June 6, 1944, better known as D-Day. Steve Smith had been training for two years at Camp Toccoa, and today was finally the day he would go to war. Smith was part of the airborne, meaning they would be required to jump out of a plane and land straight into a battlefield. The company was excited and finally, Smith and his company amassed into C-53 planes awaiting their jump. 

A total of 2,395 planes in the sky was a sight to be seen. Smith sure was nervous, but who wasn’t, all these men were told that the chances of them dying before even landing on to the ground was almost guaranteed. But the men were also excited because they have trained for this and their moment was finally coming to make not only themselves but their country proud. All they could think about was themselves coming back home, with the pride of defending their country. Little did they know that this was just the start and there were going to be worse days ahead of them. 

The officer tells the men to get out of their seats, they latch their hook onto the line and wait for the green light to shine. They aren’t where they need to be but the Nazis are shooting at them from below. The plane is hit… the engine explodes… without any hesitation, the pilot turns on the green light and everyone jumps to their unknown fate.  

Smith is now in the air. The cold air blows into his face, and he’s at peace for a moment not even aware of what’s going on around him. There are bullets flying at him but miraculously missing. He looks to his left and sees his best friend Butler, gets hit in the shoulder, and his peace of mind is lost. Sweat fills his body. He’s petrified. He does not want to die. There’s nothing to do until he lands, all he can do is pray. 

Smith finally lands and he rushes to his friend. He needs a medic, but there aren’t any around. Not only that but they are nowhere near their drop-off zone. They need to walk. Their company is nowhere to be seen. They’re out in the open. They are extremely scared but fully aware. Their training was shining through the fear. 

A group of five Nazis is seen, two manning a machine gun and the other three returning fire. Smith and Butler crouch behind a small bush planning their attack. Luckily, Smith was a trained sniper, and Butler was a brave soldier. 

Smith aims, breathes, and pulls the trigger. Hit. Smith had just killed his first man, and all he could think about was killing the next, he reloaded and pulled the trigger once again. Hit. Butler had taken out the other two by surprise, the bullet wound seemed to have no effect with the amount of adrenaline being pumped throughout his body. All of a sudden Smith and Butler start to cry yearning to go back home but this was just the start and if they would make it to their drop-off zone there would only be more death and violence. 

The two walk on.