On October 5, 1944, Company E ushered in its most pleasant day.

Field Marshal Montgomery, the Allied commander-in-chief, personally went to Wigheil. On this day, the E-Company had a great harvest of their medals, and they had received the news the day before, and they had arrived in the square in the town of Wigherr very early. A temporary platform was erected here, and the officers and soldiers of the 506th Regiment gathered around the platform.

Field Marshal Montgomery, accompanied by General Taylor and Colonel Zinke, ascended the stage, smiling and making a simple but enthusiastic speech. In his speech, he highly praised the achievements of the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army in Operation Market Garden, and owed slightly to General Taylor, in front of all the officers and soldiers of the 506th Regiment, which is very rare, but General Taylor naturally accepted it. Field Marshal Montgomery both thanked him and apologized to him, after all, it was Marshal Montgomery's own mistake that General Taylor had made a reasonable suggestion that had not been heeded.

After a morale-boosting word of encouragement, Field Marshal Montgomery invited Parks to the stage. He smiled as Parks straightened his chest and walked to the stage, then saluted him, Taylor, and Colonel Zink.

"Hello, Lieutenant!" Field Marshal Montgomery shook Parks' hand warmly, and even gave him a close hug before letting him go.

"Honored, Marshal!" Parks looked polite and polite.

"Well, I'm here mainly to give you an honor, a medal belonging to the British Empire for friendly soldiers who helped him." Marshal Montgomery nodded at him and said, "I hope I can put it on for you with my own hands!" ”

"My pleasure, Marshal!" Parks straightened up again, his eyes glancing restlessly. At this moment, Marshal Montgomery signaled, and a sergeant came up from the stage, carrying a gilded plate with a medal in it.

"The British are extravagant. Look at that plate of theirs, I'm afraid it's worth more than a medal! "It is clear that General Taylor was a little dissatisfied with Marshal Montgomery's approach, because today he was honoring the brothers of Company E on behalf of the American Army, but he did not have such a luxurious plate to be served, and it looked a little shabby. He whispered in the ear of Captain Zink.

Colonel Sink couldn't help but smile slightly, and also said in a low voice: "But our medals are real, General, who cares what is in a plate!" ”

General Taylor couldn't help but smile and nodded, then turned his gaze back to the stage. Marshal Montgomery picked up the medal on the plate and smiled: "Special Cross for Bravery." Lieutenant, you can fully deserve it, it is an honor for a brave and outstanding soldier, congratulations! He saluted Parks, and then when Parks returned the salute, he reached out and shook Parks' hand tightly before letting go.

Parks nodded to Field Marshal Montgomery and stepped down. He deserved it. But some people in the audience were a little dissatisfied, especially Nickerson, who shook his head at Winters and sneered: "I can't imagine that the British are a little stingy." For a contribution like Parkes, they could have given a Victoria Cross. It seems that they still think they are a little bit taller than us Americans. ”

"Arrogant British!" Winters turned his head and smiled at Nickerson. He knew that this time Captain Zink had personally declared the Congressional Medal of Honor for Parks, and if there were no accidents, Parks would receive this honor. This is known even to well-informed soldiers. But they all thought it was something Parks deserved.

Field Marshal Montgomery took a few steps back to General Taylor's side and whispered, "Well, I'll leave it to you, General Taylor, I have to rush back to England, you know, there are many things on hand. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Please, Marshal!" General Taylor smiled and nodded, he still maintained the least respect for Marshal Montgomery.

Now it's General Taylor's turn. He looked at Marshal Montgomery, who hurriedly walked off the stage, couldn't help but shake his head slightly, and then took a few steps forward and gave a speech to the soldiers of the 506th Regiment.

"I hope it's not too long!" White drew a cross on his chest and whispered, "Amen! ”

"God can't hear it, White, he's dozing off after listening to General Taylor's speech!" Maraki chuckled under his breath, "But I might like his speech today, do you know what we're going to get today?" He gestured with his hand to make a medal and placed it on his chest.

"Hey, did you hear that? Parks may receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. White whispered to Malachi, "God, if I can get a medal like that, let me do anything!" ”

"At least we still have the Silver Star!" Malach shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't think about it that way, I figured it out, even Captain Winters didn't have much hope!" ”

"Shut up!" At this time, Sergeant Lip and Toy in the front row turned back and whispered to them almost at the same time.

It turned out that General Taylor began to read out the list of medals awarded this time. There are many people in the 506th Regiment who have received medals, among which Company E is the biggest winner, and their medals and weight are incomparable to other companies.

Captain Winters was again awarded the Cross of Distinguished Service, as were Lieutenants of Wales and Sifford, while the other brothers in the platoon were awarded the Silver Star, which also included Nickerson. Twenty-six people, including Lieutenant Hellig, Sergeant Lipp, and Sergeant Tybert, were awarded the Order of the Bronze Star.

It was the first time that the Welsh Lieutenant had received such a high rank of decoration, and although his face was flushed, he was at least much better than Sifodi. Xifudi pursed his lips vigorously, and then his hands were trembling slightly, and he pinched the placket of his clothes with his hands vigorously, trying to calm himself, but it was obvious that he couldn't, and finally even his lips trembled.

General Taylor shook hands with them one by one. To be honest, General Taylor was very happy in his heart. In particular, he was very satisfied with the outstanding performance of E-Company. Moreover, the number of medalists who received the medal this time was much higher than that of the 82nd Airborne Division, and the losses suffered by the 82nd Airborne Division were much greater than those of the 101st Division.

"I'm glad for you, brothers!" General Taylor, having awarded them the medal of play, uttered a heartfelt sentence that he really should be happy for them.

But all the brothers of E-Company still looked at General Taylor standing on the stage, and it was clear that they seemed to be reminding General Taylor that there was one more person who should not be forgotten. That should be the man who should be the most important person - Lieutenant Parks. Because on stage, General Taylor did not announce the medal that Lieutenant Parks received.

"I know what you're thinking." General Taylor joked, "Do you want to remind me that I have forgotten something?" Do I still have medals that I haven't awarded? ”

General Taylor paused deliberately and said with a smile: "The medal I want to award has been awarded, brothers! ”

"Wow-" There was an exclamation of disbelief from the audience.

"Hey, what the hell is he doing? What about the medals of the chief? White couldn't help but cry out at first.

"What the hell!" Landowan couldn't help but mutter. His words were echoed by many people, especially the expressions of the brothers in the row who participated in the action, which was really rich. They couldn't help but mutter.

Seeing some twitching below, General Taylor hurriedly waved his hand and smiled, "Okay, guys, I know you're muttering to yourself, but it's good news, Lieutenant Parks has been awarded a medal, but I'm not qualified to present it to him." This medal had to be presented to us by President Roosevelt himself, and yes, Lieutenant Parks received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor for a serviceman. ”

As soon as his words fell, the audience burst into cheers.

"I knew this was the result, and it was not wrong!" White suddenly shouted excitedly at Malaqi, "Look, it's true, Congressional Medal of Honor, God, why do I feel as excited as I got it!" ”

Malaki glanced at him and couldn't help but smile, "That's because you're one step closer to the Congressional Medal of Honor, White." ”

"What?" White couldn't help but look at Malache in surprise, "Hey man, I've never thought of it that way!" ”

Malachi shook his head and smiled: "Don't think so beautiful. White, but we're getting closer to that medal. God, we're all around Lieutenant Parkes, and he's going to wear that medal. And we're going to fight with him, and of course his medal. So—" He shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"Damn, you're scaring me!" White smiled at him.

"Alright, guys," General Taylor had to raise his voice to match the excited cheers of the men, of course, the discipline of the soldiers was still very strong, and after a brief cheer, as soon as General Taylor spoke, the ranks quickly fell silent.

General Taylor beckoned to Parks and motioned for him to come to the stage.

Looking at Parks' smiling face and calm demeanor, he couldn't help but nod, then gave Parks a hug, turned to the audience and laughed loudly, "Honestly, guys, I'm really jealous of him." You know, I fought hard for such a medal, but he got it in front! ”

The audience suddenly laughed with a slight kindness.

"Lieutenant Parks, I'm glad I was able to make this announcement, but you're going to have to get out of here for a few days, and President Roosevelt is waiting for you in Washington. You're really great, lad! General Taylor said, patting him on the arm, "Is there anything you want to say to your brothers?" Then make a gesture of please.

Parks walked to the front of the stage, he looked at the brothers who had been born and died, and suddenly his heart was full of emotion, and he suddenly wanted to speak, but his throat and eyes seemed to be a little dry, he couldn't help coughing dryly, and then said: "Actually, this honor does not belong to me personally, it belongs to every brother who has been born and died with me." ”

Yes, this belongs to every brother who was born and died under German fire. The cry of charging forward, the blood splashing out of his chest, the unhesitating rescue of his brother, the friendship of being like a brother in the test of life and death, this moment appeared in front of Parkes's eyes, everything was so real and lingering.

"I suddenly had a feeling, Dick!" Nickerson looked at Parks on the stage and suddenly turned to him.

"What?" Winters looked at Nickerson, "What are you trying to say, Nick!" ”

"In that sentence, the honor belongs to every brother who was born and died with me in the shelling." Nickerson pursed his lips, "That's what I want to say, too." ”

(To be continued)