STAY ON COURSE
Weatherhead panics and yells, "We have to speed up!"
Nerves on fire, a thousand horrible images flash through Gwynn's brain. But he crams his fear down and stares hard ahead.
"Negative," he says tightly. "We'll be fine, Mike."
Weatherhead's silence multiplies the cockpit's tension. The mist thickens and Gwynn wonders if he's made a mistake.
Then the clouds abruptly part and stars shine above. The French countryside emerges below and Gwynn sees a patchwork of farms, fields and hedgerows.
"Chalk 18 on our left," Weatherhead announces, all fear gone from his voice.
"We should be on top of St. Saveur," Gwynn replies.
German anti-aircraft guns boom again, bouncing white explosions through the clouds. The distant fire helps the pilots by illuminating the French countryside.
"St. Saveur off to starboard by about ten degrees. Turning on the warning light now," Weatherhead says, flipping a dashboard switch. Gwynn nods and pushes the yoke forward to bring them to the 500 foot jump height.
The jump warning light's red flow shines on the the long row of paratroopers. Turnbull calls out...
The paratroopers stand, face the plane's rear and attach their static lines.
"Check equipment," Turnbull yells. Each man tests all the buckles and straps of his gear and weapons. Then he does the same for the man in front of him.
The Lieutenant now commands, "Sound off!", and Corporal Kelly responds first, "One okay!"
"Two okay!" shouts the next man in line. Each man down the line echoes the call until it reaches Sergeant Pickett in the back of the plane.
"Fifteen okay!" Pickett yells. Turnbull turns to look outside for the drop zone.
Suddenly, the reality of this moment overwhelms Turner. Waiting for the green jump light, Turner flashes to the clinging memory of his last combat jump - flak ripping apart his plane, paratroopers tumbling out, a few making it but most dying as the C-47 tumbled into the Sicilian countryside.
He struggles to focus, but the smells and sounds bring back the terror of his jump into Sicily. He feels intimately the horrors ahead.
Sooner than he expects, though, the green jump light goes on. It's time to go.
