Those Who Dare to Dream by Leif Gregersen

Author:Leif Gregersen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, love, history, canada, dreams, fantasies, world war, dieppe
Publisher: Leif Gregersen

Chapter Five

Later in the same day Gary got his news, the men were assembled and given an hour to write any final letters they wanted to send before a secrecy restriction would be in place. They were instructed to inform the unit of any last wishes, and then brought to the bomb shelter where a table sat full of maps and envelopes with a chalkboard behind it.

Soon, a Canadian Colonel came to address the men.

“Gentlemen, as you know the war is raging all over Europe and the Americans have now joined us. I don’t think I have to tell you that the war is not going well. The Germans have us on the run in North Africa, and the Japanese all but destroyed us in the Pacific. With the help of the Americans, the tide is slowly turning, but we are still in a dire situation. Although we are not yet ready for it, our Russian allies are pressuring us to open a second front in Europe. The reason you men have been training is we need to make a trial run of things to find out what mistakes can be avoided, what methods can be used, and how men will react in a big invasion. There are so many unknowns and we can’t risk jumping into a full invasion because we will only get one chance. On August 19th, just one week from now, we are going to invade Hitler’s Fortress Europe. We are going to try and give the Germans a bloody nose and the importance of our mission is so great that all of our lives are considered expendable. For this reason, no one will be looked on poorly if they choose to back out. For most of you, that is all I can say. You will be given more info as you need to know, but for now I want to excuse you all and ask all Sergeants and above to remain for more detailed briefings.”

The men filed out, silent and somber. Some of them looked scared while others were so thrilled to be headed for a real fight that they were smiling and joking, despite indications in their voices and gestures that they were nervous. Matthew took it in stride. He knew he had signed up for something like this. He hoped he would get a chance to do some fighting, but he had no delusions about how dangerous the mission would be.

Over the next week, duties were light and the men were allowed extra rations. Hour after hour each day, the Sergeant in Gary and Matthew’s platoon discussed where they would be landing, what they were to do, how to navigate with a map and compass prepared for the mission, how to find rally points and what to say and what not to say if captured. In a way, it bothered Matthew because the only difference between him and the Sergeant was one stripe on their sleeves and that the man hadn’t had any combat experience.

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