TDTLBU Chapter Twenty-Nine

Emma lifted her hand to shade her eyes as the morning sun shone down mercilessly. A chilly spring wind whipped her hair into her face and blew her skirt around her knees. A disapproving glance from an older, more important-looking woman caused her to drop her hand instantly and stand at attention with the others in line beside her.

There they stood… ten long rows of young women in army coats and khaki skirts, facing forward in perfect formation. A tall, reedy middle-aged woman stepped to the front, addressing them in a booming voice.

"Welcome to camp, Ladies. Here, for the next four weeks, you will be learning everything necessary for first aid and medical care on the battlefield. You will be given rigorous physical training as well as survival training. This is not going to be fun, and it is not going to be easy. It will be hard, at times miserable, and you will all be in constant danger. If you don't think you can handle it, you have the next four weeks to decide whether to go or stay. After that, you'll be shipped overseas and you're there to stay. We cannot have nurses deserting on the battlefield.”

"It is crucial that you realize that you are soldiers too. Every one of you. We're waging war against pain and disease and infection… the deadliest enemies you'll ever face. Prepare yourselves for the hardest work you'll ever do in your lives.”

"Above all, remember these things. Be positive. Always have a smile on your face. Never let the soldiers see you cry. Our men will be going through hell and it's up to us to try and brighten their lives just a little. Have compassion. Love these men and care for them as if they were your own brothers. Remember this: no matter how tired and how afraid you are, never let it show. Be brave, be strong, and fight well."

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May 22, 1942

Letter from Ronnie to Jim and Donna

We’re all on edge here, hearing about all the stuff that’s going on in the Pacific and over in Europe. They’ve got us all pumped up and ready to fight, but we still aren’t going anywhere. They’re starting to hint that we’ll be going somewhere soon, but they won’t tell us when or where. 

Training is starting to wind down now. We do all the basic exercises and PT and all that, but we have more free time on our hands now than we usually do. Watched a lot of movies lately, both Hollywood stuff and training films, and there’s been an awful lot of dances at the USO. Sometimes I go, sometimes I don’t. Don’t really want to dance right now. Never been much good at it anyway. 

Did target practice most of the day and then relay races through the obstacle course with some of the other units. Ours won the last two out of three rounds and then wound it up with a big fight and we all got in trouble… 

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“I’d say we did a pretty darn good job,” Jimmy grinned, hands on his hips. Ralph was bending almost double, bracing himself on his knees as he gasped to catch his breath. “Even Ol’ Softy here. Hey Bill!” he called out as the leader of the opposing team sauntered past, glaring darkly. “Guess we beat ya after all. How’s it feel to lose?”

“I’ll show you how it feels to lose,” Bill grit his teeth as he advanced, curling his fingers into a fist. Before Jimmy could answer, Bill drew back his arm and slammed his fist against the boy’s jaw. Jimmy reeled back, his eyes wide with shock as he lifted his hand gingerly to his face.

“You’re gonna regret that,” he snapped, clenching his fists. 

“Make me,” Bill sneered. But as Jimmy lunged towards him, Bill was knocked violently off his feet as Mac ran at him, headlong. The rest of the gang wasn’t far behind, piling on top of Bill so fast that he disappeared, buried beneath a howling, struggling mass. Jimmy grinned, glanced back at Ralph, who was still trying to catch his breath, then shrugged and jumped on top of the pile.

It took three sergeants to break up the fight. Had the participants of the fight realized right away who was screaming at them, it would have ended a lot sooner. But they were so caught up in the action that they didn’t notice until it was too late. Bill and Mac were the last to be separated, Mac having caught Bill in a strangle-hold, blocking the wildly-swinging punches. 

The recruits lined up in formation as the sergeants screamed insults at them and doled out punishments. But in spite of the threat of double KP duty and twenty-mile runs, they didn’t regret the fight. The atmosphere hanging over the entire base was strained and they felt they had to break the tension somehow. And of course, there were those who would never learn their lessons. Josh was among that sorry group. He laughed as Bill struggled to stand in formation, holding his hand over his bleeding nose, courtesy of Mac.

“You don’t wanna pick a fight with a man who’s got a battle scar before he even goes into combat,” Josh grinned, earning an angry glare from McFarland as he spoke.

“Hayes!” The sergeant roared, facing Josh down with narrowed eyes. “KP duty for the rest of this week. Maybe that’ll teach you to keep your damn mouth shut when I’m talking to you!”

Josh kept his mouth shut then, but all that week, he griped about peeling potatoes and washing stacks of hundreds of dirty dishes to the point of driving everyone else insane.

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On June 21, the entire First Division finally made its first move. They didn’t go far… only to Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania, but it was still something. It was one step closer to the action. The day they arrived in Indiantown Gap, they were informed that soon they would be going overseas. But where, they couldn't even be told yet. They wouldn't know where they were going until they were out on the sea… once it was too late to turn back. An air of intense, nervous excitement settled over the men as they made the final preparations for deportation. 

Weeks after the move to the new base, a letter was forwarded to Ronnie. It had been held up in the mail during the chaos of relocating thousands of troops, and only barely made through the confusion. Ronnie almost wished it hadn’t, when he realized what it meant. If his heart hadn’t already been broken, it would have broken then. The letter was from Lissie.

Dear Ronnie,

I feel I owe you an explanation. And I'm sorry I didn't speak before... guess I couldn't find the words. I still can't. But I keep thinking about all that has happened between us and… I can’t let it go… not like this. When you asked me to marry you… I panicked. I knew you were going off to war and… Ronnie, I hate war. I don’t suppose any of us would find anything about war to not hate… but I can’t stand the very thought of it. I see men walking down the street in uniforms and it just makes something inside of me curl up and die. And I know they’re going off to shoot men and be shot at… to kill and to be killed. I just can’t take it. Knowing that you’re going off to be a soldier and you might never come home again. I had to do it, Ronnie. Had to let you go before it was too late and I caved in on myself. I was too afraid to tell you then. 

I'm a Pacifist. I know there's a way to come to peace without murdering millions... there just has to be. God wouldn't let this happen... it's going against His will. When you left that day… at the train station… and I came to see you off... you asked me if I would reconsider and I said there wasn’t anything to reconsider. Well actually, I had come to ask if you would reconsider. If you would leave the army before it was too late and stay at home. But there was something in your eyes that day… they were gray, Ronnie. I've never seen your eyes turn that gray before… it frightened me. And I knew I couldn’t ask you to stay for me. So you left. Without me ever saying… and yet I can’t. I can’t say it now.

Looking over these scribbled lines, I guess they don’t really make much sense, do they? I’m sorry, Ronnie. I’m so sorry. My heart is breaking but there’s nothing you or I can do. Go, Ronnie, go and be a soldier. Make your country proud. I know you will. But I… I can’t ever marry a soldier. I pray that you make it through. And I hope that someday… if you do make it… that you find someone better deserving of you than I.

I guess this is goodbye, Soldier.

Lissie.