Chapter 27: The Jump
"Parks, we can all fly now!" was the first thing Cobb said when he saw Rhys, his tone full of pride. "That's the sky, you know. I think I'll be a paratrooper very soon, with my very own wings!"
"You're late," White said, clapping Rhys on the shoulder with a smile. "We've already passed the C-stage training. Looks like Lieutenant Winters will have to give you special tutoring to get you up to our level."
"Tomorrow, we're doing our first actual parachute jump tomorrow," Tipper chimed in.
"Hey, brothers, maybe I'll be getting on that C-47 transport with you tomorrow. Don't worry, I'm a genius," Rhys said with a laugh. "Just you wait and see. This won't be a problem for me."
And indeed, it wouldn't be a problem for him. In his past life as an elite special agent, parachuting was a critical escape skill that everyone had to master. He had even used a ram-air parachute, which was far more difficult to control.
As they were chatting, the barracks flap opened. It was Lieutenant Winters and Lieutenant Nixon.
"Attention!" Rhys shouted. With a sharp sound, he snapped to a rigid, standing position. Everyone else in the barracks dropped what they were doing and stood at attention.
"At ease," Winters said with a nod. He walked over to Rhys with a smile. "It seems Colonel Sink was able to get you reassigned after all. Welcome back, Parks." He extended his hand.
After they shook, Winters said, "Captain Sobel also expressed his welcome for your return to the company. Furthermore, under orders from Captain Sobel, I am appointing you as the Company First Sergeant for E Company. Congratulations."
"Thank you, sir!" Rhys said, puffing out his chest.
"Relax. You've earned it," Winters nodded. "Alright, soldiers, carry on." He and Nixon started to walk out. Just as he reached the door, he turned back. "I'll have someone assigned to supervise your training tomorrow. I hope that within a week, you'll be able to catch up to our progress."
Rhys took a step forward. "Lieutenant, I don't think I'll need special instruction." Seeing the confused look on Winters's face, he added, "I am confident I can handle it. Perhaps I can fly with the brothers tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" This time, even Nixon was a bit skeptical. "First Sergeant, I know you are an excellent soldier, but getting on that plane without any training could be problematic."
Rhys nodded solemnly. "I know, sir, but I'm confident I can handle it. Why not let me go through the B and C-stage training right now? As long as I can pass, I request permission to go up with the brothers tomorrow."
Winters pondered this for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, as you wish. I also hope you can be with the brothers. I'll have Sergeant Carwood Lipton go with you to monitor your training results."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Rhys said, saluting.
Winters returned the salute, then smiled. "Do good work. Carry on," he said, gesturing to the men in the barracks before leaving with Nixon.
After they had walked a short distance, Nixon could no longer hold back.
"Dick, are you really going to do this?" Nixon asked, looking at Winters seriously.
"Is there a problem?" Winters asked with a smile, seeing Nixon's earnest expression.
Nixon shook his head. "This is extremely dangerous. Even if he passes the test, what can a single test really show? We all know he's an excellent soldier, which is why we should be even more cautious."
Winters stopped walking, looked at Nixon, then up at the sky. "I don't know why, but I have faith in him. I can't think about him using conventional logic. That's the answer, Nix." With that, he started walking again.
Nixon shook his head and followed behind him.
In fact, things turned out just as Winters had expected. The result that Lipton brought back was the instructor's evaluation: he had given Rhys an "A." It was clear that even among the brothers of Easy Company who had been training for a week, not many had received an "A."
"Are you sure this is his real evaluation result?" Nixon asked Lipton, holding the paper and looking at it with disbelief. "I just hope this result doesn't end up getting him killed."
"There's no problem at all, Lieutenant," Lipton nodded. "The instructor gave the grade himself. I witnessed the entire process. To be honest, he did better than any of us. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe that someone could be so outstanding on their first try. Maybe he's just different."
"Thank you, Sergeant," Winters nodded.
After Lipton saluted and left, Winters looked at Nixon with a smile. Nixon just shrugged, a look of helpless disbelief on his face.
"Maybe he really is just different. You can't even describe him as 'excellent' anymore," Nixon muttered.
***
That night, the men of Easy Company were busy. They packed their parachutes, inspected them carefully, then repacked them and inspected them again, working until eleven o'clock.
"This is my first time on a plane, to be honest," Cobb said, looking a little excited. He was lying on his bunk with his hands behind his head, watching Tipper, who was still working. "Hey, Tipper, what about you? Is it your first time?"
"Yes, Cobb. Is there a problem with that?" Tipper said as he packed his chute. "What's so embarrassing about your first time on a plane?"
"I've flown several times already," White said with a chuckle, finally finding a moment of superiority. "If you look down from the plane, Fort Benning just looks like a big bowl. What about you, Parks?"
"Me?" Rhys smiled. "It's nothing. Whether it's the first time or the tenth time, it doesn't matter. As long as we jump well tomorrow. I'm not afraid."
They drifted off to a fitful sleep. The next morning at 5:30 AM, the wake-up call sounded.
"Hey, fellas, we're heading to Lawson Airfield!" someone shouted in the formation.
"Maybe we should sing a song," Luz suggested.
The suggestion was met with widespread approval. On the way there, everyone sang at the top of their lungs, full of confidence. This was the kind of sight Sobel loved to see.
But while waiting at the airfield, the mood shifted.
"Damn it, why do I keep having to go to the bathroom?" Cobb cursed under his breath.
"That's your fourth time, Cobb. I guarantee, a guy like you could get on a plane, fly to Germany, and take a piss over Berlin that would be big enough to drown Hitler. Then we wouldn't have to go through all the trouble of going to Europe," Guarnere said with a grin. "Fellas, the war is over."
A few men started to laugh, but Cobb couldn't be bothered. He squeezed his legs together and ran to the latrine again.
"This isn't funny at all," Webster muttered, his lips twitching, unable to form a smile. In truth, he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.
Each C-47 transport carried 24 soldiers. Despite the mix of emotions spreading through the cabin, the planes took off into the sky.
"We're at 1,500 feet," Rhys said, looking out the window. The plane began to circle over the drop zone below.
The jumpmaster, an NCO instructor, shouted, "Stand up! Hook up!"
"Sound off for equipment check!"
"Twelve okay!" "Eleven okay!" The men sounded off in sequence, all the way down to number one.
"Stand in the door!" the jumpmaster bellowed. "Go, fellas!"
Everyone, whether they were terrified or disoriented, had to jump. It was an order. Refusal meant being kicked out of the airborne.
In the sky, the parachutes opened like blooming flowers.
"Beautiful," the brothers who had already jumped said, looking up from the ground as they watched the canopies blossom one by one in the air.
Winters and Nixon were waiting at the drop zone.
"Do you see Parks?" Winters asked, pointing to a figure who had already landed and was gathering his chute. "His landing was the most accurate, much better than the others. It seems your previous worries were wrong."
Nixon nodded, then sighed. "My mistake. I shouldn't have tried to judge him by normal standards."
The first jump was a test, but the brothers of Easy Company had passed. Other battalions were not so lucky. One man jumped, and his parachute failed to open. He fell to his death.
Although the news was frightening, no one backed down.
Soon, every man in Easy Company had completed five jumps. This meant that after the fifth one, they would become true paratroopers. This was what the men of Easy Company were most excited about.
*****
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