A new medic

Chapter 13

Upottery, England - May 31st, 1944

Jess' boots squelched in the mud, rain ran down her helmet onto her face and her wet plait dripped down her back. All around her, Easy had sent up their tents in accordance with Lieutenant Compton's orders. As she walked around, Jess saw Hoobler talking with one of the British soldiers who was dressed as a German. She smiled at Hoobler's excitement about the Brit's Luger and carried on trudging through the thick English mud, thoughts running through her head.

"St. Marie du Mont. Causeway number one. Causeway number two. The ultimate field problem. The estuary of the Douve River divides two beachheads, code-named Utah, here, and Omaha here. Seabourne infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date and time to be specified. H-Hour, D-Day. Airborne's objective, gentlemen, is to take the town of Careltan, or Carentan, thus linking Utah and Omaha into a one continuous beachhead." Lieutenant Meehan, the new commanding officer for Easy, stood addressing them of the plan to invade Normandy.

"Each trooper will learn this operation by heart and know his and every other outfits' mission to the detail." Jess, who was sitting next to Guarnere, turned her head as Dukeman stood and asked the question that every paratrooper had been wondering. "Sir, are we dropping tonight?"

"When it's time for you to know, we'll let you know. In the meantime, study these sand tables, maps, and reconnaissance photos until you can draw a map of the area by memory. Now, we will drop behind this Atlantic wall five hours before the fourth infantry lands at Utah. And between our assembly area and the battalion's objective, there is a German garrison right here in this area, St. Marie du Mont. Easy Company will destroy that garrison."

Meehan finished his address and Easy rose in a loud scuffle of chairs and murmurs. "Glad they keep us so informed about when we're jumping," grumbled Guarnere as he and Jess followed the crowd back to their row of tents. Jess nodded in agreement. "Don't suppose you know when the big jump is?" chimed in Malarkey as he appeared at Jess' other side. Jess turned her head to face him and raised one eyebrow. "Why would I know Malark? You heard Meehan. We won't know until the brass believe we should know." Malarkey shrugged his shoulders and the trio arrived back at the tents. "Just thought, what with your husband being Easy's first Lieutenant and your best friend being the Intelligence Officer, you might have more of an idea than us," he explained as Jess started to leave after bidding them goodnight. She turned back towards Malarkey and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Well Malark.. I can tell you this; one of the days before we jump I'm gonna find you and beat your ass at a game of cards."

Jess left the sound of Guarnere's laughter and Malarkey's disbelief behind her as she continued to wander through the rows of tents. She smiled and waved at Luz and Lip, checked a few nerves and bruises on various other Easy members before she finally arrived back at the tent where she had left her belongings. As she rummaged through, searching for something, Jess heard a squelching of mud behind her and turned to see Nix approaching with his dark bushy eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Lew!" Jess called out and her friend looked up from the churned up ground, smiling slightly when he noticed her.

"Hey Jez, you alright?" Nix greeted as she reached out her arms for a hug. He reciprocated the action and Jess breathed in the scent of coffee mixed with whiskey. Clearly, even the looming jump couldn't stop Nix from finding time to drink his beloved Vat 69. "What are you up to Lew? Shouldn't you be with the other officers, finalising the details of the jump that the rest of us poor schmucks aren't allowed to know?" Jess teased her friend. Nix laughed sarcastically at the jab towards the officers. Personally, Nix agreed with the well worn belief that officers were too stuck up for their own good, caring nothing about the men under their command. Still, Nix was one of those officers and he did his best to try and subvert the stereotype.