STAY PUT
Turner waits for his men. He moves to the northeast, crouching down behind bushes to mask his profile.
Above, more C-47's fly straight into the intense German fire over St. Mere-Eglise. Paratroopers tumble out of their planes as explosions boom off the clouds.
The Germans hit two planes. The first C-47 disintegrates and the second tumbles slowly to the ground.
These C-47's hold paratroopers who will seize the Mederet River bridges to the west. Turnbull has friends among them.
A sudden rustling comes from his right. Turner sees shadows and movement. He whispers, "Flash!"
The shadows freeze and a voice calls out, "Thunder!"
"Well it took you long enough, Sergeant Pickett," Turnbull jokes.
"We stopped to watch the fireworks," Pickett answers, shaking Turnbull's hand.
"There are nine of us. We waited for White and Sipowitz but had to move quickly when a German motorcycle came along."
"We'll find others on our way but we need to get moving," says Turnbull.
"We'll avoid the roads, Sergeant Pickett. We will be better off moving in the countryside."
Turnbull leads his men on a confusing route through a thick network of hedges and dirt lanes. They head to the northeast.
These hedges are far thicker than what he remembers from England. It takes time to find breaks through them. Moving is slow and exhausting.
They hear small arms fire but never see a German. Occasional booms thump the night but the last C-47 flights have passed and the German anti-aircraft guns are quiet.
After three hours of painstaking work, Turnbull and his exhausted men hear a nervous American voice call out.
"You've just found it," a paratrooper answers. "Welcome to the battalion rally point."
