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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Later that night as we recovered from the battle, the Germans began bombing Eindhoven. We could see it all from the small town we sat in. It illuminated the night sky, casting an eerie orange glow, highlighting the tall flames as they licked the dark silhouette of the buildings. No one spoke a word that night as we watched the once happy city burn. We knew even though we were given a break for the night, those in Eindhoven were not. The Allies had not set up their anti-aircraft weaponry in the city, so the Germans had an easy target to bomb with their seventy plane Luftwaffe bombing mission.
As the morning sun started to crest the horizon, we received word that Eindhoven suffered heavy casualties. The city was severely damaged with over eight hundred inhabitants wounded and over two hundred killed.
Strayer decided to move two of his other Companies back into Nuenen, with Easy following in reserve. When we arrived back to Nuenen, we discovered the Germans pulled out and were making their way towards Son. It was frustrating to us as we had just come through there, securing the lines - now we were backtracking across the countryside, losing our progress.
Walking into the decimated town square of Nuenen, we spotted a familiar frame standing there. It was Randleman. He waved at our approach and every single man in our Company cheered at the sight of him, rushing over to make sure he was okay, slapping him on the back for a job well done.
Waiting until everyone else dispersed, I smiled as I approached him. "Bull! You're okay!"
"Course I am," he said, pulling his cigar stub from his mouth to smile, "I've been holding the fort here while you guys took in the scenery." He gave me a small chuckle.
My eyes drifted down to his bandaged shoulder. "What happened?"
"Tank burst," he replied. "Some of the farmers back there helped dig out the pieces but I could use a real medic." He replaced the cigar stub in his mouth, giving it a quick puff, the smoke billowing by his head.
I nodded, still smiling at him. "Come on," I said, motioning for him to follow me back to the trucks, "I'll get you cleaned up and you can tell me all about it."
While sitting on the edge of the truck's bed, I patched Bull's wound. He regaled me on how he ended up getting wounded and separated from the Company. He told me about his run-in with a German trooper who followed him into one of the barns, how he managed to kill the enemy even though he was wounded, and how he hid in the haystacks until the Germans withdrew from the town.
As I worked on his wound, Strayer and a few other officers, Winters included, joined us. Strayer looked at Bull and asked, "What can you tell us?"
Bull glanced at the men standing before us. "They pulled out early this morning, heading Northwest towards Son," he informed them, "I'm not sure if they plan on passing by or if they plan to take it over."
Strayer nodded as he listened. Turning to the other officers, he ordered, "I want Easy to head back to Eindhoven and camp out there until further notice. If the Germans are planning a counterattack on Eindhoven, now that they've bombed it, we need to be ready for it."
