Will Prison
English 1010
Professor Fillmore
03/16/2020
The Move
January 1945, Eastern Poland. The wind blow is blowing so loudly I sometimes forget
how cold it is. I have been pushing since the start of this. I remember being 18 and full of
excitement and proud of what I was apart of. Now everything I know has been for nothing and
my heart, mind, and soul feel as hollow as a dead oak tree. It used to be that we would have
celebrations for our victories and people loved us. Now the only people we can rely on is
ourselves. The world hates us… Being honest, I do not blame them.
“HORST GET DOWN!”
I hid under what seemed to be a broken metal from some type of machine, or perhaps a
vehicle. It reeked of burnt fuel. It doesn’t matter it was one more thing that could protect me
for at least a brief moment. I wasn’t thinking of anything else except for how cold this piece of
metal was and the fact that it’s the only thing keeping me alive. After a few moments of
explosions, it was quiet. We were called to gather up and give a situation report. Morale is low
and we were tired and hungry.
“Men. As your leading officer I am only going to tell you the truth of
what I think at this point and what my thoughts are.” “My new main
objective is to make sure all of you stay alive and get us back home.”
I could tell he had come to his senses and saw that this war was over, and we are not on
a winning side. We were all glad to hear that our officer did not care for the commands of the
Reich and truly cared about his men.
“We are going to be pushed back into our own homeland not far from
now. I expect all of you to keep each other accountable and act in military
manner still” “I am not broken, and neither are any of you at the moment.” “I
expect nothing less from what I have seen from you men the last five years.”
“Hanz, hey Hanz.” “What the hell do you think our plan is if he is
disobeying orders from the Reich?”
Hanz looked at me with a dull face but gave me a smart commentary reply. He pulled
me up from my seat, his hands felt as dry and hard as old barn wood.
“Probably learn English and run away to America before the Slavs
make it to Germany”
Hanz was a strong built man. He was about six feet tall with broad shoulders and was
part of my machine gun crew. He was a coal miner before he was drafted into the war. Hans
had the best sense of humor and could carry us all if he had to. We went to basic training
together in 1939 and have somehow stuck together since. We were the same age.
Before I knew it, we were setting up a small camp and getting ready to sleep. We set up
a fire watch and ate what food was left. I wondered about my little brother. I was hoping the
war would be over before he was old enough to get drafted. I know he’s in the west now
fighting. He’s a strong kid. But I know he was never a fan of the military and avoided the Hitler
youth at all costs. I knew it was because he loved god. He wanted to serve a mission. I can only
hope that he is safe and alive.
Hans woke me up in the middle of the night.
“Horst we have a small enemy unit about two kilometers away. Wake
up and grab the ammo belt.”
I rushed and grabbed all my gear. Before I knew it, my unit was commencing fire upon
them. It was a short fight and to be honest just another day at work. They didn’t even seem to
put up a real fight. Three of them surrendered and the rest were dead it was a small squad of
maybe fifteen to twenty men. Looking at the bodies I thought to myself how much things can
change. We searched their bodies for supplies. While searching, I felt just as cold as the dead
bodies. I wonder if I am even alive at this point and if I’m still human.
