The men of Easy Company, led by Winters, were walking towards the village entrance when they heard footsteps behind them and someone shouted, "Lieutenant Winters!"
Winters stopped and turned around, seeing a soldier running towards him with a rifle on his back. He stopped beside Winters: "Lieutenant, I hope to be with you!"
"Hell?" Winters looked at him, then gestured towards the village, "You should be with the men of A Company." Winters nodded at Parks.
"Goodbye, Hell!" A group of people walked past Hell, greeting him.
Parks couldn't help but stop, patting Hell's shoulder and saying, "You should stay. We have enough men. Wait for your own brothers. Listen to my advice, it will be good for you." Then he quickly walked a few steps to catch up with the team. Parks knew that Hell would die in this battle, so he gave Hell his advice.
After walking a few steps, he turned back again, looking at Hell's surprised gaze, and couldn't help but smile: "You have * placed it into the cannon barrel, then inserted a German stick grenade to detonate the explosive.
"Boom!" The cannon barrel was blown into a spinach-like shape. Winters gave him a thumbs up.
"Parks, take men along the right trench to capture the second cannon. I'll lead men to attack along the front hedgerow, with machine guns providing cover on both sides." Winters issued his orders concisely and clearly, "Move out!"
He took the lead and charged towards the front of the trench, climbing up. Dirt splattered all around the trench. But it couldn't stop Winters and Parks' rapid advance.
With a "thud," Poupe, who was charging forward with Winters, fell headfirst to the ground and rolled into the trench.
"They hit my butt! Oh God, it hurts so much." Poupe screamed desperately, his voice trembling, "I'm so unlucky, Lieutenant, I'm finished. I'm finished, I'm so unlucky!"
"Toy, go look after him!" Winters couldn't stop at all; once he stopped, he would become a target for the German.
As soon as Toy jumped into the trench, a German stick grenade was thrown into the trench, landing next to Toy.
"Grenade!" Winters shouted. Then he quickly lay down and yelled at Toy, "Joe, get down."
Toy lunged forward, simultaneously pressing his body onto Poupe's.
"Boom--" The grenade blew the dirt high into the air.
"Joe, are you alright?" Lipton shouted from the side.
"I'm fine!" Toy quickly got up and looked around his body; he wasn't injured at all, despite the close proximity of the explosion.
"You're really lucky, Joe!" Guarnere shouted loudly, then followed Winters to charge towards the second cannon. In the trench ahead, Parks had already moved close to the German. He saw two German setting up an MG42, preparing to shoot at their moving trench.
"Fire, White!" Parks yelled, taking down one with a shot. Just as he was about to take down the other, his gun made a "ding" sound, and the magazine ejected.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, the German abandoned his machine gun and was about to turn and run. Parks shouted, "White!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" White fired from the side. As the German turned, he was shot dead by White. When the bullets penetrated his body, the splashing blood splattered on the German's own face, looking somewhat terrifying. White froze for a moment, feeling a bit nauseous.
"Get down!" Parks saw that the defending Germans at the second cannon had already aimed at White. He pounced forward, pressing White down into the trench, and then machine gun bullets whizzed over their heads.
"Thanks!" White felt a little embarrassed.
"Focus!" Parks roared, then patted his shoulder, "Stay behind me." With that, he hunched over and agilely advanced forward.
But Winters was forced into the trench by machine gun fire. He glanced at Poupe: "Can you crawl back on your own?"
"Yes, Lieutenant!" Poupe nodded, his expression very dejected.
"Lipton, let him crawl back on his own!" Winters said, "Throw him the gun." Then he faced Compton again: "Use grenades, we'll blast them out, Parks, the Germans who run out are yours!" He gestured to Parks as he spoke.
Compton, Guarnere, and several others took out grenades. Then, Winters counted to three, and several grenades were directly thrown into the German trench, followed by continuous explosions. Four Germans crawled out of the trench and began to cross the open ground, running towards Brecourt Manor.
"Take them out!" Parks shouted to Lipton and the others.
Lipton took one down with his carbine. White also hit one with a shot, and Lanny also hit one. The remaining German seemed to be a Lieutenant. He stumbled when Parks fired, causing Parks' shot to miss.
As Parks was about to fire again, the officer suddenly raised his hands and shouted loudly in broken English, "Surrender, surrender!" At this moment, Guarnere also caught up and sprayed a burst of bullets at the officer, all of them hitting his body. But this unlucky fellow was not completely dead. He cried out, "Help!"
"Malarkey, finish him off!" Parks couldn't help but frown.
"Alright, watch me, Germans, go meet God!" Malarkey aimed at the German's head, then pulled the Trigger. With a "bang," blood splattered from the German's head, and then it drooped down.
"Hey, how's my marksmanship?" Malarkey showed off to Joe Liebgott beside him, and then, without waiting for Toy's reply, he stared at the German Lieutenant he had killed and shouted, "Buddy, look what's on that guy's waist? A luger! God truly favors me. I have to get my hands on it." He was still thinking about capturing a luger so he could show off in front of his brothers like Parks.
Malarkey crawled out of the trench and ran towards the German Lieutenant.
"Malarkey, you idiot! Get back here!" Winters shouted, knowing Germans were lurking there.
Strangely, the Germans did not fire. Everyone watched him run towards the German, but Malarkey was dumbfounded. It wasn't a luger pistol at all, but merely the leather aiming gear for a 105mm cannon.
"Damn it!" His enthusiasm faded, Malarkey knew he was in danger. He cursed under his breath, then with a burst of energy, he got up and ran back quickly. The Germans sobered up; this guy was no medic at all.
The sound of the GM42 machine gun immediately rang out, bullets hitting the dirt around him, sending dust flying. Malarkey ran incredibly fast, and soon he ducked under the second cannon, finally stopping. And to the side, Parks was laughing at him: "Malarkey, forget your luger. Want me to go get it for you? Maybe I'd have better luck."
"One day!" Malarkey was a little unconvinced.
Parks took out the explosives, and then, using the same method, blew up the barrel of the second cannon. Winters, with the others, also rushed over, and they reunited.
"Sir, I think there's something you might want to see!" Parks called out to Winters at this moment.
Winters looked over and saw Parks already standing in a makeshift dugout command post next to the trench, where there were some German documents, a radio, and a telephone.
"Here are some documents and maps. I know some German, so I can understand some of what's on them. The maps show all the cannon and machine gun positions on the Cotentin Peninsula." Parks handed Winters a document bag.
"This is really good." Winters nodded, took the document bag, and flipped through it. "I think those guys at Battalion HQ should find it useful. Very good, Parks!"
"Gu Si, come here!" Winters waved to Gu Si, then handed him the document bag, "Take this to Battalion HQ, get some more ammunition, and bring some reinforcements."
"This is for our benefit, our pressure is too great." He complained to Parks, "I mean those machine gun positions firing at us, and these cannons, they are slaughtering our men with these cannons."
Parks nodded, then looked ahead: "Lieutenant, we still have two cannons. The distance between the third cannon and the last cannon is the greatest, and it's very close to our current position at the second cannon. I think this is good news for us."
Winters nodded. He waved to the trench next to the first cannon, calling over the machine gunners. Two machine guns, one to suppress the defenders of the fourth cannon, and one to cover their own capture of the third cannon.
"It's up to you!" Winters patted Christenson, "Once we take the third cannon, you and Liebgott will fire on the fourth cannon, pinning them down so they can't raise their heads!"
Winters approached Parks and ordered: "When the time comes, you will attack first with grenades, and then I will lead the men to capture the third cannon under the cover of the grenades. Act on my command."
Parks nodded, "Don't worry!"
Winters gestured to the rest of the men and shouted, "Move!"
Parks and the others immediately began to take out grenades.
"Throw them one after another, so the Germans don't have a chance to pop up and shoot!" Parks was the first to throw his grenade. With a "boom," it exploded in the trench of the third cannon, and the machine gun there immediately fell silent.
"Lipton!" Parks shouted.
Lipton threw the grenade with force, and then it was White and Lanny! Grenades exploded one after another in the trench of the third cannon. The Germans were pinned down in the trench, unable to move. After the grenades exploded, they tried to raise their heads, but were suppressed by Christenson's machine gun, unable to organize any resistance fire.
"Don't kill them, don't kill them!" At this moment, hands were raised from the trench, followed by the Germans shouting loudly in broken English. The Germans in that trench felt they had no other choice and decided to surrender.
The gunfire stopped. Six German soldiers stood up obediently, hands clasped behind their heads, while Winters had already rushed in front of them.
"Bang bang bang!" A burst of gunfire, and one German soldier fell headfirst to the ground. The other Germans were startled, not expecting the Americans to kill prisoners. They turned to flee in a panic.
"Bang!" Another gunshot, and the German running at the very front was shot in the head. Then a shout was heard, in German, which they all understood.
"Anyone who runs will be shot! Get down immediately!" Parks fired at the crucial moment and used German to subdue these Germans. Not a single German dared to run again, and they obediently squatted in the trench.
"Guarnere, I'm reminding you again, I'm in charge here, and you must follow my orders." Winters was clearly annoyed by this incident and shouted loudly at Guarnere, who had shot the surrendering German. This was the second time, and he had to clearly tell this guy not to do anything out of line again. "Sergeant, you must understand your place."
"Parks, blow up this cannon!" Winters ignored Guarnere and called out to Parks. Then he crawled to the side to observe the German distribution around the fourth cannon.
"Alright!" Parks hunched over and, following the same method, blew up the third cannon. He also heard Guarnere beside him muttering discontentedly, "Yes, Quaker!"
"Guarnere, the Lieutenant was just reminding you!" Parks couldn't help but shake his head and said to Guarnere.
"But I killed Germans." Guarnere was still somewhat dissatisfied, "Do I have to be yelled at for killing Germans?"
"Alright!" Parks said, "Be careful in the future. The Lieutenant also has his duties, and he is right."
Guarnere frowned: "Parks, are you helping him?"
"Don't you think the Lieutenant is right?" Parks retorted, "Alright, that's over, don't bring it up again. Don't get emotional on the battlefield, otherwise, sometimes it will kill our brothers! I'm also sad about losing our brothers and wish I could kill all the Germans, but you have to remember, we are paratroopers, and everything must be done according to orders!"
Guarnere looked at the silver wing badge on his chest and finally nodded, "You are right, I was just letting off steam. I will apologize to the Lieutenant."
"Hey, are you Easy Company?" a voice called out from behind Parks. A Lieutenant was lying on the edge of the trench, looking at Parks, Guarnere, and the others inside.
"Who are you?" Parks ducked his head, looking at him. He seemed somewhat familiar.
The Lieutenant said, "I'm Lieutenant Andrew Hill, a staff officer from the battalion headquarters. I got separated during the jump. I heard gunshots here, and I thought I might find you. Now it proves my guess was right. Can you tell me where the battalion headquarters is now?" Hill smiled somewhat smugly.
"Back there!" Parks pointed behind him, then shouted, "Maybe there, at least Battalion HQ is there. Go there and find Lieutenant Colonel Strayer. He might be able to tell you the exact location of the battalion headquarters."
"Thank you!" Lieutenant Hill nodded, then raised his head and looked behind him. "Are you Parks? I've seen you at the battalion headquarters. Just now…" His voice suddenly cut off. A stream of blood erupted from the center of his helmet. His forehead helmet had been penetrated by an MG42 bullet. His head slumped, and he died.
Guarnere watched, dumbfounded, instinctively pulling his head back into the trench.
After this incident, Winters reminded everyone to keep their bodies as low as possible in the trenches, moving in a crouch. The German machine gun fire was almost continuous, with bullets whizzing just above the trench.
At this moment, a team of 6 men rushed over behind Winters, braving the gunfire, and then jumped into the trench.
"Lieutenant Winters, I heard you needed ammunition. I brought some!" It was Lieutenant Speirs, who had arrived with 5 reinforcements. They brought 3 boxes of explosives, some phosphorus incendiary grenades, and some machine gun and rifle ammunition.
"Everyone take as much as you can!" Winters shouted.
"What's the situation now?" Speirs asked Winters while firing.
Winters pointed forward with his hand: "There's only one last gun left, but the German machine guns are heavily suppressing us. There are two machine guns firing continuously, which increases our difficulty."
Speirs half-exposed his head, observed the gun emplacement ahead for a moment, then shouted to Winters: "Lieutenant Winters, can D Company try to capture the last gun?"
Winters looked at him, then nodded: "No problem, Lieutenant! Go ahead!"
Speirs shouted loudly, "Brothers of D Company, let's go!" With that, he was the first to leap out of the trench and launch an attack on the last large gun.
As the last man leaped out of the trench, he threw a grenade towards the German gun emplacement, but he stood too upright. A burst of machine gun bullets swept over, "Puff," "Puff," "Puff"… Dense bullets struck his body, penetrating his shoulder and back. He fell headfirst into the trench, his mouth full of blood.
"God, he's dead!" White couldn't help but exclaim, feeling a chill in his heart.
"It's 'Old Curmudgeon' Hodge from F Company. I just don't know how he got mixed up with D Company." Guarnere glanced at the body, pursed his lips, then "click," loaded a bullet, and lay in the trench, firing at the German position.
"Cover them, machine guns provide full cover for D Company!" Winters loudly called out to Christenson and Cobb. This jolted them awake from their shock, and their fingers squeezed the Trigger, unleashing a torrent of bullets towards the Germans.
Speirs did not pause for a moment because of Hodge's death. They charged along the fence like madmen, attacking the German gun emplacement. Bullets flew over their heads, hitting the fence with "pat-pat" sounds, and dirt splattered everywhere.
"Hurry, don't stop!" Speirs urged his brothers loudly. Everyone was very nervous. They ran forward desperately, the German machine gun bullets seemingly chasing them.
One person fell, and someone shouted loudly, "Robert is finished!"
"Don't stop." Speirs shouted while firing, "Scott, keep up!"
soldier Scott felt his heart pounding in his throat, and he felt like he could barely breathe. He followed beside Speirs, holding his m1 garand rifle, not daring to stop for a moment, let alone run and shoot like Speirs. He was afraid that if he fired, he would stop, and if he stopped, he would be hit by those terrifying GM42 machine gun bullets.
"Grenade!" Speirs suddenly shouted at Scott. Then he threw a grenade towards the German position. Scott instinctively reached out, wanting to pull out a grenade. Then his steps paused for a moment.
"Puff," "Puff," two sounds, like wooden sticks hitting torn cotton wadding.
Scott felt as if his body had been heavily hammered twice, as if something was burning inside him. Inertia carried his body staggering back a few steps, but he didn't fall.
"Hit?" Scott reached out to touch the spot where he was hit, but he felt a hand full of blood. Hit. He wanted to scream loudly, like the other wounded he had seen, and then he let out a heartbreaking cry.
"Ah—" He opened his mouth in a panic.
"Puff," another sound of a bullet passing through flesh. His head was hit, his face splattered with his brains and blood, and his scream was as if someone had suddenly cut it off. He fell headfirst to the ground.
"Scott is dead!" Someone in the team shouted.
"Boom—" Several explosions rang out from the German artillery position. Speirs had already charged up, sweeping the Germans with his Thompson submachine gun, and the remaining few kept firing until the magazine ejected from the gun, and the Germans were long dead.
"It's crazy, they actually left the trenches and directly charged the Germans." Compton looked at them in disbelief, his mouth agape in shock, "My God, what are they doing?"
Just as he was speaking, another person suddenly fell in front of the German position.
"Oh my God!" Winters also couldn't help but exclaim.
Parks knew that Speirs was just that crazy, moving through a hail of bullets, completely disregarding casualties. Only he had good luck, surprisingly not being hit many times. What a stroke of luck.
At this moment, the gunfire from the gun emplacement had stopped. Speirs was facing Winters and the others, waving at them, gesturing—success!
Winters gave him a thumbs up. This was truly a charge that required courage. Winters admitted that in such a situation, he definitely wouldn't charge so recklessly.
Speirs destroyed that artillery piece and then rushed over to rendezvous with Winters. Many of the brothers in Easy Company looked at him with very strange eyes, but the shock that such a charge brought them was long-lasting. Perhaps this was the first frontal charge they had witnessed on the battlefield.
"Da da da…" At this moment, intense machine gun fire came from Brecourt Manor. Dirt and branches around them were scattered everywhere.
"At least four GM42 machine guns!" Parks looked in the direction of the manor and judged.
"You're right. Perhaps we should retreat." Winters also looked at the manor, then at the four large guns. They had all been destroyed. Since they were destroyed, there was little point in staying here.
"Let's go, we're going back!" Winters gave the order, "Christenson, you withdraw first."
The machine gunners left first, then Parks and the others, with Winters being the last to retreat.
"I can't believe it, we took out 20 Germans!" After retreating to a safe area, White couldn't help but smile triumphantly at Parks. From tension to relaxation, his emotions remained high.
"And 4 prisoners!" Parks added at this point.
At this moment, Malarkey came over with four prisoners, then glanced at Parks and shouted at the four prisoners, "Hey, Germans, walk faster, you damned scum."
Colonel Strehl highly praised Winters and their actions.
"A platoon from the German Sixth Parachute Regiment, about 50-plus men, were stationed there! This is what our latest intelligence shows." It was clear that Colonel Strehl was in a very good mood.
"Yes, I think we killed 20 of them, but they had at least four MG42 machine guns set up behind them, and all the artillery was destroyed, so we came back." Winters nodded. "And we also routed one of their artillery companies; the gunners all fled, perhaps they were scared." Then he excused himself and left.
After some time, Colonel Strehl called Winters over again.
"You eliminated a German artillery company that was guarding Causeway No. 2 and controlling Utah Beach. You saved them, and I am proud of you!" This was the most gratifying thing Colonel Strehl said. The success of this attack played a significant role in the landing and greatly reduced casualties for the landing forces.
The commander of the landing forces had just called to express his gratitude, and he also learned from captured documents that the artillery company had a direct phone line to an observation post in a bunker at the exit of Causeway No. 2. They had been reporting the positions of the landing 4th Infantry Division to heavily damage the landing forces. He called Winters to personally congratulate him. This was also the glory of the 101st Airborne Division's 506th Regiment.
The men of Easy Company were excitedly discussing the battle, clearly thrilled that they had thoroughly defeated the Germans and successfully completed their mission.
Parks just smiled and listened to their conversation.
Despite having been busy all night and enduring nearly three hours of intense, nerve-wracking combat, their exhilaration kept them from feeling any fatigue.
Winters looked very tired.
He sat on a hay bale nearby, leaning back comfortably, hoping to catch a nap.
He was truly exhausted, having been awake all night and constantly directing and moving during the battle.
He wanted to use this time to recover his strength, in case anything unexpected happened.
"Do you know how I shot that German?" Compton yelled excitedly, drawing glances from many brothers in other companies, but they didn't care at all.
"He took off running, trying to get to the fence line on the other side, but that idiot didn't realize there was an open field in between.
He was a sitting duck!"
"I think he might have been scared stiff!" Luz nodded, adding, "Buck, I just realized you're incredibly charming.
Germans should run away when they see you!"
The group burst into laughter.
This time, almost everyone had either killed or wounded a German.
"Parks, what about you?
Aren't you at all emotional after killing so many Germans?
If I had your marksmanship, I'd take out even more Germans." Guarnere suddenly turned to Parks and said.
Clearly, after such a brutal battle, Guarnere's mood had significantly improved; he wasn't a somber person to begin with.
"I don't care.
Someone has to die.
This is war.
Either the Germans kill us, or we kill them." Parks just smiled faintly, then closed his eyes to rest.
"Hey, didn't I tell you guys?
He took out quite a few Germans before we even got to the village." Christenson clearly disagreed with Guarnere's statement.
"Does anyone have a cigarette?" A voice suddenly interjected.
Everyone turned to see Lieutenant Speirs.
He stood next to Malarkey, looking at him, then sweeping his gaze across the Easy Company brothers: "Got a cigarette?"
Malarkey's nerves tensed, and he involuntarily shook his head.
"I do, Lieutenant Speirs!" It was Parks who spoke.
He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to Lieutenant Speirs.
Lieutenant Speirs caught it with one hand, then turned and walked away.
"Keep them all!" Parks added.
He knew Lieutenant Speirs's personality; while he didn't think much of it, there was no need to reach out and ask for them back.
"Hey, Malarkey, what's wrong with you?" Luz nudged the still-dazed Malarkey with his hand.
"You're not afraid he'll kill you to silence you, are you?
Besides, you're definitely not the only one who knows about this."
Malarkey frowned and glanced at him, saying nothing.
Honestly, he had been a bit scared just now.
It was a strange kind of fear, one he hadn't even felt when facing Germans amidst a hail of bullets.
Was he worried about Lieutenant Speirs's retaliation, or afraid this cold, sinister guy would shoot him in the back?
"Forget your luger!" Compton said, laughing from the side.
"Next time you pull a stunt like that on the battlefield, I think you'll need a real medic."
He paused, then looked at Parks: "I finally understand now why I lost to you.
I saw your momentum in killing Germans, and I knew."
Parks smiled, knowing what he was referring to—the dart throwing incident, which he was still bothered by.
He pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time; it was already past twelve noon.
And these were still the only Easy Company brothers present.
He wondered when all the Easy Company brothers would be able to reunite.
"Oh—" Guarnere suddenly exclaimed, waving at Parks, "Let me see that!
This is a beautiful treasure!
I recognize this watch—Rolex, Swiss made, Rolex movement, Empress crown logo!
It's amazing!" He took the watch Parks handed him, holding it carefully as if it were a precious gem.
"Is it very valuable?" Cobb asked Guarnere, puzzled.
"Yes, yes!
I once saw a very important person wearing one.
But I only got a glimpse of it, but it's truly beautiful!" Guarnere said to Parks, full of envy, "I can't believe I'm holding it in my hands today."
"Tell us, how much is this watch worth?" White also leaned in.
"I don't know, I can't say for sure, but it's said to be worth around twenty thousand!" Guarnere stared at the pocket watch, then held it to his ear, listening.
He was clearly reluctant to let go of it.
"Twenty thousand?" Everyone around gasped.
Even Compton found it unbelievable, blurting out, "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?
Twenty thousand?
That's no small sum."
"I'm just estimating!" Guarnere replied somewhat absently.
He was carefully listening to the watch, the faint "tick-tock" sound inside, making his heart itch with desire, "And it's very likely an underestimate."
With a "smack!", everyone looked over.
It was Cobb, who had forcefully slapped his own head, his hand hitting his steel helmet, then grunting in annoyance.
"Cobb, what's wrong?" White asked.
Cobb's face was full of annoyance as he exclaimed, "This was supposed to be my watch!"
His words stunned everyone.
This was clearly Parks's watch.
Seeing everyone looking at him in surprise, Cobb said dejectedly, "That Captain, the one Parks killed last night, I was the one who shot first, but my luck was just too bad." He then looked at the watch with some eagerness, then became annoyed again, sighing.
This was truly a huge loss; a watch was actually worth so much money.
"This is the watch Parks captured?" Guarnere's eyes suddenly lit up.
Upon hearing this, those who knew said nothing, but those who hadn't heard were all surprised and exclaimed.
They had also participated in the battle now, but they hadn't yet developed the habit of searching German bodies for items.
However, Parks's experience undoubtedly gave them all such an idea.
Perhaps they might also have some good luck like Parks.
"You really got lucky." White touched Parks's arm enviously.
"Who says I didn't?" Parks laughed.
"You'll have good luck too, White!
But right now, all I want is a good long sleep." He then lay down in the hay bale in a very comfortable position.
The Easy Company brothers discussed for a while, and Guarnere reluctantly returned the pocket watch to Parks.
"Hey, brothers, I finally found you!" At the village entrance, someone was shouting loudly at them, "This is my happy time, seeing you all!"
Parks opened his eyes and saw that it was another Easy Company brother, soldier Leo Boyle.
He excitedly walked towards his brothers, and everyone warmly gathered around him.
Now, whenever an Easy Company brother returned to the unit, everyone felt a genuine happiness from within.
"We were here much earlier than you!" Cobb stepped forward, somewhat triumphantly, "You're late.
Just now, we were at a place called Brecourt Manor, thoroughly defeating the Germans.
Too bad you missed it!"
"That's truly awful!" Cobb's words clearly made Boyle somewhat frustrated.
"I missed the landing point and ran into brothers from the 82nd Division.
I think I might have landed in their territory.
That's why I'm late." He shrugged helplessly.
"We all missed it, Boyle!" Compton stepped forward and shook his hand.
"Lieutenant Compton!" Boyle quickly saluted.
"I think I might have missed an exciting battle."
Compton laughed: "Yeah, Cobb also missed the chance to go through German pockets.
He's regretting it right now." He then patted his shoulder, "Welcome back to the unit!"
This was the first brother to return to Easy Company after they had experienced a battle.
"I think you should meet with Lieutenant Winters," Parks suddenly interjected.
"Perhaps letting him know you've returned is best."
"I understand, Parks, thank you!" Boyle stepped forward, shook Parks's hand, then followed Parks's finger and saw Lieutenant Winters resting in a hay bale not far away.
"He's the commander of Easy Company now."
"Have you seen Lieutenant Mi Han?" Compton asked from the side.
"No!" Boyle shrugged.
"I came alone, and I didn't run into any other brothers on the way."
Everyone fell silent.
Winters was now effectively the leader of Easy Company, and there was nothing wrong with that.
"Hey, Lieutenant Winters, a brother has reported in!" Parks shouted at the napping Winters.
Then he saw him slowly open his eyes.
"Lieutenant." Boyle stepped forward and saluted.
"Hello, Boyle.
Stay with the brothers." Winters nodded, then said nothing more.
He was utterly exhausted.