Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

Frayed tempers

On Halloween's Eve, in a town called Driel, disaster struck once more for Easy Company. Captain Winters and Lieutenant Heyliger were walking along the line, discussing the company and how they adjusted to their new CO and vice versa.

"Halt!", came the call from a sentry.

Stupidly, Heyliger responded: "It's Moose!"

The last syllable hadn't left his lip when four shots rang out in rapid succession. Moose went down.

"Hold your fire!", Winters screamed, catching the wounded lieutenant and lowering him to the ground.

Heyliger groaned in pain. "Hang on, buddy", Winters whispered.

The sentry, a fresh-faced kid, came running. He stared at the two men, all colour draining from his face. "Oh my God", he moaned.

"Send for Lieutenant Welsh", the battalion XO ordered.

The kid stood frozen in shock as Winters pleaded with Moose to stay awake.

Looking up, Winters saw that the sentry hadn't moved an inch.

"Send for Lieutenant Welsh, NOW!", he bellowed. His friend was bleeding out on these railroad track. He needed a jeep, medics and an ambulance right now!

The private startled out of his trance and hurried away, hopefully to carry out Winters' orders.

***

Ella had just delivered a pile of requisition forms to HQ when the rapidly approaching rumble of a jeep caught her attention. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she was racing down the last few steps before the jeep even appeared out of the fog. It barrelled down the road and came to a screeching halt in front of HQ.

Lieutenant Welsh was keeping a barely conscious Lieutenant Heyliger propped up against him, his flashlight shining from his breast pocket into the man's face to help keep him awake. Captain Winters jumped out of the driver's seat and hurried to open the ambulance doors.

"What happened?", she asked, eyes fixed on the wounded man. Four bullet holes, one in the shoulder, one in the gut, two in the leg.

A replacement kept babbling about how sorry he was and that he didn't mean to.

Ella tuned him out, focused on Welsh's report.

"Hey Lieutenant", she spoke to the wounded man, shining her own pen light in his eyes. "It's alright, we got you. Just stay awake."

Without needing to be told, Welsh leant him forward so that the small medic could bandage the hole in Moose's gut where the bullet had gone right through.

Fishing out more bandages and tourniquets from her satchel, Ella didn't pause for even a second as she raised her head and hollered: "Medic for assistance!"

An inconsequential thought crossed Lieutenant Welsh's mind in that oddly detached fashion that wasn't uncommon in stressful situations.

For such a small person, Shorty sure can shout if she needs to.

He watched as the girl treated her CO with brisk, precise efficiency, all the while chatting to the bleeding man. She looked neither scared nor hectic and her gentle assurances didn't just calm down her patient.

***

"Stretcher!", Winters shouted.

In the same moment, Gene came flying over to them. "I got him Harry", he spoke to Welsh, looping his arms around Heyliger's chest.