I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
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We received our new orders early the next morning - to participate in a daring new mission called Operation Market Garden. Listening to the details surrounding such a mission had the men excited... until we were told it would be led by the British. This didn't sit well with any of the men who wanted nothing to do with British commanders - especially if they were telling us what to do.
Frankly, I was more worried about the details of the mission itself. The way the British commanders spoke about it if successful, would end the war and take us home by Christmas. There was a lot of enthusiasm within the ranks to make this mission successful but I worried it sounded too good to be true.
It was obvious to anyone observing the men how much they wanted to go home and would do everything in their power to make it happen. Pangs of sadness crept up as I thought about the 414 names Colonel Sink read the night prior who would never see their home or families again. I pushed these thoughts clawing at my mind away; I couldn't focus on that now - I needed to focus on the job at hand.
Easy Company gathered outside the airstrip to prepare for the jump into Holland. Climbing back in a harness was bittersweet for me as I started to remember those feelings I had during training. I missed feeling my mother's presence and hoped this jump would allow me to feel her once more. I needed that comfort desperately - especially with everything that's happened.
"Aw man, what the hell is he doing here?" someone mumbled as they passed by me.
Glancing up, I spotted a lot of men glaring at something behind me. Turning to see what they were gawking at, my eyes landed on Sobel. He was among the group of men bringing extra supplies and the discharged wounded who were rejoining us from the aid station. Currently, Sobel stood a few feet before Malarkey, scolding him for something - of what, none of us knew - but the scowl on the man's face hadn't changed since the last time we saw him - if anything, it looked worse.
Bull's annoyed voice confirmed, "That's him all right." He shook his head, pulling the cigar stub out of his mouth for a moment. Some replacements followed him down the line, asking him who the man was.
For the briefest moment, I entertained the idea of handing Sobel my letter to send to Darla but there were rumors about him opening the men's mail before sending it out and I certainly didn't want him reading any of my letters. I sighed, knowing I had to be patient and think of a different way to get that letter to her.
As I finished preparing for the jump, I felt a heavy hand land on my left shoulder. My eyes squeezed shut, afraid it was Sobel coming over to reprimand me for something. I forced myself to turn around to get the conversation over with but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Popeye Wynn beaming down at me with his goofy smile.
"Hey, Emmeline!" Wynn smiled wide at me.
I blinked my surprise away, returning the smile. "Popeye! How are you?"
"I'm a little sore, to be honest with you," he admitted. The way he walked, it was obvious his wounds still hurt.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I asked, "Were you cleared for this jump?"
