Sgt. Cortez’s body dropped to the ground with a thud. I run out from behind the crumbled wall and begin to pull him to safety. There is a sniper in the bell tower. How did we miss that? A bullet whizzes right past my ear as I pull Sgt. Cortez behind the wall. “Pvt. Henny take these documents, get them back to headquarters. You must keep them safe. In it are the coordinates of dozens of Nazi death camps,” he said through labored breathing. “You must get these back, millions of lives are at stake.” “Aye sir. I won’t let you down.” I stay with him until he takes his last breath. I remove his dog tags, so his sacrifice won’t go unnoticed. The sniper is still in the bell tower. I will have to wait here until dark. Once dark descends I begin my mission. I crouch to stay low and move through the shadows. I entered a nearby prairie, the grass tall enough to hide me. Just as I think I am safe, a bullet flies into the ground next to my foot. Dammit, the sniper is still up in the tower. How did he see me through the darkness? I begin sprinting in a zig-zag pattern. Bullets pass all around me. Once there is a break in fire, I run as fast as I can and dive into the tall grass. I don’t think he can see me anymore. I’ve gone far enough from his eagle eye. To be safe I crawl the rest of the way on my stomach, using my forearms to pull me forward. I’ve been crawling for hours, not stopping for anything. Dawn is here and the sun is slowly rising. The shroud of darkness can no longer hide me. I am too exposed. I stop and begin cutting the tall grass next to me. I fashion it into a ghillie suit, so I blend in with the environment around me. After I am finished, I start crawling once again. Hours go by without a sound. Then I hear the marching of boots and small talk in German. A Nazi patrol is walking through the field. The field in which I am crawling through. Fear freezes me and my blood runs cold. I feel as if the world around me is closing in, suffocating me. I put my head down and I don’t move an inch. The Nazi’s continue their patrol, their boots falling just inches away from my body. One misstep and I am as good as dead. Not just me though, all of those innocent prisoners held captive by the Nazi war machine. I lie there until the patrol passes. They exit the field and turn left into the nearby town. I pull out my St. Christopher medallion and give it a kiss. It isn’t the first time I’ve been blessed by his protection and I am sure it won’t be the last. I continue my crawl and am approaching the end of the field. I slowly stand up and take inventory of my surroundings. Holes litter the ground from a recent artillery barrage. Building lie crumbled, reduced to nothing but ash and stone. I stand up and walk through the town. I crawl through a hole in one of the buildings near me that is still standing. It’ll be nice to get out of the open. I sit down on a chair and take a needed rest. I pull out some food rations from my bag and check to see if the documents are still secure. They are and so is Sgt. Cortez’s dog tags. I begin to eat. A Tiger tank rolls into the town square. That is the last thing that I need, the Nazi’s most powerful tank to roll up on me. I get low and begin to make my way out of the building and into its neighboring one. As I enter the next building, a Nazi turns around. His gun is on the table just out of reach from him. He starts yelling in German and begins to reach for his rifle. I charge him and knock him to the ground. I grab his rifle and begin repeatedly bashing him in the skull. I do not want to fire because that would draw the Tiger tank on me. Another soldier came rushing in and drew his gun on me. Luckily I was the faster draw. I fire a shot right between his eyes. I didn’t want to fire but I had no choice. The Tiger tank’s main cannon swiveled around to where I was and fires. I was already well out of the house by then. The tank’s gunner saw me though and drew a bead on me. Firing the MG-42 in quick bursts, one of the bursts tore up my leg. I fall to the ground and let out a scream. The gun looked as if it had jammed but the tank’s main cannon was turning on me. I close my eyes and grab a hold of my medallion. A tank’s cannon fires but not the Tiger’s. A company off American soldiers had pulled up. The Sherman tank had fired hitting the Tiger’s weak rear armor. The Tiger started to back up and turn but another Sherman fired. And then another. Three allied tanks destroyed the Tiger with ease. A medic runs to me while the other soldiers secure the perimeter. He bandages my leg and I tell him that I have important documents that need to be delivered to Headquarters. I am loaded into a jeep and we drive out of the fray and into Allied safety. I’m on crutches as I hand the Allied general the documents. “Good work son. You just saved a whole lot of people. Now let’s go get them,” the general said with a determined grin. I take out my medallion and kiss it once more. I say a prayer for Sgt. Cortez.