After the award ceremony, many brothers of E Company were left with doubts in their hearts. That is, Parks did not receive the high honor of the Distinguished Service Cross. In fact, in their hearts, Parks' performance was definitely worthy of the eleven people who received the Cross, but now Parks was unexpectedly defeated.

"Damn it!" After he dispersed, White cursed in annoyance, although he was also able to receive the Silver Star Medal, he was not happy at all, which in his opinion, was unfair to Parks.

"Don't complain, you should be content, White, the Silver Star Medal is not easy to get!" Karber said with a bit of a sourness, "It's all luck, isn't it?" Okay, I'll go first, and I wish you the best of luck in your continued work! ”

But in any case, this is already impossible to change. However, in the end, he also received the Silver Star Medal, and the brothers who participated in the commando team seemed very happy.

"Parks!" Winters nodded at him, "Let's go to the company!" As he spoke, he waited to walk with Parks to the company.

Nickerson was already waiting in the company. He watched the two of them come in, raised his glass, and said with a smile, "Congratulations! General Taylor will go to Company E in the afternoon for the Commando Honor. ”

"Looks like he's taking it seriously!" Winters laughed, "That's a good thing for the commandos!" ”

"Dick, Major Horton asked me to tell you, go to the battalion headquarters." Nickerson laughed.

"Well, I hope it's not those guys in the company who are in trouble!" Winters nodded, then greeted Parks and Nickerson and headed for the camp.

"A good thing or a bad thing?" Parks looked at Nixon.

Nickerson poured Parks a glass of wine, handed it over and smiled, "I think, it should be a good thing!" We'll find out later! ”

When Winters arrived at the entrance of the barracks, he straightened his clothes before raising his hand and knocking on the door. Then I heard the sound of "Please come in" from inside. Winters pushed the door in, and then found that Regiment Commander Zink was also inside, along with Major Horton, Lieutenant Colonel Stryll and others. They saw Winters come in and nodded at him.

"Are the brothers alright?" Captain Zinke took the initiative to come over and speak to Winters, "You know, I applied for the Medal of Honor for you and Parks, but when it was reviewed, it became like this. But it's also a very high honor. ”

Winters nodded, he didn't understand what Captain Zink meant. So simply don't say anything.

Zink nodded at him and said, "It's just that Parks's matter went a little wrong, you know, a reporter sued him halfway, which made it difficult for the boss to do, so he had to demote his honor." I hope you have a good talk with him, I don't want him to have any emotional problems, he has always been the pride of the 506 regiment. ”

"I see!" Winters felt a little more comfortable, Parks's matter, it seems that the people in the upper echelons are not blind, at least they can think of taking care of a lieutenant's emotions, which is already very good, "Thank you, Colonel!" ”

"Well, by the way, in the afternoon, General Taylor will go to Company E to meet with the brothers, mainly to thank your company for holding the line of defense at Carrington alone. He will personally reward the commandos who have been awarded the Silver Star Medal, so prepare well! Colonel Zink patted Winters on the arm as he spoke, "Good work, Dick." ”

With that, Colonel Zink walked out with Lieutenant Colonel Streil, and it seemed that they had been waiting for Winters here. Watching Colonel Zinke and them leave, Major Horton walked over, and he stood in front of Winters and smiled, "Well done, Winters." Colonel Sink said that you are fully qualified to be promoted to captain. ”

Major Horton took out the silver bar and pinned it to Winters' collar, reaching out to him and smiling, "Congratulations, Captain Winters!" ”

"Thank you, sir!" Winters shook his hand and saluted. This was his second promotion, and it came after receiving the Cross of Distinguished Service, which made Winters a little excited.

When they returned to the company, both Parks and Nickerson saw the double silver bars on his collar, and Nickerson couldn't help but whistle, "Wow-oh-Captain Winters!" ”

"Congratulations!" Parks reached out to Winters and held it. This is how he was genuinely happy for Winters. And that's what Winters deserves. He led Company to a series of victories, and those victories were the biggest cornerstone of his promotion. And what is even more commendable about him is that he can win the trust of his brothers. It's also like the trust that the brothers in the row now have in themselves. This is something I can feel. It is the most precious thing of all.

In the afternoon, Taylor came to inspect E Company! The officers and men of Company E assembled in an open field in front of the camp. General Taylor stood at the front of the clearing, waved his hand, and said loudly, "Alright, guys, let's forget about the formation for a while, and gather around."

"What the hell is this old man doing?" Maraki asked Moore beside him in a low voice.

"Who knows!" Moore said absentmindedly that for him, what the general said might be important, but the most important thing was whether he could take a vacation or when the war would end was what he wanted to hear the most.

General Taylor's opening remarks were very direct, and he said loudly to the officers and men of E Company: "I am proud of you, you are the pride of the 101st Division, and all the honor is not exaggerated on your heads!" What he said naturally meant the performance of Company E in the defensive battle, the line of defense they held onto.

"I know he's said a lot, but what's the one I remember the most, you know?" Malaki continued to whisper to Moore, "That's what he did: beat him hard for 3 days and 3 nights, and then I'll get you out." If he can fulfill his words, I think the brothers will be very happy, even more happy than listening to his speech. ”

"God knows if it's true. You know he's just a division commander, and there's a corps commander above him, and General Eisenhower. If General Eisenhower had said that, I would have believed it! At this time, Lutz, who was beside Maraqi, suddenly smiled.

"Listen, guys!" Li Pu interjected coldly on the side. Then the conversation between the three of them ended. And it was clear that General Taylor was still on the rise, and he kept waving his hand, looking very imposing.

"I know that in this company there are some very good soldiers and officers who have gone behind enemy lines, fought bravely, rescued our soldiers and destroyed the German headquarters. Today I am honoring them. Each of them was awarded the Order of the Silver Star. They deserve it. Taylor suddenly smiled again, "But I don't think the Silver Star is enough, they deserve the Cross as well, because they are true warriors." ”

Then he suddenly added: "Provided, of course, that I have the power to decide what medals to award." His words caused a burst of laughter from the brothers of E-Company.

Eleven commandos went up to the stage and received the award from General Taylor. Every time he awarded a medal to a team member, he would clapped his hands and say "well done" or "you're great." ”

Parks was the last to be awarded, and Taylor put it on for him with his own hands, patted his hand, looked at him with a smile, and said, "You know, when the Cross was presented in the morning, I had the urge to punch General Bradley, because the one who deserved it didn't get it. But I can't, he's my chief. This mood should be the same as your current mood! ”

His words made everyone smile. Parks saluted him, then said calmly with a hint of a smile, "No, General, I'm proud to be able to serve in the 101st Division. ”

General Taylor patted him on the arm and nodded, he was very pleased with Parks' performance. Not just because of his exploits, but also because of his obedience and calmness. After the members of the team went down, he suddenly smiled and said, "I know there are no reporters here today, so I will have a piece of information to be revealed to you as compensation for the commandos." ”

"What I want to say is," General Taylor continued, "the tide of war is going well. It seems to me that there is now a possibility that by Christmas, we will be able to enter Berlin. ”

As soon as his words fell, the E Company rang out with bursts of cheers. That's what they want to hear. Although the war has only been going on for many days, they have had enough of the torture caused by the war.

"God!" Kaber touched his chest, and then there was a burst of ecstasy, and to be honest, he had had enough, and all these days he had been cursing in his heart about the damn war and the damn Germans.

"We can go back alive!" Goneri hugged Tybert beside him, and laughed, "God, that's good, I think I'll make it to Christmas, I want to go home for Christmas." ”

In fact, the topic of ending the battle at Christmas has been circulating in E Company for a long time. People generally think about it in their hearts, and they don't dare to really confirm it, even if the rumors come from the mouths of some officers. But now that these words came from the mouth of General Taylor, they undoubtedly convinced all the brothers.

"I can't believe it, I think I'm going to make it through Christmas." When Winters returned to the company, he said to Nickerson, "I want to plan my life after the war now." ”

"Want a job?" Nickerson laughed and said, "What do you think of New Jersey?" I met Nexen Fertilizer Products there again, and I had people I knew there. ”

"No, no, I haven't thought about it yet!" Winters laughed, "Maybe I'll go to the country and build a farm, what do you think of me being a farmer?" I love the smell of the wheat field. ”

"It's a great idea!" Wales laughed from the sidelines, "But I think I'll drive a taxi." And I'm going to have to plan for Betty to get her wedding dress right away. I've always kept that umbrella. I think we're going to England soon, and I'll make it the most beautiful wedding dress there, and I can't believe how beautiful it would be if Betty wore it! ”

Parks shook his head, the blind optimism of the Allied command was clearly going to hurt these people. Wales said to Parks: "I know you don't believe we can end the fight before Christmas. Now it looks like you're still going to lose. ”

Parks looked at Welsh's excited company, shook his head and smiled: "Originally, I was very reluctant to spoil your fun. However, I still have to say, don't rejoice too soon. Our outlook is not as rosy as it is now predicted! ”

(To be continued)