Chapter Text
October 1942, Camp Toccoa, Georgia
Amelia Watson had had some concerns for her safety when she first accepted Colonel Sink’s proposal to become a combat medic for the paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion. How could she not when she would be the only woman living and training with men only, but she hadn’t voiced these concerns back then. Now as she was standing in front of Colonel Sink again, she knew she should have.
She didn't even make it two months into her training with Fox Company before a serious incident happened. Although most of the men didn’t give her much trouble, they had been opposed to having a woman joining their company. The only guy in their barrack she'd gotten along with was David Webster.
David was a guy with love for literature and the ocean, and a distain for the foul language and behavior from most of the men at Camp Toccoa. The men gave him almost as much of a hard time for being a Harvard student as they did her for being a woman.
At the beginning it was mostly just staring and cat calling, which she could deal with even if it made her uncomfortable, but then some of the guys felt brave enough to take it further. There was one incident where someone had stolen her clothes while she was showering in the separate shower unit Colonel Sink had provided her with, and she had to walk back through camp with only a towel around her (followed by a few of her fellow soldiers making crude comments at her of course).
The boiling point of the difficulties she had to endure in Fox Company came when she was on her way home from the bar one Saturday night.
Amelia usually never went out since David always refused to go with her. He claimed the guys were even more insufferable when drunk (which he was right about), but it had been too long since she’d had a drink and listened to actual music that wasn’t just the reveille waking them up at 6:30 every morning.
She had asked to go with some of the nurses working in the infirmary at Toccoa and stayed for about an hour or two before deciding to walk back alone, but before reaching the camp one of the privates she shared barracks with started pestering her. He was clearly very drunk and would not stop bothering her. When she tried to ignore his drunk grumbling and keep walking, he grabbed her arm, which resulted in her pushing him away.
The rest is sort of hazy now looking back on it, but he managed to get her on the ground and ripping her stockings off trying to force himself on her. Luckily Staff Sergeant Roberts had been nearby and pulled the man off her before he even managed to get his dick out. But she can still remember the feeling of his cold hard hands on her exposed thighs and his drunk breath in her face mumbling about how women are only good for one thing. She’d been hearing his voice saying those words on repeat in her head since it happened just hours ago.
Now that she was standing in front of Colonel Sink explaining the situation, she thought back to the first conversation she had with him back in August.
August 1942, Camp Toccoa, Georgia
“Miss Watson, I am Colonel Robert Sink,” he said as he shook her hand. He had a firm handshake and a no-nonsense attitude about him that made her feel anxious.
“Hello, sir,” Amelia replied in her southern Georgia accent. He motioned for her to take a seat as he did the same.
“As I wrote in my letter, I called you here to talk about a position in the army. The British, Soviets, and the Germans are all mobilizing women now, the soviets have over a hundred thousand on the front lines we hear, but we still have our reserves about sending women to war. We oughtta use every healthy body we can get if you ask me, men and women alike.”
She wasn’t sure what to respond, so she just nodded her head as he continued speaking. She’d just finished her nursing training at the Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital in Atlanta a few months prior and recently signed up for the Army Nurse Corps to help in the war effort. She’d been assigned to a hospital in England and waiting to hear about transportation over the Atlantic when she got a letter from Colonel Robert Sink of the United States Army.
“I am the commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and I have been pushing hard for General Taylor to let me authorize this project of a female combat medic in the US army. The first female paratrooper if you will.” Amelia begun to understand more of what he was actually proposing, and she thought it sounded nothing short of mad.
“You want me to be a paratrooper, sir?”
Only thing she knew about paratroopers was that they trained in her home state, Georgia, and had probably the hardest training of any military branch. And of course, the fact that they had to jump out of airplanes. Why on God’s earth would this Colonel Sink believe it was a good idea for her to become a paratrooper?
“If you accept, I want to train you as a paratrooper yes. And only if you complete the training and earn your jump wings, you’ll be a paratrooper.” Again, she could do nothing but nod her head in response. “I’ve written to many hospitals in the area, and your head nurse said you were one of the best trainee nurses she’d ever had. You also signed up for the Army Nurse Corps, so I take it you want to do your part in the war efforts?”
“I do sir, but I’m not sure I’m what you’re looking for,” she answered slowly, hesitating.
“Well the training would take about 2 years, and you’d learn everything you need to know. As I said, you’d be a combat medic so you wouldn’t have a weapon and you wouldn’t be first into battle, but a medic’s job is on the front lines with their fellow soldiers, so it is still a very dangerous job. The regiment will have other medics, but none with actual training. They will of course be taught the basics, but your level of expertise in the field is much needed, miss Watson. If you are to continue to the Army Nurse Corps you’ll be a 1st lieutenant, and while I can’t give you that rank here, given your lack of military training and education, I would make you a Technician Fifth Grade, which is a brand new rank the Army. It is equal to a corporal, and you would be addressed as such. This means you’ll have a higher pay grade than a regular paratrooper, which already pays damn well, but you’ll have no command authority.”
He looked like he was waiting for a response now. It was hard to keep track of all the information he was giving her, so Amelia asked the first question she could think of.
“How much is the pay, sir?”
“You’ll be at fifth paygrade, which for a paratrooper means 116 US dollars a month.” This was a lot compared to the monthly 36$ she had made as a trainee nurse, and she couldn’t help the shocked look on her face as he spoke. He must have found her reaction amusing because he smiled a little and said, “Like I said, a damn well pay if you ask me.”
“I agree, sir.” She replied with a smile back. After a pause too long for her liking, she responded. “I would need to think about this, sir.”
“Of course. You go home and think well and hard about this, and come back here in two days with your decision, will that do?” She felt she needed a lot more than two days but didn’t argue the man.
“Yes sir, thank you.”
After that she’d told her family and her friends at the hospital who all thought it was insane. Amelia Watson in the US army, as a paratrooper no less. It was certifiably insane.
Amelia had always hated feeling underestimated, which is partly the reason she accepted to join the paratroopers. The more people told her she couldn’t do it, the more it convinced her she had to. Her mother had even told her she’d stop speaking to her if she actually did this; That she might as well be dead already if she joined the army. Her mother’s words were what finally convinced her.
And she had meant it; Almost two months had passed and not a single word from home.
Looking back now, any sane person would feel regret, but she couldn’t go back home now asking for forgiveness. She still felt the need to prove her capability not only to her parents but to those nasty guys in Fox Company as well.
Sink was getting the man involved in the incident kicked out of the paratroopers immediately and told Amelia that if she wanted to quit her training that would be completely understandable. When she told him she wanted to continue, he suggested transferring her to another company.
“Easy Company is suiting up to be the finest company in the whole regiment, and is in my opinion the safest place for you to be,” he told her. “But Lieutenant Sobel is tough. Easy gets drilled longer and trained harder than the other companies, and you have a lot to catch up on. Now I doubt Sobel will give you any special treatment, but he can’t kick you out for not yet meeting his standards, as long as you do not give up.” He paused for a second and looked at her. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure sir,” she said earnestly.
“Alright then. I will have to tell the officers of Easy Company about the incident with the Private from your barracks so that we can all make sure this doesn’t happen again, but I won’t disclose to the men why you’ve been transferred, you can share it if you want to. And I don’t want you wandering around alone.” Then a knock on the door interrupted Sink, and he went to open it. “Ah yes, this is Dick Winters, he was just promoted First Lieutenant for Easy.”
The man in the door was tall with red hair, and she recognized him from seeing him lead Easy Company during training sessions. He seemed to be carrying her bags and put them down to offer his hand in greeting.
“Richard Winters,” he introduced himself as they shook hands. “I was sent to collect your belongings.”
“Amelia Watson, thank you sir.”
Sink pulled him aside and they started speaking in hushed voices. Amelia tried not to listen to their conversation, but from what she did hear it seemed he was explaining her situation to Winters. When they turned back, Winters’ face was more solemn than before, but at least he didn’t look pitying.
“Lieutenant Winters will show you to your new barracks now, and if you have any more trouble you come to him. He’s a good man you can trust,” Colonel Sink said, and she could tell by his expression that Sink not only trusted this man, but he respected him.
“Thank you again sir.”
He nodded, and she left with Winters who had picked up her bags without a word and carried them for her.
“Are you from around here?” he asked after they’d walked out of the building.
“Ah yes, grew up just down in Atlanta. And you sir?”
“I’m from Ephrata, Pennsylvania. You were a nurse before?”
“A nurse trainee yes. I’d just finished my training at the Crawford Long Hospital when I got a letter from Sink asking me to join the army.”
“Well it’s good to have someone with actual nursing experience training as medic. And let me be the first to welcome you to Easy Company, the guys can be tough, but they’re good men and I believe you’ll be safe with them.” He smiled politely before turning towards one of the barracks. “Just in here,” he said opening the door.
Inside there were twelve beds, six on each side of the wall, and probably around as many men. Most were scattered around the room having conversations or playing a card game in the corner, others just lying on their beds. Their attention quickly turned to Winters and Amelia.
“Listen up,” Winters said. “This is Corporal Watson. She was a Tech 5 with Fox Company, but has been transferred here to continue her training as a paratrooper and combat medic. You all have direct orders from Sink to treat her with the upmost respect. She is now a part of Easy Company’s 2nd platoon, and you will treat her as such. If any of you disobey these orders you will be reported and cut from the program. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir.” The men responded in unison, some with more conviction than others. She couldn’t help feeling embarrassed standing in front of a dozen men while their First Lieutenant give them special orders to treat her nicely.
“Lipton come over here,” Winters said to one of them. The man looked to be about Amelia's age, if not a little older, and she thought he had a kind face. “This is Sergeant Lipton, he’ll making sure that you feel safe and included in Easy during your training. As will I,” he added before turning to Lipton. “She’s your responsibility and you’ll make sure there’s no trouble from the other men, okay?”
“Understood sir.”
She hated having to be someone’s responsibility, but at least this Lipton guy didn’t seem too upset about it.
Winters turned back to Amelia and handed her bags to her. “Here. You’re excused from training for the rest of the day, but I suggest you join the men at dinner and try to get acquainted with them. Good luck, Corporal.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Lipton, come find me before training starts,” he added on his way out the door.
When he was gone Lipton turned to her to introduce himself. “I’m Carwood Lipton, there’s a spare bed over here.” She followed him to the bed and put her bags on it.
“Amelia Watson, thank you.”
“I take it you already know how to pass inspection, but Sobel’s very strict. He’ll revoke your weekend pass for anything, creases on your uniform, dirty equipment, and all personal belongings are considered contraband. Just try to not give him a reason to berate you,” he explained sympathetically.
“He’ll despise you no matter what you do so don’t take it personal,” another guy quipped in. He had red hair and a freckled face just like Winters and had been playing cards at a makeshift table between two beds when she came in. Now he, as well as some others, was looking at her.
“That’s Don Malarkey,” Lipton said. “And then there’s Muck, Luz, Penkala, Toye, Guarnere, Grant, Liebgott, Petty, Hanson, and Jackson.” He pointed at each man as he said their name, and when he was done, she’d already forgotten at least half of them. “I’ll go see what Winters wanted, but if there’s anything I can do to help just ask.”
“Thanks.” With one last smile he walked out, and she sat down on her own and started unpacking. It was mostly military gear and equipment, as well as her medical satchel and first aid kit. She'd already been given her medical kit, and in addition to medical supplies, she also hid her makeup and feminine hygiene products in it. Other than that, the only personal belongings she had were books, and she hoped Sobel wouldn't take them from her.
“Why’d they transfer you to Easy?” someone asked. Luz, she remembered.
“I’m not sure, maybe they just thought it was a better fit,” she said casually, hoping they wouldn’t keep asking about it. She wasn’t too keen on explaining to all these men she didn’t know that she had been transferred to Easy because a man at her previous company tried to assault her.
“A better fit?” the guy sitting on the bed opposite her cut in, looking her over. He had jet-black hair and a thick Philly accent. “No offence kid but you don’t look very strong, and Easy gets trained harder than any other company. You sure they thought it was a better fit for you?”
“Maybe Colonel Sink thought the best company in the regiment should have the honor of training with the first female paratrooper,” she said lighthearted waiting for them to drop the subject.
“Yeah well I bet you won’t last week. Men are dropping out around the clock ‘cus training’s too hard for em’,” he said uninterested, and some of the guys snickered at what he said. She wanted to insult him back but thought it better to keep her mouth shut. He didn’t seem to be underestimating her solely because she was a woman, he just seemed like an asshole.
“Oh come on Gonorrhea, don’t be asshole,” Malarkey said as if he’d just heard her thoughts. “First female paratrooper huh? That’s quite an achievement.” He smiled brightly at her.
“She has to finish training first for it to be an achievement,” a guy slumped on another bed said. Liebgott.
She remembers seeing him around camp before, as well as some of the others. He’d been in the infirmary at camp once for a fractured hand, but she hadn’t been the one assessing him. It seemed like he'd been in a fight, and from what she could tell he was a loudmouth with an attitude, but she couldn't deny he had his charm too.
Now she realized he was probably just another asshole. At least Malarkey seemed nice. Luz, Lipton, and Winters too.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself Lieb, you have to finish training too last I checked,” Luz added. Lieb. A German term of endearment equal to Dear, Darling, Sweetheart. She supposed the nickname made sense but wondered if any of them actually knew what they were calling him. Either way that was a bandwagon she wouldn’t be jumping on.
“At least I’m not bragging about achieving anything yet,” Liebgott huffed in a voice that was anything but darling.
“And neither was she,” Luz said baffled.
“Whatever,” he answered, seemingly done with the conversation.
“Sorry about them,” said Malarkey apologetically. “We just had to run up that friggin' mountain again this morning, so everybody’s in a bit of a sour mood.”
“It’s alright. At least you’re in a good mood.”
“It’s hard not to be when welcoming a beautiful woman to our company.” The comment made her chuckle. “But really, what are you doing in the army? We all heard about Sink letting a woman join the 506th, but they haven't told us much.”
“Well it seems like everybody else is letting women join their army,” she trying to remember what Colonel Sink told her when they first spoke. “The Soviets have over a hundred thousand women on the front lines I heard, so I guess Sink thought it was time we joined in. I was fresh out of nursing school when he asked me to be a combat medic.”
“I think it’s good,” said Luz. “I mean I can’t see why women shouldn’t get to be in the army if they want to, we need everyone we can get so we can end this thing faster.”
“Not before we get to join in though,” Malarkey added boastful. Amelia continued unpacking and the guys kept asking questions and joking around until they had to resume their training.
When they left, she got some time alone to settle down and get all her belongings in order until they came back, and people started heading off to the mess hall for dinner. Lipton, Malarkey, and Penkala joined her in walking to the mess hall, and when they’d gotten their food, more Easy Company men joined their table. Luz and Muck, who she met earlier in the barracks, and Hoobler, who had once hit on her in the infirmary.
“Where you from then?” Muck asked her.
“I’m from here, from Atlanta.”
“No kidding!” Malarkey joined in. “So you probably know all the fun things to do around here?” Before she could answer Luz cut her off.
“When are we gonna get to do anything fun? You think Sobel’s ever gonna let us keep our weekend passes?”
“He can’t keep taking all our passes forever,” Penkala argued, but he didn’t seem fully convinced.
As Luz started doing an impression of who she guessed was supposed to be Sobel, Amelia overheard her name and looked up to see the Philly asshole from earlier and one of his friends standing in the food line. Guarnere and Toye.
“What’d she do to get special treatment from Sink anyway? I mean direct orders to treat her with respect, you’d think she was a goddamn princess or something.” She had only known Guarnere for a couple of hours, but so far he wasn't making a great first impression.
“You recon Sobel’s gonna give her special treatment too?” Toye asked.
“No way. You’re more likely to be made general of the army than get special treatment from Sobel.”
“General of the army huh? At least my chances are better than yours.”
“Really? Says who?”
“I say.”
“Well if Joe Toye says it then it must be true.”
“Damn right.”
Amelia continued listening to their arrogant conversation until they’d gotten their food and sat down at another table, and luckily it didn't seem like anybody else had overheard them. She couldn’t deal with any more pity today.
As the guys on her table continued talking about Sobel and training, she realized three things.
Number one, it was best to stay out of Guarnere’s way to not create any more trouble for herself than she already got.
Number two, she needed to get more outspoken unless she wanted these men to keep interrupting and talking over her.
And number three, she hadn’t met Lieutenant Sobel yet, but from what she’d heard already, she was not looking forward to having him as her company commander for the unforeseeable future.
After spending dinner with the men she was meant to train and live with for the next years, they had three hours till lights out, and Amelia left barracks to take a shower and change into her t-shirt and shorts for sleeping. It wasn’t ideal washing her hair this late and sleeping with damp hair, but there weren’t many choices.
According to army regulations she must wear her hair up at all times during training, and because of not much time or supplies for personal grooming, the men weren’t going to get the most attractive side of her. They were going to be seeing her at her worst; sweaty, dirty, and exhausted. At least it was going to make it easier to follow the rules of no relationships between soldiers.
Colonel Sink had lectured her that there would under no circumstances be any fornication with the men, and apparently he’d ordered Sobel to give the same lecture to the men in Easy. She hoped she didn’t have to be there for that.
She found out that half of the men that were in the barracks earlier didn’t actually sleep there, and to her relief she wasn’t sharing with Guarnere, Toye, or Liebgott, but she suspected they might visit often because they seemed to be friends with Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, Grant, and Lipton.
Only one she was a little disappointed not to be sharing barracks with was Luz. Though he did talk a lot. Maybe too much in the long run.
When she came back from her shower no one really said anything to her as they settled down for lights out. Amelia felt a little self-conscious knowing she was the reason for the awkward silence.
She started getting ready for bed, surrounded by a bunch of men, some only in their skivvies, most at least graceful enough to wear a shirt. She put her hands under her shirt to unclasp her bra before hooking the straps off her shoulders and pulling the entire thing out through the arm of her shirt.
“What the hell did you just do?” Much asked, and she looked up to find him staring at her with an almost horrified look on his face.
“I just took my bra off,” she replied slowly, unsure of the situation.
“That was impressive,” he said, and she let out a small laugh. “And I know how hard those things can be to take off, they’re my worst enemy sometimes.”
“You’re talking as if any woman would let you within five feet of her,” Malarkey laughed.
“I’ll have you know,” Muck started offended. “My Faye would most definitely disagree with that, but I won’t go into detail, because I am in fact a gentleman.”
At that both Malarkey and Penkala burst out laughing, making Muck’s displeasure even more prominent on his face. Amelia too couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh you’re gentleman are you?” Malarkey teased him through his laughing.
“Settle down boys, five minutes till lights out,” Lipton called out.
The next morning was her first day training with Easy Company, and she was intent on making a good first impression on her new company commander. They were all standing at attention as Sobel walked amongst them, inspecting. He was revoking weekend passes left and right for minor infractions, and when he came closer and looked right at her, she almost didn't breathe, afraid even that might upset him.
“Corporal Watson here has been transferred from Fox Company and is not yet familiar with how we do things in Easy Company. Under my command this will be the first and finest company in this regiment. Do you want to be in the airborne Corporal Watson?”
“Yes sir.”
“I don’t believe you! Do you want to be in the airborne Corporal Watson?” She swore she could feel spit land on her face as he yelled at her.
“I do sir!”
“Then prove it. You have 50 minutes to run Currahee, to the top and back. I’ll be watching.” If she hadn’t already heard from the other guys how unfairly Sobel treated them at times, she would’ve thought he was joking. Her first day and she had to run up that damn mountain all on her own for doing absolutely nothing wrong. “What are you waiting for?”
She sighed as she turned around and started jogging in the direction of Currahee. “Welcome to Easy Company Corporal!” he shouted after her.
She didn’t have a watch on her, but she suspected she’d used at least an hour as she returned to Camp Toccoa sweaty and exhausted. Sobel was standing near the barracks while Winters was leading the rest of her platoon in a training exercise. When he saw Amelia approaching, he looked down at his watch.
“67 minutes!” he yelled. “That is 17 minutes longer than I gave you, and it might’ve been good enough for Fox Company, but it is not good enough for Easy Company! Do you want to be a part of this company?”
“Yes sir!” she replied with all the conviction she had in her, and he stepped closer and lowered his voice when he continued.
“I will not give you any special treatment here, no matter what. If you can’t keep up with the men you can go back to nursing school.”
If she knew back in August how challenging her life would become, she never would’ve said yes when Sink asked her to join the airborne. But she had come too far to give up. She couldn’t let men like Herbert Sobel or those bastards in Fox Company win. She would earn her jump wings, go to war, and prove them all wrong. This is where she belonged.
“I want to be a paratrooper sir!” It was clear he didn’t think she belonged there, but she was not backing down.
After about a minute of intense eye contact, he finally said, “Your weekend pass is revoked, I expect better of you tomorrow Corporal.”
“Yes sir, thank you sir!” She knew the coming months were going to be hell, but there was no way she was going to let Lieutenant Sobel intimidate her into leaving.