"Parks!" Jennifer, the girl sleeping in Parks's arms, turned on her side, propping her head up with one hand, her beautiful hair cascading onto the pillow, her bright eyes smiling mischievously as she watched him wake up.
"Hi!" Jennifer softly blew on him.
"Hi!" Parks responded, then turned his head and kissed her sensual lips.
"You know what? You look so sensual when you sleep." Jennifer panted, releasing Parks, then snuggled closer. "I wish it could be like this forever!"
"Me too, Jennifer!" Parks had a complex feeling towards this girl. Physical pleasure was the most direct feeling she brought him. But without a doubt, throughout their relationship, this girl was kind-hearted and a university student, so she would definitely be a good partner. However, he was about to go to Europe for the war; could he really keep such an excellent girl?
"Honey, have you ever thought about it?" Jennifer's head rested on Parks's chest when she suddenly asked.
Parks was clearly distracted; he just reflexively responded, "What? What do you want to tell me?"
Jennifer lifted her head again, looking at Parks very closely and steadily: "If the war ends, what will you do? Will you come back here? Or go to Georgia to find a job or something? Oh, you haven't told me where you're from yet. Do you want to tell me now?" She smiled, her eyes full of anticipation.
"California," Parks said. "I… I don't know where I'll work in the future; after all, that's still far away. After the war ends? I haven't thought about it, but I think Georgia might be a good place."
Jennifer curled up, then snuggled tightly into Parks's embrace, and whispered, "Parks, I hope you can come. I love you, and I hope we can be together. But I can't leave this bar; it's my dad's lifeblood. Unless he dies, I won't leave this place. I hope you can stay here with me for a while after the war ends."
Parks gently kissed the girl's forehead in his arms, then nodded and said, "I love you too, Jennifer!"
The two snuggled together, unwilling to speak. After a long time, Parks finally got up: "Honey, I have to go back to the barracks." He got dressed, then took a wad of banknotes from his pocket, counted them, and handed a stack to Jennifer.
"This is what I won from a bet a few days ago. There are three thousand dollars here, take it!" Parks placed the banknotes on the bed.
Jennifer's face suddenly turned pale. She looked up, her beautiful big eyes even glaring at Parks with anger and sarcasm: "If you're trying to pay for a few nights' stay, sir, isn't this a bit too much?"
Clearly, Parks's action had angered her.
"No, don't misunderstand," Parks quickly said. "I just thought, I'm in the barracks now, and soon, I might be on the battlefield. It's obviously not suitable for me to carry so much money. I want you to help me keep it, or perhaps you can help me plan it out."
Jennifer then turned her anger into joy. She picked up the stack of banknotes and said with a smile, "How do you want me to keep it for you?"
"I know you're a university student and you know how to keep things properly. Darling, this is capital I'm saving for after the war, so don't worry, I will definitely come back when the war ends." Parks leaned down and kissed Jennifer.
From Jennifer's home all the way to the barracks, Parks kept thinking about one question: Why did he do this? He himself was a bit unclear, perhaps to alleviate his guilt. He felt he shouldn't have ambiguously agreed to that kind girl. Once on the battlefield, things would be beyond his control. If he died, it would bring great trouble to Jennifer. But even if he didn't die, would he really return to this place after the war? God knows!
Perhaps the three thousand dollars was just an excuse for him not to stay, just to repay a debt, to repay Jennifer's emotional debt to him.
The brothers of Easy Company continued their training as usual, and as they further mastered various skills, all companies also had to train in more challenging environments.
For example, Major Horton came up with a method. He had people lay a layer of barbed wire 18 feet above the ground on a field, with fresh pig organs, including hearts, lungs, livers, intestines—everything. It was spread on the ground beneath the wire, and machine guns fired level with the upper edge of the barbed wire.
Bullets whizzed over the soldiers' heads, and no one dared to raise their head, unless they wanted their head to explode. This was not crawling at all.
"I feel like I'm a snake!" Guarnere said as he advanced, encountering a piece of pig intestine. He 'kissed' it with his mouth, which caused him to gag. "This isn't crawling, this is wriggling, damn it!"
Many in Easy Company showed signs of discomfort, but they were still able to complete the entire course, although some even vomited bile after finishing.
Parks, however, knew that this should be the end of basic training. After this period, there would no longer be such frequent basic training; what awaited them should be parachute training.
"How have the officers and soldiers of the companies been reacting recently?" As the training difficulty increased, Colonel Sink's attention to the battalion's situation also grew closer. If any soldier couldn't bear it, then he would not be qualified to be a paratrooper.
"They're all very good; everyone can persevere!" Lieutenant Colonel Strayer said with a smile. He was also happy about the soldiers' excellent performance in recent training.
Colonel Sink nodded, then motioned for Colonel Strehl to sit down. He poured two glasses of wine: "But this is not enough, Colonel Strehl!" He handed a glass of wine to Colonel Strehl. Then he walked to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a book.
"This is Reader's Digest. There's an article in it that I think you should read carefully!" Colonel Sink flipped through the magazine, then stopped on a certain page and pointed his finger at the content on that page.
"The Japanese set a world record?" Colonel Strehl looked through the article, then looked at Sink in disbelief. "A Japanese battalion in the Malay Peninsula marched 100 miles in 72 hours, setting a world record. How did they do it?"
Sink looked at him seriously: "Never mind how the Japanese did it, I'm talking about us now. My 506th Regiment. Colonel." He said, facing the window, where he could see the distant soldiers' barracks, and the soldiers undergoing regular training within the barracks, saying with a very firm tone, "My men can be stronger than them."
Colonel Strehl looked at Sink; he knew he was serious. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "What do you plan to do?"
"I want to send a battalion to compete with those Japanese devils, to let them know that our U.S. Army soldiers are the best soldiers in the world!" Colonel Sink looked at Colonel Strehl. "You help me select a battalion that can handle this task."
Colonel Strehl only thought for a few seconds before suggesting, "I think Second Battalion should be able to handle this task, Colonel."
Sink nodded: "Yes, I think so too. Second Battalion is the most enduring battalion. Your choice is correct, and I believe they are definitely stronger than the Japanese devils."
This was an unconventional training mission.
First Battalion and Third Battalion took a train to Fort Benning military base, where there were Air Force training grounds, and of course, paratrooper training grounds. So when Second Battalion watched them whistling triumphantly as they left, they felt a pang of envy.
"Second Battalion is the best battalion in the regiment!" Major Horton gave a speech before departure. Clearly, from the battalion headquarters to the Battalion HQ and even the company headquarters, they all attached great importance to this long-distance field march. If they lost, it would be a loss of face for the entire paratrooper force. This was what Colonel Sink said to Major Horton when conveying the order, which immediately put Major Horton under immense pressure.
"Do you know how long this march is?" Cobb complained, full of grievances. "118 miles, and we have to walk those damned country roads, and it's going to be cold, rainy, and snowy weather." He looked up at the gloomy sky.
"Don't complain, Cobb!" Carwood Lipton reminded him from the side. "If you can get through this, then you'll go to Fort Benning, where we'll have paratrooper training. We'll get the Silver Wing Badge."
The Silver Wing Badge was a goal in the hearts of the Easy Company brothers. The main reason they could persevere through the difficult basic training was because of that paratrooper insignia—the Silver Wing Badge.
"Of course, the most important thing is that we have to break that so-called world record created by the Japanese devils." At this point, Parks spoke up. "Why should we let the Japanese lead us? Or are we even worse than those monkey-like Japanese?" Parks's language was a bit intense; this was an instinctive reaction, the instinct of a Chinese soul.
"Right, let's not let those Japanese make fun of us!" At this moment, Nixon appeared at the right time.
"Our battalion has three companies: D Company, Easy Company, and F Company. We will set off as the lead company," Winters instructed his brothers. "We will bring as much water and dry food as possible. This is what we need to resupply on the way. Remember, don't fall behind!"
"Alright, even if I die of exhaustion, I'm going to make it to damn Atlanta!" White muttered.
But Captain Sobel's wording was much harsher than Winters's. He gritted his teeth and swore to the company: "I guarantee that if anyone doesn't complete the entire march or falls behind this time, then he doesn't deserve to get the paratrooper badge, and I will kick him out of the airborne forces. Perhaps he'll only be a straight-legged U.S. Army soldier (during WWII, the U.S. Army wore straight-leg trousers)."
These words were quite stimulating to the brothers of Easy Company. Even so, many people still felt uneasy. But because of Parks's words, many gained courage: "I believe you brothers all know how I cured Moore during the march, right? Don't worry, I've got this."