The Waves Don't Forget

A Hero to Be

82nd All the Way
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"That man was something else entirely. The bravery he showed in the face of what should have been certain death was unbelievable, and in that moment, when our eyes locked in that place..."

Kurfürst's eyes unfocused, seemingly recalling the moment she and Sergeant York met in battle. She smiled at the memory, quickly blinking to refocus her eyes to the present.

"That was when a mere man stood as tall as a Titan."

It looked like some wanted to ask questions, but Kurfürst simply raised her hand, the happy smile still on her face. "Please, save your questions for the end, I want you all to hear this recount of the tale before them."
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The day I met Alvin York was on the eighth of October, merely two days after I had dabbled with the Lost Battalion incident. I was on the battlements close to the Entente line, and soon, we expected a push from them, as they have done many time before, and succeeded in many times as well.

Kurfürst was held up in one of the forwards hills, 223 if she recalled the number correctly, with several more soldiers as well as a Machine Gunner, who was peppering the open field where the enemy was already beginning to move. Even though she was asked to stay behind and work with the other Officers, she felt she was more needed in the front, commanding on the line and giving courage to those who were reeling.

She was staring out at the advancing Army, men falling in the dozens from machine gun fire that filed them full of holes, but they only continued running and firing, occasionally hitting their mark true, and making it that much easier for them to move forward. She gripped the wooden support beam tightly, before vaulting up to stand on the entrenched section the unit was in.

"General?" The Machine gunner looked confused as to why she did that, even though he heard rumors of her invulnerability, he still didn't think it was a good idea to go out of cover like that.

She gave him a sideward glance, not saying a word as she marched down the hill, taking a forward position that immediately revealed her position to the soldiers ahead of her. As she expected, quite a few seemed to hesitate, but just as many continued on, possibly with even more vigor than before at the sight of her.

She spied over her shoulder, looking the Machine Gunner in the eyes. "Fire now, while they're distracted."

He obliged her command, aiming his weapon before firing onto the soldiers that were coming their way. Many fell under the concentrated barrage of gunfire, but as she still expected, even more came to fill that gap.

Truly, the Americans joining the war was the absolute turning point that spelled our end. Germany was prepared for Trench warfare, we were prepared for bloody engagements, but what we weren't prepared for was the sheer numbers and overwhelming power that the American industrial powerhouse could provide.

Eventually, she heard the gun behind her stop, as well as frantic whispers about something that she couldn't hear. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Machine Gunner repositioning his weapon, aiming in towards the Forest. She heard gunfire erupt from there as well, and quickly made her way up to the hill again to see what the racket was about.

Once she got there, she saw one of the men there, of the thirty or so, get his brains blown out the back of his head, followed by another who was hit with the same fate. Then, over the gunfire, she heard an ever so strong and powerful voice, screaming in English at them.

"Put down the guns! I don't wanna kill all of you!"

That was my first meeting with Alvin York, and after that day, we would never meet again. Even if that was our only meeting, the man's actions stuck with me, and it all began when I took the first step.