The Second Objective

He had landed in an ancient reservoir below the fountains and terraces, emptied of water. A series of low keystoned arches branched up to form the ceiling from rows of square pillared foundations, stained by ageless watermarks. A distant light source illuminated the symmetrical edges of the pillars as they marched away in both directions. The air felt glacial and stagnant, as if it hadn’t been disturbed in a hundred years. Gra

The trail of blood continued ahead of him on the smooth stone floor. The reservoir seemed to have no end, extending into infinite darkness. He advanced slowly, following the blood from pillar to pillar with the light. His right arm felt dead, hanging as if by a string, its every involuntary movement shooting pain out through his upper body that took his breath away. He crept forward, half a step at a time, cautiously approaching the edge of each pillar before inching into the open again.

He heard footsteps moving ahead of him in the dark, then the sound of a scuffle, followed closely by two booming gunshots and a groan. He heard something heavy hit the ground.

“I got him!” he heard an American voice yell. “I got the son of a bitch!”

The fragile beam of the flashlight caught the edge of something moving two pillars ahead. Gra

“Can I get some fucking help down here! He’s still alive, I got him!”

Gra

“Anybody there, god damn it! I need help!”

Gra

“Don’t fucking move again!” said the MP, lowering the gun at him.

“Where’d you hit him?” asked Gra

“Head and neck, I think. I had patrol down here,” said the MP. He pointed deeper into the darkness. “There’s a door co

“Is the general all right?” asked Gra

“I think he is, I think they got him back inside. Who the fuck is this guy? One of those Germans?”

“That’s right,” said Gra

“Jesus, you’re hit, too. Cover him, I’ll get help. Where the hell is everybody?”

Gra

“Hold up,” said Gra

“Come on, man, you’re hurt-”

“Who plays center field for the Dodgers?” asked Gra

“What, are you fucking kidding me?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Joe DiMaggio.”

Gra

Von Leinsdorf stepped forward into the light, holding the Colt in both hands. Gra

“What do you want?” he asked. “What do you want?”

Gra

Von Leinsdorf raised the gun to fire point-blank at him when the reservoir exploded with a series of deafening shots that merged into one long, continuous blast.

Bernie advanced steadily toward Von Leinsdorf as he emptied the clip, and every shot caught him square in the back. The German jerked forward, spun to his left as he dropped the gun, tried to grab a pillar to hold himself up, then slid to the ground and onto his side. He looked up at Bernie in disbelief. Bernie stood over him, held his look without flinching, pointed the gun at his forehead, and the trigger clicked again, the clip empty. And in that instant the dark light in Von Leinsdorf’s eyes finally went out.

Bernie tossed the gun away and knelt down beside Gra

“They’re coming,” he said. “You’re going to be all right. They’ll be here soon.”

“How’s the other guy?”

Gra

“He’s gone,” said Bernie.

“Get out of here now,” said Gra

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“Go on-”

“Forget that. Forget it. I’m not leaving you alone.”

Gra

“Here. In here.”

Bernie helped him reach in, and they pulled out Ole Carlson’s dog tags. Gra

“You’re with me, Bernie,” said Gra

“All right.”

“He dropped a case near the water. Make sure you get it first. There’s papers in there you can use.”

“Okay, Earl.”

“Promise me you’ll do that.”

“I promise.”

Gra

37

Late on the morning of December 22, General Eisenhower issued his Order of the Day to all the Allied troops in Europe, his first public acknowledgment of the seriousness and scale of the Battle of the Bulge.

The enemy is making his supreme effort to break out of the desperate plight into which you forced him by your brilliant victories of the summer and fall. He is fighting savagely to take back all that you have won and is using every treacherous trick to deceive and kill you. He is gambling everything, but already, in this battle, your unparalleled gallantry has done much to foil his plans. In the face of your proven bravery and fortitude, he will completely fail.

But we ca