Vive La France

[SGT. Brian Baker]

Location: Allied Occupied Paris, France. Pretty much a port where troops and supplies arrive.
Time:0800 Hours
Weather:Sun is bright and shiny, few clouds in the area. Brisk wind. It's predicted that there may be a few showers during the day, who knows.


Booom....boooom...., the sound of the powerful horn on board the HMS Ticonderoga blared throughout the harbor as it approached a nearby port. Brian Baker, along with the other American soldiers that had left Boston a few days ago, all leaned up against the ships railings.

Baker watched as the site of the Eiffel Tower stuck out in all of Paris. The French were extremely happy to see Allied soldiers arrive every day. They wanted revenge for what the Germans had done to their country. All of those civilians had suffered the wrath of Hitler's blood-stained fist and now, it was time for revenge. The Germans were falling back, fighting fiercly and obeying their Fuher's impossible demands.

As the ship began slowing down and making its final approach into the port, Baker tried finding a little piece of secluded area on board the ship. It was hard to find a nice secluded area to just be alone, to look at pictures of your loved ones for possibly the last time. There was at least 6,000 soldiers on board the ship, and Baker had not met any of them. Pushing his way through the crowd, he made it to the back of the ship, where there were only a few guys there, having some cigarettes.

Sitting on the railing, he let the wind blow into his face. Baker had a good grip on the railing, so he wouldn't fall off. Putting his bag down, along with his gun and shovel, Baker took out his picture locket. It was of him and his family. This picture didn't have his brother, Paul, who killed himself in front of Brian's eyes. Brian held back tears, going back to the moment his brother pulled the pistol to his head, and then pulled the trigger. Brian quickly put his locket away as the ship stopped. Grabbing his gear, he followed everyone else off the ship, to the site of French men, woman, and children, welcoming the Americans with open arms.

[Stephen Colly]

The streets of Paris seemed to be full for some reason at 800hours. Normally the harbour was full but not the streets. Stephen was on leave in Paris for a day or two having been at the front line since the beginning of March. He sat at a little café shop which faced onto the harbour.

A ship was coming in and the Brit shaded his eyes to see where it had come from, the British had been occupying Paris for the last few months, waiting for re-enforcements from the West and here there were, all 6000 of them. So that was where all the crowds were going on this bright Friday morning, to the harbour where the Americans were touching their first French soil.

They all looked like new recruits, fresh from high school some of them. But having said that, Stephen was young for a soldier but he had had experience even if it was cowering in a fox hole waiting to die sort of experience. He sucked on his cigarette and blew the smoke into the air as he watched the crowds; a few other British soldiers along the street had stopped to watch too.

Nicholls, a friend of Stephen’s came towards the boy and pointed to the on coming crowd of soldiers and civilians. ”Look at them hey…you ever seen an American soldier?”
”Corse I have…” Stephen laughed slightly, ”Just not so many before…”
”Better not take that girl I made out with last night.” Nicholls said, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder to the flower shop down the road, ”She was a pretty nice Frenchwoman as well.”

Stephen chuckled slightly, not commenting and just sat and watched, taking a sip of his French tea that he had ordered a few minutes before, it was going slightly cold.

[SGT. Brian Baker]

The French cheered as the Americans slowly trudged down the thing, long, iron plank to the port. In front of Baker, American soldiers waved to the French women and young girls, hoping to get lucky before they left for the front. Baker just shook his head, saying to himself that they think they are heroes after stepping foot onto Allied Occupied France. For Christ sakes, they haven't seen any battles, the horror of war, none of that. Brian didn't either, but he wasn't gonna go chasing after some braud around Paris. It'd just be a waste of his time.

American officers shouted through loudspeakers, directing the soldiers from the Ticonderoga out of the port so the next ships could drop off its men. Baker followed the crowd into the streets of Paris, where men split off from the main group before they had to report to their Battalions.

The street was filled with many shops, apartments, you name it. French, American, and British Flags strung from the windows, little kids waving all the flags around as the civilians greeted the Americans, showing them to their shops and welcoming them to their homes. Again, it was like the Americans were heroes. Sure, some Americans have fought in Africa and the invasion of France, but still, these Americans that Brian had arrived with were acting like they were heroes.

Procedding on down the streets, Baker took a right, trying to find some place to eat or drink, anything would be better than the stuff that he was given on the ship. Every day, it was coffee, bread, soup, water, and the occasional fruit. Time for a change.

There was a small cafe, where soldiers and civilians were having breakfast. Baker slung his rifle over his shoulder, not waiting to put his bag down. It was getting real heavy. Finding a table near a small tree and a good view of the harbor, Brian took a seat and slung his gear next to him. Kicking back and finally relaxing, a French waitress approached him and stood behind him on his right shoulder. "Bonjour, soldat. Que puis-je recevoir pour vous ? Une tasse de café ? Un toast français?"saying with a smile, her blonde hair waving from the wind. Baker looked back and saw her. He almost fell back in his seat, just by looking at her. Straightening himself up, he sat up. Not understanding French and what she said, he made a guess. "Oui". The waitress smiled and noted it on her little pad. Walking away back to the cafe, Baker closed his eyes as the wind settled in on his face, the sea flushing in, the sounds of people cheering and whatnot, and oh, can't forget about the seagulls. ;D



Translations

Bonjour, soldat. Que puisje recevoir pour vous ? Une tasse de café ? Un toast français?--Good morning, soldier. What can I get for you? A cup of coffee? Some French toast?

[Stephen Colly]

The crowd of American soldiers filed off in lines towards their respective battalions and platoons, Stephen watched a few of the men start flirting with the French girls…what was it with men and girls flirting all the time? He didn’t see the point in spending a night with a girl that you would never see again…having said that, Stephen didn’t see the point of spending a night with a girl anyway…they just didn’t appeal to him as much as…as much as…as much as Edward McMillan for instance, but he forced the thought of the man out of his mind and looked down at the pavement beneath his feet.

Nicholls was grumbling and muttering darkly by his shoulder, Stephen wasn’t paying attention to the man next to him, yes he liked Nicholls but sometimes he got too overprotective of his belongings and women meant his belongings as much as books, rifles and photos were belongings.
”I’ll see you in a bit Steve, got to go and see if Emilie is alright.” Nicholls muttered and turned on his heel, walking away from the café. Stephen nodded, not saying anything and watched him as he stormed off back towards the flower shop where he had left his belongings.

He heard footsteps and glanced around to see where they were coming from and saw one of the new Americans coming to sit down on one of the tables near by. Stephen blew on his cigarette and took off his cap which was beginning to hurt his head. The boy-soldier watched out of the corner of his eye the American’s face as the woman asked what he would like in French, the American just said yes, a puzzled look on his face. Stephen watched the woman go off and then glanced back at the man.

He had closed his eyes, Stephen rolled his own eyes and moved slightly so he was nearer the man, ”If you are wondering what she said, she said would you like some coffee and French toast…and you said yes.” he wasn’t being mean or unfriendly, Stephen wasn’t like that, he was just being helpful, helpful that was all, he was a helpful boy, be it a bit…odd.

[SGT. Brian Baker]

After watching the waitress retreat back inside, Brian heard a young British lad say what she had said. Turning around, he saw the young man, looking at him. It was good to finally see someone who had spoken English, well, besides all of his American counterparts. Baker knew when he said Oui, he said yes.

"Thanks." he said quickly. Turning back to the harbor, he began thinking. Before shunning this average soldier out of his life so he can focus on more important things, he thought about it. The soldier was kind enough to tell him what the waitress had said.

Looking around, many of the fresh American soldiers were pondering around with the French women, antagonizing some of the British soldiers who already "claimed" their women from the night before, or so. There was a little scuffle, involving some of the soldiers, the Americans and British. Baker just laughed a little bit, then stood up. Baker extended his right arm out to the soldier. "Names Brian Baker. Feel free to join me?"

More ships continued to come in, and you know what that meant. More American soldiers, more French women, more altercations, more everything. This was gonna be a long war. It was going to be a war of gains, losses, and hopefully, a victory for the Allies over Nazi Germany.

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen smiled at the American soldier who had thanked him for translating what the waitress had said. ”No problem. You looked a bit confused that’s all, thought I’d help you.” he glanced over as he heard a scuffle and saw that some British and American men were fighting over a girl who was standing a little way a way from the group of soldiers.

Stephen kept staring at the American, taking in the style of the uniform, it was slightly different to his British one…and the cap was different. He then stood up and stuck out an arm towards Stephen who stood up also as the man did. The boy shook the hand of the American sergeant as he saw on his uniform and nodded. ”Names Stephen Colly, yeah, love to.” he grabbed his tea which had gone cold by this time and came over to sit over by the American.

”Where do you come from? I mean, America is a big country isn’t it.” Stephen sipped his tea and pulled a face, turning the cup over and throwing it onto the pavement, ”Gone cold.” he bit his lip as he set the cup back down on the saucer and then the saucer on the table. He took a drag of the cigarette and watched the smoke float away into the air then looked over at the American.

[SGT. Brian Baker]

Baker smiled as the young boy sat down. He looked about the same age as him. Looking at the boy's uniform, he noticed he was a Corporal. "Always an honor to shake hands with a fellow soldier, even if we are from different countries, we're still fighting the sick bastard and his children." Baker said as he laughed.

The fight had expanded as it went from a small scuffle to a large brawl. The MP's were called in with whistles blowing. Baker just shook his head still, with both American and British soldiers with blood all over their uniforms. "That's gonna suck for them when it comes to roll call."

Listening to the Corporal's question, Baker was brought back from the views of the fights. "Yes, America is a big country, and I'm from Massachusetts. We call it the 'Bay State'." Baker recalled his home, his State, his Country. Back home, his mom would make the best damn clam chowder, even during the Depression. She would still find the time to cook her favorite dishes, even if she couldn't obtain the proper ingredients. Every summer, she would hold a neighborhood lobster dinner, his father getting them from a small fishery outside the Cape. During the winter, they would have Christmas parties, inviting all the neighbors, friends, families, over to their home and just celebrating. Music would be playing, the parents would be dancing, the young kids would be chasing each other around the house, and the teenagers would just be sitting on the couch. The girls would gossip while the guys would just act like they're listening to them but were really focusing on the television. Since the Baker's didn't have a T.V, the Andersons would bring theirs over and hook it up every Christmas party.

Now, things have changed. Baker has to eat chow while on the field, and when he's on leave, adjust to the new culture.

The waitress returned with Baker's coffee and French toast. She placed it down in front of him, and gave him a smile. Smiling back, he looked over at Stephen, asking, "Would you like another cup of tea? You should probably ask cause I don't speak French," he said chuckling.

[Stephen Colly]

”Too right a sick bastard!” Stephen chuckled in agreement with Brian about Hitler being a sick bastard…he was after all a mad man by what Stephen had heard, a controller of his people.

The fight had indeed broken into more than a scuffle and the two soldiers watched as a few of the men brought fists into the action and shouting and hitting had commenced. Stephen just watched, sucking on his cigarette once more. Stephen nodded as the American commented on the blood and the roll call. Sergeants wouldn’t be very happy one bit if their men came back to base with blood splattered all over themselves and they hadn’t even battled yet.

”Bay State? Ah cool, I’m from Devon in England, gets a lot of rain in the winter months…and in summer the fields look beautiful, a real nice place…” Stephen thought back to his little farm in South Devon near Exeter. Exeter had been a small town/city before the war but the last time Stephen had seen it, it had been full of soldiers packing off towards the sea and women waving them good bye. They had already had 20 or so lads die in three days when Stephen had gone past their on leave he had looked at the casualty list and saw the names, a few people he had known a little well but most where just names on a list. Names on a list that would be forgotten in a 20 or 30 years…

”You must miss home…” Stephen thought out loud. American was a big country and very far away, it took like 10 days to cross the Pacific ocean and then a few days to stay in England…or that was what Stephen had been told by his officers who of course knew everything…hmm.

The waitress had returned while Stephen had been in thought and Brain had asked him a question. Stephen glanced over at Brain and then at the waitress. ”Yeah, think I might…” he lent forwards towards the waitress and asked her for another cup of tea, she nodded and walked off to get it. Stephen sucked on his cigarette staring out at the street.

[SGT. Brian Baker]

Baker laughed when the Stephen agreed with him about Hitler being a sick bastard. In the news back home, papers and news agencies have reported the atrocities across Germany and the countries it had conquered. Although the government refused comment for anything committed by the Germans, most Americans were outraged and hated all Germans. Even in America, the occasional German that has lived there their entire life had been tormented by their friends and others. Whenever they would go into a store or something, everyone would just stare. The store owner, manager, whoever it may be, may tell them to go to the back and get food. It's like the segregation for the African Americans, but this was more personal for most Americans. They believed that all Germans were disgusting, arrogant swines that had no respect for humanity. Then again, it all falls back on one man; Adolf Hitler.

Baker got back into the scheme of things when Stephen was talking about his home in England. "Hmmm, both of our homes sound similar; Massachusetts gets a lot of rain, but in the Spring. In the Winter months, there's snow. Have you ever seen snow, Stephen?"

Looking at the streets, the MP's had finally gotten a hold of the situation. The fighters were separated and guided to nearby trucks, which would take them to holding cells. "Hate to be them..." Baker said as he took a sip of his coffee. It gave him a weird taste, probably because the Frenchies make theirs differently then what he is used to back in America.

"I do miss home, I mean, who wouldn't? I already miss someone that was once part of my life and now...they're gone." Baker said, giving Stephen a brief look before starting to eat his French toast.

[Stephen Colly]

The man laughed at Stephen’s comment. Stephen grinned slightly. ”Snow? Not since I was a boy, we had a cold winter in 1933. I remember the fields were covered with the stuff, my father, I remember, was so angry because of it. We lost two dogs in the cold because my father had put them out in their kennel, saying they would be fine and in the morning they were frozen solid…not nice.” he grimaced, shuddering as he remembered the stiff bodies of the dogs being thrown onto the bon-fire outside the cottage the night after.

The MP’s had finally arrived and had gotten the situation under control with the fighting. The two soldiers had broken away from each other finally and the woman was no where to be seen.
Brian made a comment and Stephen nodded, ”Really, really stupid…I’d never do that…just gets you into trouble.” he shrugged and stamped out his cigarratte onto the floor.

”Good point…” Stephen laughed slightly, ”Who wouldn’t miss the warmth of a fire at night on a cold winter’s night….I’m sorry…was she a girl?” he asked, looking at Brian directly in the eye, ”You know why I came into this war…to find my horse…my father sold him to the army just after the war started. I had raised him…the horse, not my dad…raised him from a foal to a horse and he was gone like that…now I’ve found him with help and he is back home but I cant get out of this mess, only if I go and blow myself up or get my leg blown off…either way I’d be out of it but no such luck.” he laughed dryly and offered the American a cigarette. ”Want one? What about you, how did you get into the war?”

[SGT. Brian Baker]

Baker grabbed a bottle of syrup and squirted the sticky topping all over his toast. Continuing to eat, he listened to Stephen. "Sorry to hear that. I never had any animals, well besides my moms cat, but that was it. She wasn't really mine, though..." Animals weren't really a big thing to Baker. Picking up their doings, feeding them, taking them out for walks, and playing with them. It was like having another kid, but oh well. Responsibility had to come some way or another, be it babysitting or watching over your pets.

The fight had officially been broken up. All the involved soldiers would be getting their asses chewed later and whatnot. Baker hoped that none of them were in his division. If some were, he'd be hearing "Oh, I kicked their ass hands down," and yadi-yadi-yada. That was something Baker was not in the mood for, especially when there was a World War going on. "No shit, Corporal. If only they have that rage on the battlefield." he said, sitting back in his seat and drinking his coffee.

When Stephen asked if the person Baker missed was a girl, he looked at him. Taking out his locket with his free hand, he tossed it to him. "That's my brother, Paul. He was in the Great War...He came back a changed man and...and..." Baker started to choke up, but continued on, "killed himself right in front of me. He kept to himself when he came back, everyone was worried about him. When I was bringing him his breakfast, his room was dark. Next thing you know, BAM!, a shot in the room. The bastard shot himself in the head."

Brian looked off into the sky, then with the edge of his eye, saw Stephen offer him a cigarrete. He gladly accepted it and took out a match, taking puffs from the Cig. "Thanks." As Stephen continued on why he was in the war, Baker thought that was the most corageuos thing he has ever head; joining the war to get his horse back. It seemed as though the horse and Stephen shared a commond bond to each other, almost like Brian and Paul. "Wow, where's the horse now?" When asked why Baker joined the war..."I joined mainly because of my brother, Paul. He was a hero of the Great War and that inspired me to join this one. Plus, get to get a nice view of the country," Baker noted, referring to Paris.

[Stephen Colly]

”My family is a farming family, I’ve been around animals my whole life, I suppose I have just got used to them.” Stephen shrugged and glanced over at the soldiers that had started up the fight that had gathered a small crowd. The soldiers were now no-where to be seen and the crowd was beginning to break up. Idiots…Stephen wondered if any of them where in his company, he’d find out when he got back to base.

His face fell as Brian as the man said it wasn’t a girl that was in his locket, he had thrown the little thing towards Stephen suddenly and he caught it. He opened it slowly and looked down at the photo of a smiling man that looked very much like the man sitting in front of him. ”A lot of men in my village came back strange and different, according to my father I wasn’t round just after that war…” Stephen stared up at Brian, his eyes full of pity, ”God…I’m sorry, so sorry, must have been truly awful for you.” how could someone just go and shoot themselves in the head like that? The brother, Paul, was obviously very troubled to have committed suicide anyway let alone do it in front of his own brother…

Stephen stared back at the photo and then closed the locket, making sure it was closed he then handed it back to Brian with a small smile, ”Joey? He’s at home now, the army let me have him back for a little while but they did say that I must give him back to the army as soon as he was recovered, he had a bad tendon…umm…leg, if you don’t know what a tendon is…it’s a muscle in the lower part of the horse’s leg, nasty things could happen if it is badly injured…or not looked after…” Stephen shrugged, and listened to Brian when he spoke about why he had joined up.

”I see what you mean, a lot of people where like that where I live, wanting to join up because their fathers had done so!” he smiled softly and stared out at the French houses, ”Must admit, I am enjoying travelling around different parts of the country and going aboard…I’ve only really stayed in my local area before…it is very interesting, seeing how different places are outside of my sort of life…” he glanced over at Brian.

[SGT. Brian Baker]

"That's good. I think it's good for people our age and younger to have animals. It kind of gives us an idea what kids may be like and requires a lot of responsibility for us." Baker watched as the crowd scattered away and the soldiers were taken away. He looked back at Stephen, then continued eating his breakfast; he was almost done. "Back where I live, our family looked after each other. My father worked in the mill store and my mom sold clothes in the town's market. It was a tough time for everyone, with the Depression and all. I'm sure you guys got hit pretty hard over here, with the war and economic b.s going on."

Baker watched as Stephen observed the locket of his brother, Paul. Brian didn't like thinking about that day when his brother killed himself. Did the war really change people? Would Brian change during this war? Who knows, only Brian can find that out for himself. It was kind of hard to believe the war could do that to a person, but what Brian didn't know was that you see different things from your point of view. You start to see the true horrors one side has done to another, the dead littering the streets and fields, and then soldiers raping women and tossing babies. That's just plain sick. To Baker, it showed a sign of weakness in the enemy. They thought that they when they raped women and tossed babies, they were powerful. But they were only powerful to the weak. Now, the Germans have themselves surrounded, with the Americans, British, France, Canada, and it's other allies to the West and then the Russians to the East. Hitler's Thousand Year Reich was beginning to fall around him, but the Germans still had a lot of fight in them.

"It was hard for me at first," began Baker,"but I think it was better for me to witness it then my parents, especially my mother, or other siblings. Paul isolated himself from society when he came back. Before, he was a ladies man and the most popular guy in school. When he came back, though, everyone welcomed him back as a hero, but he wouldn't go to any parties or anything like that. Hell, he wouldn't want to talk about what he did or saw over there, or should I say here..." ended Baker. He was going to say "here", but decided not to because World War I took place in France, so yeah.

Finishing his food, Baker grabbed his cup of coffee and leaned back in his chair. He sipped the coffee, tasting the rich French cream. Then after taking his sips, he took a puff of the cigarette Stephen had given him. Baker would tip the waitress well. She probably got a lot of tips because of her looks, but he wasn't tipping her because of that. That cafe made really good food and coffee, and when Baker was ever on leave, he would decide to come here and eat. As Stephen talked about his horse, Joey, a smile grew upon Baker's face. "That's good the army let you keep him till he's better. How's he doing now?" then changing the subject to the tendon, Baker continued on, "I'm not really that smart in the medical field, but that's good to know. Never if you need to know that under the heat of battle."

When Stephen continued on about why the people in his village joined the war and then glanced at Brian, the Sergeant decided to give his thoughts on the reasons for joining the war. "Couldn't agree with you more. You see, in America, before Japan attacked us, most, if not all Americans, wanted to enter the war against Germany. I mean, it was just Britain and smaller countries against Germany and Italy, hell even Russia for a short period of time. Everyone back home was pissed at Roosevelt because he thought it'd hurt us more with the Depression we were in." stopped Baker before continuing on. The thought of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which was going to be the next thing he said, choked him up..."then on December 7, 1941...FDR came over the Radio to address the Nation of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That's when I ran to the recruiting office, where there was a line of about 100 men lined up from the office to the train station. Our country was attacked, and we wanted to strike back."

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen nodded, ”I had to raise Joey from a foal so I got a lot of independence which I hadn’t experienced before from a young age, even though I do find all this war stuff a bit scary, I still feel like I can stand on my own two feet just not as well as I can around horses.” He shrugged, then Baker mentioned the depression and Stephen nodded again, ”I don’t think we got as badly hit as you lot did over there but I do remember the government going down hill and sometimes not having much food in the village shops.” To be honest, Stephen hadn’t been hit too hard as the Colly’s produced most of their own food thank god.

Brian then spoke about it being hard for him at first after his brother had killed himself…who wouldn’t have been hit by a family member blowing themselves to pieces in front of one’s eyes? ”I believe a lot of people where effected by the war, I mean, apparently, this war is more of a planned strategy, the Great War was more of “dig-your-trenches-and-see-who-wins.”

”He’s doing alright now, father wants him to start to plough the fields with the other plough horse but I was having none of that, he doesn’t realize that he isn’t fit just yet, he can’t go and strain himself with a collar and harness in the heat one summer’s day…” he trailed off but smiled slightly,

”I heard about Pearl Harbour, poor you guys, fucking idiots the Japanese…I mean, isn’t American meant to be the biggest country in the world economic wise?” Stephen didn’t know much about Geography or Politics of Economy but he had done enough lessons to hear what he teachers had to say about the rest of the world. ”Really? 100 men? Whoa…when I joined up, the war had been going for a year already so there weren’t as many people at the recruitment office, but it is right for a country to fight another if they were attacked. Britain wasn’t even attacked, it was because Germany entered Poland that Britain got all annoyed, it was the same with the Great War, again Britain wasn’t attacked but was sent to help Belgium.” Stephen shrugged, ”In a way, Britain didn’t need to enter but from what I’ve heard about Germany, it seems a good thing now.”

[SGT. Brian Baker]

OOC:Will post sometime this weekend.