...Beautiful and haughty, the great planes squatted on the level grass with their bold, blunt noses silhouetted against the brilliant African sunset and their majestic wings casting tremendous shadows across the airfield. Mechanics were still crawling over the big planes, calling to each other, doing last minute inspections. Trucks and jeeps moved about the airfield, lines of paratroopers marched to their planes, pilots stood in clumps talking of their plans... "Hand this charcoal around," said Schluch to Joe. The paratroopers smeared their faces with burnt cork as thoroughly as they could so that their faces would not show up pale and luminous in the dead of night. "This is it," said Dave, half to himself. Joe patted his shoulder in passing and Dave turned to meet his eye. Wordlessly they said goodbye, gripping each other's hard, strong, hand, trying to grin, but unable to speak. Who knew what fate awaited them in Sicily?
...At last, gaining speed, they started the takeoff, they were moving, running, hurtling down the runway, faster and faster until they lifted smoothly into the air and they were flying, gaining altitude and moving into formation. Hundreds of C-47's assembled over Tunisia that dark, windy night, and then the formation headed out for Sicily. Some paratroopers tried to relax, others stared blankly at nothing, clutching their reserve chutes. Dave twisted his sweaty hands, staring at the men across from him, their faces clear cut in a blurry haze, while old familiar prayers rattled in the back of his head...
"Thirty seconds," Joe said loudly, looking at his wristwatch. He was now to be the kicker, the last man out. Lieutenant Yates stood full in the door, clutching the sides of the plane. He would be the first to jump. Joe kept his eyes trained on the little red light by the door. Any second and he would give the signal to jump. Dave, a few men down the line, saw clearly every detail of Joe's good old familiar face in the light of a tracer bullet screaming by--the fine, thin features, the dark mustache, the clear blue eyes shining out of the smeary black soot...The light turned green. "Go!" Joe cried, thwacking the Lieutenant's shoulder, and with the undaunted cry "Geronimo!" the officer leapt into the darkness...
posted by Mary Rose