Through The Mist | Dec 1943 | Jacob&Cooper
War was painted like a righteous thing to sign up for and though he had the jitters when first scribbling his name on that paper, the look of pride on his father’s face was something Cooper had never seen before. It seemed humorous to him that the only time his father had ever shown any pride was when Cooper was signing his life away and walk into hell itself.
France wasn’t what the movies pictured it to be. It wasn’t the quaint little beach towns and things you’d expect on postcards. It was mud and sandbags, bodies and blood. Cooper hadn’t quite believed his eyes when he was sent out to the front line. After miles of walking through bombed-out villages and watching the grass turn to mud, he couldn’t help but feel the next sight wouldn’t be much worse. That was until he saw the bodies coming back on stretchers, the dead that outweighed the injured. The only sound he seemed to hear over the noises of war was the squelch from his boots in the mud. The closer he made his way into the miles and miles of trenches, he stopped looking down, ignoring what he was standing on for fear it was anything but the crunch of rocks and mud.
Finding a man who seemed a lot dirtier than him, as if he’d been in the trenches longer. He braced himself for a strong introduction. He was the Sergeant of these men and he had to be brave, no matter how he felt on the inside.
“Sergeant Anderson, the 108th. Sergeant Tibbet, nice to meet you, I only wish it was under better circumstances,” he offered him his hand to shake before he fixed the strap to his backpack. “We’re heading over once the Spitfires have made their rounds. We need to get to the compound and make a push.”
He’d served plenty already on the coast of France though this was his first time getting to the front line. Now they were needed at the front line, not enough soldiers and a need to make a move on the enemy. Cooper knew he didn’t have much choice, he had to follow orders or be shot for cowardice or treason.
“We make the push tonight, four hours, under the cover of darkness, so settle down, get some food, steady your nerves. We need level heads tonight.”
@jacobtibbet