Hello There, Soldier

Europe: June 5, 1944

Somewhere over the English Channel: June 5, 1944 (Just before midnight)

The anxiety hung heavily on Joe as he sat in the back of the C-47. This was nothing compared to the jumps in Italy. This was bigger. Everything was bigger. This was the beginning of the full scale invasion of Europe and the paratroopers were going to be the first ones in. The danger of it all never seemed to really settle into his mind though. He was more worried about getting in and getting his objective completed. A lot of men were going to be depending on them come morning.

The warning was given to prepare to jump. Joe stood up feeling the heavy weight of all his equipment as he turned towards the door. There were only twelve of them on the plane but there were plenty of planes in the sky at that moment. Joe took a deep breath and steadied his mind as best he could before the doors opened and the green light came on. With that, the jump master led the way as they all began to file out without a second thought.

That was what it meant to be a paratrooper. Perfectly sane people don't volunteer to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Normal people would hesitate as they stood in the doorway staring down at the ground in the distance as it goes flying by. But once the light turned green, Joe never even thought about it as he stepped right out of the plane and into the sky.

It was a unique experience falling through the sky. It's something almost impossible to explain to someone who has never done it before. The air whips around you as you fall towards the ground. It only lasts a moment before the parachute pulls you up as it's released. You had to know how to fall. That was the first lesson given to paratroopers. It's a very important lesson because there is no graceful way to land from a combat jump.

The adrenaline was flowing heavily through his system. He couldn't tell if it was the wind or his blood making the rushing sound in his ears but he didn't care. Taking a quick glance around the dark night sky he saw the outlines of the other parachutes as they opened. Night jumps were never fun. It was almost impossible to see where you were landing and really it was all about luck if you made it down in a safe place. A gust of wind pushed him back and Joe could barely make out the tree line fast approaching.

This was not an ideal situation. He needed an open area to land in, not a forest. But as the wind blew again he knew there was no avoiding it. Joe prepared himself just as he hit the trees. It was painful to say the least. He felt a sharp pain rip through his shoulder as the rest of his body and parachute got tangled up in the branches. Joe took a moment to collect himself before looking up to assess the situation. He was badly tangled and pretty high up in the tree. Another shot of pain reminded him of his shoulder and looking over he saw a piece of branch still sticking out of the bloody wound.

He turned his gaze upward as if to ask whatever powers were listening for some help. With determination, he grabbed the stick in his shoulder and realizing it wasn't that far in, he pulled it out quickly. Joe bit the inside of his mouth to keep his cry of pain in. The arm hurt to move but it was functional and that's all he needed at the moment. Reaching down he grabbed a knife out and began to cut himself free from his parachute.

As he cut away the last of the cords, Joe grabbed onto the branch closest to him and pulled himself up. Now free of the parachute, Joe made his way down the tree as best he could. Unfortunately, he slipped on one of the lower branches and fell with a thud. He couldn't help the groan that escaped as he hit the ground but mentally cursed himself when he heard voices approaching soon after. Gathering up his gear, he hid himself in the bushes hoping that he hadn't been discovered.

Joe held his breath as the German soldiers walked right past him chatting away casually. If they had just looked up at the right moment they would have seen his parachute still tangled in the tree but the two men didn't seem to be taking their patrol duty very seriously. He let out a sigh of relief as they disappeared down the path. Finally feeling that he was in the clear, he picked up his rifle and went to stand up but froze in place as the metal of a gun barrel pressed into his back.