Screaming Eagles (The Front, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

dead,” he reminded the two.
    They shouted acknowledgment, then shot at the approaching Krauts in white.
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    C oley came under direct fire a few seconds later. Bullets blew past his position but he kept moving. If he paused to find targets, he was a dead man. He found his dugout and dove inside. His helmet went flying and he hit the ground hard enough to expel all of the breath from his chest. He flipped over and stared at the sky for all of five seconds before getting back to business.
    “Sir, all present and accounted for," Tramble called. "No casualties on this side.”
    “Same here. It’s a miracle,” Coley said.
    He’d moved to a dugout behind Coley’s position and taken up position on the .50 cal on the back of the jeep. The big gun boomed, putting giant holes in the approaching force of Germans. The bullets were the same armor-piercing rounds used on the back of the B-17 bomber. They could separate a man from his limbs with one shot.
    “Damn thing's got no range of motion. I’m going to unhook it,” Tramble said.
    “It’s gonna be hot as hell,” Coley warned.
    Tramble grabbed the barrel and lifted, but dropped the gun back on the mount and thrust his hand into snow. “Ah, Christ that hurt,” Tramble said and ripped a handkerchief out of his pocket. He got the gun under the barrel and lumped into the dugout.
    “Don’t burn that gun out,” Coley said. “Short bursts.”
    “Do my best, sir, but there are a lot of Germans down there.”
    Coley turned his attention back toward the road and found what looked like the entire Kraut division coming at their position.
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Seven
    Grillo
    D ear Mother and Father ,
    I’ve arrived in Europe, but not in the way I’d expected. Me and some of the other boys from my division were held up while they tried to decide what to do with us. I had hoped to see some action, but there were delays with our flight. So far I am the only paratrooper I know who has not dropped from an airplane yet.
    It’s different in Europe. Not just the food and drinks, it’s the people. They have been under the stress of war for so long they hurry around like scared chickens. Remember that hen we had who would never come out of the coop, even when it was time to eat? A lot of people here are like that.
    But they are also friendly, and treat us with respect. They call our names, call us liberators. I’ve tried to tell those I’ve talked with that I haven’t done anything, but they just smile and touch me. They shake my hands and they act like I’m kind of star.
    Some of the people threw us some fruit. I don’t think they were throwing the fruit at us, but throwing it for us. I sure was appreciative.
    How is Louise? I’m going to write her next, but if anything happens to the mail please tell her that she is in my thoughts every day. Tell her I miss her and I love her. I wish she knew just how much I miss her. I haven’t been gone more than three months but sometimes it seems like three years.
    Tell father that I’m thinking of him as well. He was always a hard man, but he looked at me differently when I came home in my new Army uniform. I hope he’s proud of me.
    I love you both and I’ll write again as soon as I have a chance.
    -Franklin
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    P rivate Grillo perched next to a tree and finished scratching out his letter home with a stub of a pencil, on paper that was already worn.
    Around him the world was relatively quiet in that there were no gunshots, no falling mortars, and no diving for foxholes as 88mm shells screamed in and shattered foliage, pounded earth, and killed or wounded his fellow soldiers in Able Company.
    Two days in the cold and he was already cursing his decision to join the Army. He was also cursing whoever had fouled up his orders and sent him to this company as an infantryman instead of his specialization in demolitions.
    Bare tree branches hung overhead, covered in snow and ice. Wood popped as a little bit of heat seeped into what had been a miserably