At noon on August 9, the flames that had been burning outside the camp for several hours were finally extinguished.
Marshall held the already emptied flamethrower in one hand and the rifle in the other, and walked slowly towards the direction of the camp.
Ignoring the bulldozer heading towards the bonfire, Marshall threw the flamethrower in his hand to Wei Ran and raised his hand to salute the company commander and even the battalion commander who were already waiting here.
After the other party returned the salute, Marshall glanced at the military policeman standing behind Randy and asked in a hoarse voice with a cry, "Can I take a look at Tom first?"
After a moment of silence, the battalion commander whose name Wei Ran didn't know nodded, turned and walked towards his tent.
"Thanks"
Marshall saluted again and walked through the tents. Accompanied by Wei Ran, Randy, Will, and the military police, and under the gaze of the wounded who emerged from the tents around him, he walked step by step towards the place where they had been.
Risking his life, he captured the beachhead and finally stopped in front of Tom's grave.
"Bang"
Marshall poked the Garand rifle he had been holding on the soft, wet sand, then took off his helmet and hung it on the butt of the gun.
"Tom, I promise you to start believing in God."
Marshall said nonchalantly, "Starting from tomorrow, I will believe in God, so whatever I do today, God shouldn't mind. After all, I am not yet his believer.
But compared to God’s attitude, I hope you won’t mind. If you were still alive, maybe you would say a lot to persuade me, right?”
A relieved smile appeared on Marshall's lips, and he continued, "I can only help you with half of the things you asked me to do. Let Randy and Will help with the remaining half. I
It's hard enough to deceive my sister Caroline, and I really don't have the energy to help you deceive your Laura. That's it, after I finish solving my trouble, I will come and continue to see you."
At this point, Marshall turned around and said with a smile, "Randy, Tom's wife Laura, and my sister Caroline have been asking you to help me cheat for a while. I have written down their respective addresses.
It was placed in the box next to the bed.
And Will, the Bible that Tom gave me is also in the box beside my bed. You can keep it for me for the time being. I will go to you to get it back later."
"I will help you continue to lie to them," Randy promised with a cry.
"God will forgive you." Will stepped forward and hugged Marshall, "My friend, I will pray for you."
"Thank you my friend."
Marshall hugged Will and said in a relaxed tone, "To be honest, Will, you are my first black friend."
"I hope I will also be your forever friend," Will said seriously.
"Of course, of course they are my forever friends. You, Randy, Tom, and Victor, the veterinarian, you are all my forever friends."
Marshall's tone became more and more relaxed, "I hope God will bless you and let you all live safely until the end of the war. Then we will get together at the striptease bar opposite Tom's house."
"Then it's settled." Randy also hugged Marshall, "I'll treat you to a drink then."
"I will definitely be there, as long as black people are allowed in that bar." The honest Will made a rare joke.
“I will go too”
Wei Ran saw Marshall looking at him, "This way, even if there is a conflict because of Will's refusal, I can ensure that you all survive the fight."
"So be it"
Marshall and Wei Ran also hugged each other gently, then took out the pistol from his waist and threw it to Will, "Keep it for me for a while."
After speaking, Marshall calmly walked towards the military police waiting nearby, "As you can see, everything outside the camp is done by myself. It has nothing to do with stretcher bearer Randy, nor with medic Victor."
The company commander and the platoon leader have nothing to do with each other, just take me wherever you want now."
"Marshall, Sean will always be our captain, at least we won't make things difficult for you." One of the military police explained in a low voice, then they all turned around and walked toward the center of the camp with Marshall looking relaxed.
"He has been redeemed," the black man Will suddenly said, "God has saved him."
“God really knows how to choose his time.”
Wei Ran teased God as usual, but when no one responded, he remembered that the servant of God was already lying in a tomb not far away.
"Yes, God really knows how to choose his time."
Randy also echoed, but his usual teasing look was gone, leaving only a tiredness that was inconsistent with his age of just 20 years and one day.
The three of them silently returned to the tent where they had lived for more than half a month, but the two empty beds made everyone lose interest in talking.
In the long silence, the setting sun once again enveloped the relatively safe rear camp, but the three of them did not even move.
As darkness approached, new wounded were brought here on trucks from the front line, filling tents one after another. New corpses of the fallen were also brought here, waiting to return by boat together with the wounded who had mutilated bodies.
their respective hometowns.
"Randy, this is my birthday gift to you."
The black man Will suddenly stood up and handed Randy a white harmonica still tied with a bow.
"Thank you, but...I won't celebrate my birthday in the future." Randy said with regret.
"Take it"
Will put the harmonica into Randy's hand, "My daughter gave it to me. She bought it with the money she earned from collecting bottles. So take it, it's the only thing I can get."
It’s a decent gift, and it’s also the first time I give a birthday gift to a white friend.”
"Thanks"
Randy finally took the harmonica, brought it to his mouth, and played the song from "Casablanca" again.
After a while, Will also sang along with the song. This song with hidden sadness passed through the tent with a large number of bullet holes, and drifted all the way to another tent that was also shrouded in darkness, and to the person lying on the bed.
In Marshall's ears on the bed.
Gradually, some of the wounded began to hum along with Will. Gradually, the military police outside the tent also hummed along. Gradually, even Marshall, who had already burst into tears, sang the classic song with the familiar voice.
The song "as time goes by".
On the bed shrouded in darkness, Wei Ran stared blankly at the roof of the tent, but his thoughts couldn't help but drift to the day of the landing.
He thought of the shirtless white bulldozer driver who pointed a gun at him, of the stretcher-bearer who enthusiastically guided the black wounded for him, and of the military chaplain who hid under the wreckage of a tank and went on the battlefield for the first time.
He also thought of the military police captain whom he almost misunderstood, and the female nurse who used her body to protect the wounded until her death.
