The Phoenix, 2022

D-Day by Braden Giroux CHAPTER ONE: Preparation It was June 5th, 1944. We had just finished an early dinner, and had gone back to our barracks to sleep before getting ready for our jump onto the beaches of Normandy shortly after midnight. Over the past few months, we had been training tirelessly day in and day out in preparation for this day, and I knew my battle plans and strategies like the back of my hand. Still, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The realization that in a few hours I would be jumping directly into heavily armed enemy territory from planes thousands of feet in the air had just truly started to hit me, and my mind was racing. Could these few hours be my last on Earth? Would I ever get back home and see my family again? I was ashamed to be having these thoughts. Now more than ever, I just needed to trust all my preparation, and trust my brothers. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who was feeling like this, so I decided rather than sitting on my bunk and drowning in anxiety, I would go talk to some friends in my company. I considered myself very lucky to be placed with the group I was, as I had grown tight with a few of the guys in Easy Company. Cooper Brown was probably my closest friend though. He was a tall, strong man, and honestly one of the kindest guys I had ever met. He was a good-looking guy, with brown eyes and short, wavy hair. We had spent hours over the last few months talking about home and our plans when we returned after the war, and we really did assure each other that it was “when,” not “if.”

“Coop!!” I said, “how you feelin’ ‘bout tomorrow big man?”

“Never been better. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited to land on a beach with thousands of soldiers ready to kill at any moment?” he responded.

I laughed, “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

We talked for a little while longer, debating which MLB teams we thought were going to win it all this year, as we usually did. I could tell he was nervous too. He was bouncing his knee up and down and twiddling his thumbs, which he always seemed to do when he was anxious about something. After about half an hour, we decided it would be best if we tried to catch some sleep, but we both knew damn well we weren’t going to be able to. I walked slowly back to my bunk, observing the rest 46