...
Nora never kept her deal with Guarnere because, by the time she had made her up mind about going to London, they were ordered to leave Aldbourne. The entire village lined the streets and roads to bid the Americans farewell. Packing up and boarding deuce-and-a-halves, the Paratroopers were ready to see war. Nora and Winters received kisses on the cheeks from Mrs Barnes and a firm handshake from Mr Barnes. It all came far too quickly for Nora, she didn't have those long training days and nights in America with Easy Company, Nora only had Aldbourne. She hoped it was enough…
The journey to Upottery was long, due to the heavy traffic of other trucks from around England heading toward the airfield. The long journey gave Nora plenty of time to reflect upon her time with Easy Company. She was very different from the girl who had walked into the schoolhouse with Joe in September. Nora was a lot brighter now; she had a spark back. She had friends. Nora felt a part of Easy Company, she was accepted into their team. Upon reaching the vast and grassy marshalling area, large gates were closed and locked behind them. Guards patrolled the area with their guns. There was no escaping now, the men were destined for combat. Tents had been pitched up, as well as larger tents used as Post Exchange and even a movie theatre. They had a mess hall and the hangers where the planes were once kept – now, the planes were all lined up outside. After Platoon leaders assigned their men to tents, the Officers ventured off to find their tents. It wasn't much. Each tent had two camping beds, one desk, and an oil lamp.
"This'll do nicely". Winters decided when entering the tent. "Nora, why don't you pick out a bed".
Both beds were identical. Nora picked the bed on the left side. Sitting on the edge of the small bed, Nora's hands folded onto her lap. It was late in the afternoon; they still had a few hours to go until dinner. As soon as Winters had put his stuff down, he was called to leave the tent. After a quick apology to Nora for leaving her, he left. But Nora didn't sit around by herself for long. She left after a few moments of twiddling her thumbs. With her boots pressing against soggy grass, Nora ventured around her tent and soon found familiar faces by the enlisted tents…
The entirety of the 506th filled the Upottery airfield. There were thousands of men in the airfield. Nora had never seen so many Paratroopers in one enclosed area before. With trucks going at a snail's pace across the field, Nora stepped over the muddy puddles its tyres formed on the grass. The Americans were sharing the field with a Regiment of British Paratroopers. It was surprising to find the Tommies dressed in German uniforms. According to Winters, the British were dressed in enemy clad so the Americans would grow familiar with the uniform. When Nora reached Hoobler, who was smoking close to a tent, he was eager to tell Nora about a Lugar one of the British soldiers had…
"He got it from a German Officer". Hoobler said, "Lucky bastard, huh?"
Nora gave a faint shrug. "Yeah, I guess".
Hoobler's eyes rolled with a playful smirk. "Christ, nothing impresses you, Nora".
"It's a pistol, I…".
"Ah, you wouldn't understand". Hoobler cut Nora off with a wave of his hand. Flicking away the end of his cigarette, Hoobler turned to face Nora and smiled. "Do you 'wanna find some trouble? I'm bored as hell standing around here".
Nora gave a nod. "Yeah, sounds good to me". She added, "But not too much trouble, Hoobs".
Hoobler snorted out a laugh and tossed his arm over Nora's shoulder. "You got it, pal".
They came upon a clearing in the grassy field, where a handful of British and American soldiers were beginning to form a game of football – or soccer, as the Americans called it. Recognising a few faces among the men, Hoobler grabbed Nora's arm and dragged her across the field. With his free hand, Hoobler raised his arm and called for Bob and Christenson…
"You mind if we join?"
Bob smiled at Nora and gave an eager nod. "Of course not!"
Christenson didn't look convinced. "Really?"
Hoobler winked at Christenson and assured him, "Trust me, Nora's cool".
After casting Nora a smile, Christenson looked at Hoobler. "It's you I'm worried about, Hoobs. What if you get too excited and break your leg?"
Hoobler snorted and shook his head. "I won't do that, Pat".
"Are we playing or what?!" A British man asked.
Hoobler appeared amused. "Did anyone understand what he just said?"
Bob smirked. "I thought you'd be used to the accent by now, Hoobs".
"Yeah…didn't you chat up any English girls?" Christenson teased.
"Back off…". Hoobler grumbled. His hand left Nora's shoulder. He asked, "Are we playing or what?"
Nora didn't know an awful lot about football, but she knew the basics of playing. They decided to stick Nora in goals, seeing as she wasn't as familiar with the sport as her friends. Having a ball fly at her face was a little terrifying. Nora did her best to fight back and catch or hit the ball away with her hands. But Nora ended up diving for cover instead. Luckily, bets hadn't been placed for this friendly match, so there wasn't any pressure for Nora to do well…
"At least she'll be good at dodging grenades, lads!" One of the British men joked.
It was almost poetic that they decided to play football to celebrate the end of their stay in England. In a short while, the Paratroopers would be dropping into the war. Football seemed like a good way to burn off any nerves or anxieties they might have about combat. The game offered them a good distraction for a couple of hours. With her hands covering her face, the ball ended up bouncing off the back of her hands. She stopped the ball from entering the goal – finally. Nora uncovered her face and smiled.
"Well done, pal!" Hoobler smirked. "See? It ain't so scary, huh?"
Putting the ball down, Nora drew back her leg and kicked the ball using the side of her foot. It flew up into the air, heading straight toward Christenson, who stopped the ball with his foot. The British were much better at football, but they gave their American friends a good chance. With plenty of wide shots and good passes, Bob scored the first goal for their team. Hoobler turned to face Nora and smiled.
"We should try baseball next, pal".
"Sure". Nora gave a casual shrug. "We could try that". She'd play any sport Hoobler suggested, so long as they played together. Nora was still very fond of Hoobler and enjoyed his company a lot. Hands resting lightly against her hips, Nora could hear Bob and Christenson celebrate further up the field and figured the game was put on hold. She asked Hoobler, "How do you feel about it?"
Hoobler frowned, confused. "About what?"
"Combat". Nora said, "Our first jump…".
Hoobler drew out a sigh and shrugged. "I ain't really thinking about it, Nora. I'm just trying to find shit to do to stop me from feeling bored".
"Yeah". Nora ducked her head for a moment, afraid to voice out her assumptions. She assumed Hoobler was trying to distract himself, to stop himself from thinking too much about combat and the war. "Yeah, it's boring here". Nora said while raising her head to look at him again.
"Don't worry. We'll find stuff to do". Hoobler assured her with a smile. "Maybe we could catch a movie or something later?"
"Yeah, okay". Nora accepted the offer. After a short pause, she asked, "Do they want us to be distracted, Hoobs?"
Hoobler sighed again. Rubbing the back of his neck, he admitted, "Probably. If we stop and think about what we're about to do, we'd get too scared to jump. And we need to jump".
"Yeah…we need to jump". Nora agreed with a faint nod. If they all refused to jump, the enemy would win. The victory of the war depended on all soldiers to do what they were trained to do; kill and succeed. While deep in thought, Nora didn't see the ball heading straight toward her. It smacked her on the cheek, causing Nora's head to sharply turn to one side. With her cheek in the process of turning red, she soon felt an incredible sting. Blinking a few times, Nora slowly turned her head and faced Hoobler, who was trying hard not to laugh…
"Are you okay?" He asked, with a wide grin.
"Sorry!" One of the British Paratroopers called out.
Nora gave her sore cheek a rub. "I am fine…". She said, "I think".
"'Lemme see…". Hoobler closed the distance between them and took a closer look at her cheek. It was red and appeared sore. But Hoobler couldn't see any blood or cuts. "It's fine".
"It burns". Nora corrected him.
"I'll bet". Hoobler bit down on his lip, suppressing his amused grin. He said, "You're an idiot. You weren't watching the ball".
Nora came to her defence. "I was speaking with you".
"Maybe we should try baseball when you have better concentration skills". Hoobler teased with a smirk. "Cause a baseball will knock your teeth out…".
…The game of football lasted until dinnertime. Leaving Hoobler, Nora entered the mess hall where the Officers dined. Inside the large tent, she found Winters sitting with Nixon and Welsh. Nora grabbed a tray of hot food and joined them at their table. Sliding in next to Winters, the man immediately noticed the large red mark on Nora's cheek…
"What happened to you?"
Nora replied, "I got hit by a soccer ball, sir".
Winters sighed and told her off. "You've 'gotta be careful, Nora. I can't have you injured before we jump".
"Yes, sir – sorry, sir". Nora gave a quick apology before picking up her fork and knife. They were having another gravy meal of meat, potatoes, and vegetables. After cutting up a piece of meat, Nora looked up and saw Nixon sending her a smile.
"How're you doing, kid?" He asked. "Minus the red cheek and all…".
Nora smiled small. "Fine, Lewis…and you?"
"Great. If it weren't for half the Platoon leaders bugging me for information…". Nixon cast Welsh a knowing look. But Welsh pledged innocent.
"I only asked once, Lew. It's not like I cornered you".
Nora asked Nixon, "You know where we're going?"
Nixon sighed and said, "I shouldn't have opened my damn mouth…".
Winters assured both Nora and Welsh, "We'll find out soon enough, okay? Eat your dinner, Nora, before it gets cold".
But Nora ignored Winters for once. "Is it the Netherlands?" She asked, "Am I going home?" There was so much hope in Nora's eyes at the thought of seeing home again.
Nixon went silent for a moment. Winters sent him a tiny frown. Facing Nora, Nixon smiled apologetically and shook his head. "Not this time, kid".
Nora put her cutlery down and sighed. She muttered something under her breath in Dutch and sent the table a tiny glare…
"Nora…". Winters said to her calmly. "Your time will come, okay? One country at a time…we can't do it all at once".
Nora gave her head a firm shake. "I wait years for help…". She said quietly.
"I know, kiddo". Winters kept his voice calm. "Just wait a little longer, alright?"
Wait a little longer…Nora was sure it would be too late anyway. Her country was still standing but its people were disappearing. Nora just needed answers…she needed to know where her mother was, and if she was even still alive. Nora needed to know if her friends were okay. And the people she left back in Poland…were they still alive? Guarnere was right in saying it wasn't possible to live a normal life when the world was so broken. Nora did her best to distract herself from memories and people she had to leave. She ignored the questions in her head and the tormenting thoughts of letting people down and letting them die…
"Eat up, Nora". Winters ordered her softly.
Drawing out a quiet sigh, Nora faintly nodded before picking up her cutlery again.
…
The very next morning Easy Company gathered inside one of the hangers. Lieutenant Meehan took centre stage, standing in front of a giant map of France, with sand tables and plenty of photographs taken of a specific area in France. Nora sat at the front, between Hoobler and Luz. Her eyes gazed upon the map, where she spotted all arrows pointing toward Normandy…
"Sainte Marie Du Mont…Causeway number one…Causeway number two…the ultimate field problem…". Lieutenant Meehan began the briefing. "The Douve River estuary divides two beachheads, code name Utah, here…". With a long pointer, Meehan gestured toward one area on the map. "And Omaha, here…Seaborne Infantry will hit these beaches at a specific time and date. H-Hour. D-Day…".
The 101st Airborne Division's mission on D-Day was to drop in the vicinity of Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont and from there, seize four causeways behind Utah Beach on the Cotentin Peninsula. The concept of the operation called for the 502nd Regiment to secure the two northernmost exits to create a safe passage inland, while the 506th was to secure the two southernmost exits. Colonel Sink planned for 1st and 2nd Battalion's to land on a drop zone just to the west of Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont. 2nd Battalion had orders to move toward causeway two, exit number two, led from the beach through Houdienville to Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont. Securing that causeway was Easy Company's responsibility….
"You will study these sand tables and photographs until you learn them by heart". Meehan told his Company…
Nora's eyes moved away from Meehan, where she caught sight of Winters, who was standing close to the map with Nixon and Welsh. She felt her stomach twist with nerves at the thought of jumping back into an occupied country. France. God. France had been under German occupation longer than Holland. However, with all the French resistance movements, the country had put up a good fight. When the briefing ended, Nora and the men took their time to examine all the sand tables and photographs. Taking notes as she went along, Nora vowed to study all night.
"I was hoping for Poland…". Joe quietly said to Nora, while they stood over one of the miniature villages. Intelligence had outdone themselves with the sand tables…
"I know, Joe". Nora said, "I was hoping for the Netherlands".
"There's more hope we'll jump into Holland than Poland". Joe mumbled.
She said, "I hope they're still standing when we see them again". Nora noticed many hedgerows on the sand tables. She mentioned them to Joe, "Hedgerows are a pain. We will need a tank to bring them down".
"I think that's the least of our worries, Nora".
She said, "They've flooded the area as well".
Joe sighed and lightly joked, "Too bad we didn't pack our swimming trunks".
"Won't the flooded fields slow us down?" Nora questioned.
"Probably, yeah". Joe replied. He said, "I'm more bummed about jumping into a puddle". There was a short pause, where Joe stared down at Nora to examine her face. He did wonder about how Nora might have been feeling about jumping into the war again. However, Joe liked to think he knew the girl pretty well by now, and he assumed Nora wouldn't answer his questions with honesty. "Heard you played some soccer with the Brits…". Joe mentioned.
A tiny smile met Nora's lips. She had enjoyed their game of football. Looking over her shoulder, Nora caught sight of Hoobler, who was standing with men from his Platoon by the table with some photographs on it. The men inside the hangar spoke quietly to each other, discussing their mission ahead. Nora could hear plenty of ideas being bounced back between the men. Looking back at the sand table in front of her, she replied to Joe. "You should join us next time".
If there ever would be a next time…but Joe kept such morbid thoughts to himself. He was pretty sure Nora knew the risks of jumping into an occupied country to know there may never be a next time. "Of course, Nora". Joe said, "Thanks for the invite".
Nora gave a casual shrug. "I will always invite you to things, Joe".
"I can count on you, Nora. Always could, huh?" Joe smiled and gave Nora's side a gentle nudge with his elbow. But then Joe tossed his arm over Nora's shoulder and pulled the girl into his side slightly. "You're 'gonna be fine out there, right?"
With a nod, Nora stared up at the man. "I'll be fine, Joe. I promise".