done about it. Lipton continued on with the life insurance message. Martin bit his lip and looked over at Marie.

"What do you think I should do?" Martin asked her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you can make him find the letter by accident," Marie suggested, giving her shoulder a little shrug.

"Maybe," He pondered a minute like he was considering her advice. "I'll figure it out. See you later, Docherty," Martin said as he walked away.

Marie finished filling out the life insurance papers, signing her signature quickly, then went over to where Malarkey was sitting. He was struggling with his equipment along with Luz. Guarnere was sitting back and eating ice cream from a silver bowl, watching the two men wrangle with their gear. Seeing Guarnere made a wave of sadness wash over Marie. She fought not to let it show up on her face so he wouldn't think something was amiss. She sat down next to them and immediately started getting her equipment ready.

"Why are they springing these things on us now," Malarkey questioned them as he continued to fumble with his equipment.

Marie remained silent, slowly packing up her supplies, and thinking about the inevitable future of war and of Guarnere's brother. The regiment was in limbo at this point, they knew they were going to jump, but they were still waiting for the official word.

"It's just an extra eighty pounds strapped to your leg," Luz said in a sarcastic nonchalance.

He held up a strap that looked like a rope and stared at it blankly, "does anyone have any idea how the hell this thing works?"

Luz looked around but everyone gave him a clueless shrug. Marie thought it was crazy that they'd be jumping into Normandy without a clue how all of their equipment works. She shuddered at the thought, but continued to pack up her medical supplies and check her chute.

A soldier came around and was passing out a letter to everyone. Marie took it from his hands and peered down at the paper, but she couldn't focus her eyes on the words; they seemed to vibrate around the page. She felt relieved that Luz had begun to read it aloud, even if he was doing it in Sink's voice.

"Soldiers of the Regiment,

Tuh-niiight is the niiight…" Luz paused as he read on ahead, "of nights…" He read in a serious tone, dropping his Sink impersonation.

Marie gulped and looked down at her paper. It was official now, they'd be jumping in a few hours.

"That's why they gave us ice cream," Guarnere said, holding up his nearly empty bowl.

Marie let out an anguished groan as she set the letter down, and double-checked her reserve chute. Her hands trembled so much, and her palms were so slick with sweat, the fabric of the chute kept slipping through her fingers.

"You all right?" Malarkey asked her as he inspected his M1.

"I guess, despite the fact that I might go into cardiac arrest," Marie muttered.

"Want some ice cream?" Guarnere asked her, holding out his bowl.

"No thank you, Bill," Marie replied, looking at him over her shoulder.

"They didn't give you any weapons, Docherty?" Luz asked Marie, looking down at her neatly spread out supplies.

"Not even a sidearm, just all medical stuff," he observed.

"Medics don't usually carry weapons, George. If I do, I have to remove my cross armband so it doesn't violate the treaty that protects medics. I play a non-combatant role, so in order to maintain protection under the Geneva Convention I have to be unarmed."

"The Geneva Convention, huh? That'll be useful in a gunfight," Luz said sarcastically.

"If I do get attacked, that's a violation of humanitarian rights and the attacker would be charged with a war crime. There's some honor in battle, I suppose."

"Like the Krauts will reinforce that, I still think you should have somethin' to protect yourself," Guarnere grunted.

"You're going to be fine, Marie. It's just like jumping all the other dozen times we've jumped… except it'll be dark, and there'll be Germans… but all you have to do is follow the platoon when we land in the DZ, and you'll be golden," Malarkey told her.

"I know, I know. It's just… I can't help thinking that something is going to go wrong." Marie

"Don't get too worked up," Malarkey said with a sigh, knowing his words were trite.

Thirty minutes later or so, Marie had finished painting the black camouflage paint on Emilia's face, when Meehan gave them the news from Eisenhower: No jump tonight due to weather conditions.

D-Day was now moved to the June 6th. There was a mixture of cheers and groans. Most were anxious just to get it over with, and the extra day of wait just meant more waiting and anticipation. Marie wasn't sure how to feel, her overwhelming mixture of emotions just made her feel exhausted above all else.

"Well, we have another free day," Emilia announced with a smile, now wiping off her freshly painted face. "They're playing a movie tonight, Mr. Lucky with Laraine Day and Cary Grant. You wanna watch?" Emilia asked Marie.

" I'll pass," Marie answered. "I think I'm gonna turn in early."

"Okay, see you later," Emilia waved goodbye.

Marie saw her friend go join up with Floyd Talbert, something she noted curiously. She decided to ask her about it later, right now she was far too tired and anxious.

The next morning everything had to be assembled all over again. Emilia had blackened her face again, and Marie found out that 2nd platoon wasn't really painting their faces, so she decided not to. Emilia had cut the ends of Marie's hair back to its original length: a short bob that ended at her chin. Emilia protested that she should let it grow out a little because it looked pretty, but they were entering a warzone, she didn't have the luxury to take care of her hair.

They triple checked their gear and chutes inside the hangars. The weather had calmed down a great deal, so Eisenhower wouldn't call off the jump this time. The extra day offered little comfort, in fact everyone seemed grimmer than before. Papers with a message from Eisenhower were passed out to everyone, meant to be an encouragement.

Marie looked down and read hers to herself:

'Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you… Good luck! And let us all beseech of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking!'

At least he was eager.

Inside the hangar, Father Maloney, Easy Company's chaplain, was also offering his own encouraging words of faith. Hearing last minute prayers and scripture readings did help Marie feel a little more hopeful. Relaying on religion to calm her, she bowed her head and prayed along with the rest of the group surrounding Maloney. Maloney's voice was soothing and collected as he spoke. He pushed up his glasses at the bridge of his nose from time to time as he read from the Bible. Marie saw Muck, whom was a devoted Catholic, holding a rosary, lacing the beads in between his fingers. He saw Marie amongst the group and went over to her.

"Final chat with the Lord?" Muck asked her, he smiled but his voice sounded serious. He slipped the rosary in his pocket.

"Praying for everyone to have a safe landing," Marie whispered, trying not to interrupt Maloney's mini sermon. Marie glanced over at Maloney, "he's a good chaplain."

"He is," Muck agreed.

"Say, what's your favorite Biblical verse?"

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed but understand not; and see ye indeed, put perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

Marie was silent for a moment, taking in the scripture Muck had repeated.

"Isaiah 6:8 to 10," Muck told her.

"That's beautiful."

0000

General Taylor was walking around and offering encouragement and saying that 'they'd only be fighting for a few days, then they'd be going home.' Marie scoffed at his words. There was no way that Easy would be able to be relieved that quickly. They were Easy Company - the company that always got the short end of the stick.

Out on the airfield, everyone prepped their gear for the jump. Marie watched as Malarkey put on his gear, about sixty-five pounds of extra weight. She felt awful that the mortar squad had so much strapped onto them.

"What is all that, anyway," Marie asked him as they got ready.

"Uh, the bipod, base plate, tubes," Malarkey listed as he scanned his gear, "that's not counting the ammo, tools, weapons, and food. With everything that's almost two-hundred pounds I think."

"Two-hundred pounds? Is the Army crazy? Who sends men jumping out of planes with that much weight," Marie exclaimed.

Malarkey shrugged. "It'll be fine."

Malarkey eyes gazed over to find Emilia and Muck walking toward them. They would be boarding the C-47's soon. This was their last chance to say goodbye.

"I'll see you on the ground," Muck told Marie, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Keep her safe, Skip," Marie whispered, talking about Emilia.

"Yeah," Muck replied, whispering back, "you keep an eye on Malark, okay?"

Marie nodded in response, biting down on her lip.

Emilia and Marie then hugged goodbye. Marie didn't want to let go, she knew when she did they would be forced to go their separate ways.

"Everything will be fine, Marie. I'll see you in Le Grand Chemin, maybe even before that," Emilia said to her.

"You better be waiting there," Marie said.

Emilia only gave her a forced smile. No one could guarantee if they were going to make it.

With that being said, Muck and Emilia returned to their platoon. Marie looked over at Malarkey, feeling helpless. He gave her a weak smile, and continued to put on his gear.

Everyone was lined up outside of the planes. Marie glanced around, and saw that she was jumping as the ninth person in line this time. Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton, a platinum blonde, huge college man with a cheery, snarky attitude was up front, leading them (along with Bill Guarnere.) Six days here, and Buck had already made friends with most of the company, including Marie and Malarkey. Malarkey and Toye were also on her plane.

She saw that Guarnere looked preoccupied. She wondered if Martin had found a way tell him about his brother, but she didn't want to ask. Marie studied each man that would be boarding with her. She carefully memorized their faces.

Dewitt Lowery, Salvatore Bellino, Johnny Plesha, Cleveland Petty, Edward Bernat, Earl Hale, Thomas Burgess, John Sheehy- Her thoughts were interrupted by Buck's order to board the C-47. With her heart in her throat, she walked onto the plane. Everyone was silent as they boarded. They all searched each other's eyes for relief, but were all met with similar feelings. There was no turning back now.

Buck was going down the line as they sat inside the planes, handing out airsickness pills. Malarkey had refused them the first few times, but Buck had ordered him to take them. Marie wasn't taking any chances, she swallowed the pills down right away, her face puckering from the chalky bitterness of the pill. The engine of the plane starting made her jump in her seat, making Toye give her a funny look. He was sitting right next to her, while Malarkey was a few seats down on the opposite side. She wished her dear friend was closer. Marie took a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to calm her nerves.

Toye reached out and gripped her hand, a gesture that took her by surprise. She squeezed his hand in return, her uneasiness alleviating.

It was almost midnight and the plane had lifted off. Marie swallowed and closed her eyes. Once the plane was airborne it had all become official. She waited as the plane took them off into the unknown. Marie started singing Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine to herself so she could calm down. She always sang that song as a child, and it often helped during the rough patches of her childhood.

She hoped it would help her now.

'Come Josephine, in my flying machine

And it's up she goes, up she goes

Come Josephine, in my flying machine

Going up she goes

Up she goes

Balance yourself like a bird on a beam

In the air she goes

Up, up, a little bit higher

Oh, my, the moon is on fire

Come Josephine in my flying machine

Going up

All on

Goodbye'

While singing to herself, she'd managed to drift off to sleep. Malarkey and Emilia's words echoed in her head: 'everything would be fine'. As her eyelids grew heavy, she believed them for a moment. The verses floated around her subconscious until she was finally able to fall asleep.

All on

Goodbye

Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine - song and lyrics by Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan