Half of us are dug in on the hill, checking that the Germans don’t come out of the fort. When they do sneak down, we shoot or capture them. Meanwhile, the other half of us are sleeping in a wooden barracks which had been the housing for the French soldiers when they manned the fort. It’s a rather comfortable arrangement because there are bunks. Compared to what we’ve been having up till now, it’s an incredibly safe, clean situation. We spend our time trying to scrape or wring the mud and water out of everything we own. We’re all relaxed and enjoying ourselves; playing cards, shooting craps, reading, sleeping.
One night, I’m on guard at the barracks. It’s only a two hour guard. We have six hours off and two on; very light duty. I’m leaning against a wall. There’s a great grilled gate and I’m supposed to stop anyone from coming in. I’ve been told not to lean against the grille. I don’t know why. The instructions are, I’m supposed to snap to and stand up with my rifle at ‘ready’ when any officer comes by; also keep anyone else without a special pass from going in. It feels something like toy soldiers, but I’m still shaking inside from Mike Hennessy.
I’m standing guard, half asleep, when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and there’s a German soldier with his hand out holding a canteen cup! I back off, unslinging my rifle from my shoulder. He seems unarmed and gets across to me by putting the canteen cup to his lips that all he wants is water. He’s pale and his lips are dry and puckered. He’s apparently snuck down from the fort somehow.
I push my rifle at him. He puts his hands on his head, still holding the canteen cup. I take him prisoner and start to bring him in. It turns out he has three buddies with him, they’d snuck down the hill, too, because they’re dying of thirst. These guys join us and I march them back to the MPs. I give them all water from my canteen before handing them over. The next day the massive surrender occurs, and I keep thinking about how easily I could be as dead as Mike Hennessy. I had a canteen full of water hanging on my belt. That German soldier could have just killed me and taken the canteen, but he didn’t.