world war 2 · battle of the bulge · 101st airborne · military ensemble · war trauma · brotherhood · historical fiction · soldier · spy · dark humor
The lens sweeps across a landscape locked in a deep freeze, where snow smothers the iron-hard earth. No life stirs in this forest cold, only an expanse of blinding white. Soldiers press close to a guttering fire, while others maintain a silent vigil along the ragged tree line. Scattered figures hunch against the cold, hands buried deep in their coats, voices low and intermittent. Ice glitters on pine boughs bent low under the burden. A slicing wind scours weary faces. Christmas is on the horizon, but you won't find a trace of its joy in the hollow eyes of these men.