PART POUR NORMANDY
JUNE 9 , 1944
Chapter 6 The Mission
As a line of jeeps, tanks, and other vehicles moved along nearby,
Captain John Miller sat in the shelter of an artillery-shell hole
with the men from his company who were still alivi -Privates
Reiben, Caparzo, Mellish , Jackson; Sergeant Horvath ; and
company-medic Wade. They were enjoying a few minutes of rest
and relaxation after lunch. Miller thought his men looked older.
“ Do you think it’s true,” Reiben asked the others, “ that the
Japanese do terrible things to their prisoners ? ”
“That’s not our war,” Sarge said. “We don’t need to worry
about that .”
“ I was just thinking,” Reiben said, “ that maybe we re lucky to be
!
i —
here not in the Pacific. I’ve heard bad stories about the Japanese.”
Explosions in the distance reminded them that the war would
still be there after their break .
“What are we doing here?” Reiben wondered. “We could be
in Caen. It ’s only ten kilometers away, and it’s famous for making
women’s clothes. And 1 heard they have pretty girls there.”
“ Reiben,” Miller said, “ in case you haven’t heard, there’s a war
going on . They’re probably not making anything there now.”
The rest of the squad was thinking about this when Miller
noticed a runner who was coming their way. The captain nodded
to Caparzo, who climbed out of the hole.
“ If things hadn’t been so terrible on the beach , we’d probably
be in Caen right now,” Reiben said . “I mean , whose plan was this?
Sending 1,000 newly trained guys to fight an important battle.”
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“ You ’re Rangers,” Miller said without expression . “ You’re
specially trained soldiers.”
“ Back in the US and across the Channel ,” Mellish said , “ they
told us what the war was supposed to be like. We talked about it ,
—
and we trained -practice battles and everything . But as soon as I
jumped off that landing boat I knew. Nothing could have
prepared me for this!”
There was an explosion in the distance. The men thought
—
about it and Mellish’s words .
Finally Wade said, “ They can’t prepare you for it. Maybe they
think that if you’re surprised enough , the fear won’t be so bad.”
“Maybe ,” Mellish said. “But if that was the plan, it didn ’t
work.”
—
Miller asked , “Reiben, tell me if you had to hit Omaha
Beach again, how do you think you ’d react the second time ? ”
Reiben didn’t hesitate. “ I’d shoot myself before I even got off
the boat.”
Caparzo jumped into the hole. “ Captain,” he said, “ the
Commanding Officer wants to see you at field headquarters
immediately.”
“ Maybe the war’s over,” Miller said , and climbed out of the
hole.
“ When you get back, tell us who won ,” Sarge said.
Miller walked through the men and jeeps and around the shell
holes to the badly damaged bunker that the Americans were
using as their field headquarters. Inside there were officers,
assistants , runners, and radiomen . These men had clean
—
uniforms not spotted with blood like Miller’s.
—
Lieutenant Colonel Walter Anderson forty-two, Denver,
—
Colorado stood up and walked to a large map on the wall. He
gestured for Miller to join him.
“ The air force was supposed to make an opening for the rest
of us,” the lieutenant colonel said , shaking his head as he looked
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at the map. “ Instead they dropped men in the wrong places —
scattered everywhere . What’s your situation, John? ”
“ Section four is ours now,” Miller said.
“Well done. Our casualties?” Anderson asked.
i “ Thirty-five dead. Twice as many wounded , sir.”
Everyone in the room had heard Miller, but no one looked at
him. Their silence indicated the horror and respect they all felt .
“ It was a difficult assignment - That’s why I picked you for it,”
Anderson told Miller.
“ Yes, sir.”
“ And I have another one for you .”
“ What is it, sir? ”
“ It ’s another difficult one, John.” Anderson shook his head .
—
“ This one’s from the top General Marshall . Get some coffee
and sit down. I ’ve been told to give you all the background.”
Half an hour later, when Miller returned to the field, Sergeant
Horvath greeted him with a one-word question: “ Caen?”
“ No. We’re taking a squad up to Neuville on a mission .”
I Sarge frowned . “ A captain leading a squad ? What kind of
I
mission is that?”
Miller smiled half a smile: “ A public-relations mission, Sergeant.”
I
“What ? ”
“ A private in the 101st . . . three brothers dead. Our job is to
find their little brother and send him home.”
“Really? Why Neuville? ”
“ That’s where the Commanding Officer thinks he landed. He’s
one of those paratroopers who were dropped in the wrong place.”
“ It isn’t going to be easy,” Sarge said , “trying to find one
soldier in the middle of this big war.” He nodded toward the hole
where the men were resting. “What about our company? ”
“ I can pick the best men. The rest will go to Baker Company.”
Sarge’s eyes opened wide. “ They’re separating your company
for this? ”
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1
"T
“ First, it’s not my company ; it’s the Army’s . Second, there
aren’t many of us left. Anyway, I want Reiben, Jackson, Wade, of
course, Caparzo, Beasley . . . ”
“Beasley’s dead.”
“OK , that kid Mellish. Do we have anybody that speaks French?”
“ Not any more. Our translators were killed .”
“I’ll see if I can find someone,” Miller said . “ Get the rest of the
men together and meet me at the jeeps on the beach.”
“ Yes, sir.”
Miller walked through the men and machines to the tent
where the officers had their headquarters. Three corporals were
sitting at tables looking at maps.
“ I’m looking for Corporal Upham,” Miller announced .
One of the boys glanced up from his map and looked at
Miller. He had a youthful face and wore thick glasses. He jumped
at the sound of a distant explosion.
“ Sir,” he said, “ I’m Upham.”
“ I understand you speak French and German .”
Massachusetts.
—
“ Yes, sir,” said Corporal Tim Upham- twenty-four, Boston,
j
Miller came closer. “ How’s your accent? ”
Upham adjusted his glasses. “My French has a slight accent.
My German doesn’t.”
“ Good . I’m Captain Miller. You’ve been reassigned to me. Get
your equipment.”
“Sir?”
“ We’re going to Neuville.”
Upham smiled nervously and gestured back to his map on the
table. “Sir , there are Germans at Neuville.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“ Quite a lot of them, I’ve heard.”
Miller stared at the kid. “Wouldn’t you expect to find
Germans behind enemy lines, Corporal? ”
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Upham pointed to himself with both hands. “ Sir, I 've never
been in battle. I ’m afraid I won’t be any help and I’ll just make it
harder for you, sir. I’m a mapmaker. I translate.”
“ I need a translator.”
“ You do ?”
“Both of mine were killed .”
Upham became pale. “Sir, I haven’t fired a rifle since training.”
“ Once you learn, you never forget . Where’s your equipment? ”
“ I’ll . . . I’ll get it, sir. Can I bring my typewriter?”
“ Your typewriter ? ”
“I’m writing a book, and I . . .”
Miller just looked at him.
Upham smiled nervously again. “Well , then . . . a pencil? ”
“ A little one,” Miller answered .
Upham nodded and turned to get his equipment.
“Look at it this way, son,” Miller told the boy. “ If you live
through this, you’ll have some good stories to tell.”
.
l Chapter 7 On the Road
The dead and wounded had been removed from the beach , and it
was now full of activity. Lines of vehicles moved up the sand and
off the beach. Among them was a jeep full of soldiers: Captain
—
Miller and his squad of seven men Sergeant Horvath driving,
Corporal Upham, the medic Wade, and Privates Reiben,
Caparzo, Jackson, and Mellish .
Soon they were moving fast down a dirt road. The landscape
was full of damaged vehicles, abandoned equipment, bodies , and
dead animals. Sitting in the front, Upham was pale and his eyes
were wide as he looked at the scenery. Miller ignored it and
looked at a map.
“ Captain, is a question OK? ” Reiben asked .
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