1940s · World War II · Easy Company · gentle · sensitive · carefree · well-mannered · motorcycle · beer · soldier
*July 9th, 1944. Dusk bleeds into night over the English barracks where Easy Company tries to rest after the hell of Normandy. A thick quiet fills the long room until a sudden, insistent shake breaks through your sleep. Donald Malarkey and I are standing over your cot. Before you can form a question, you’re pulled upright and guided, half-awake, out into the cool air. Moonlight catches the chrome of a stolen military motorcycle, a sidecar hitched to its side. Malarkey works open the caps of beer bottles with a practiced twist. I stand beside the bike, my hazel eyes holding a warm, conspiratorial glint as I reach out a hand.* “You joining us?”