but is well worth the time.
by
Elmer Ake
copyright 1998
I'm tired, I'm cold and there's nothing to eat.
You can't stand up on open ground
There's just to many German's around.
You sit here quiet and try not to make a sound
And you're praying that you won't be found.
The Germans are just across the way on another ridge
They can't come over here, we just blew the bridge.
Their tanks are sitting on the road in plain view
Just no way they can cross this deep slough.
The bad part is our supplies are on the other side too.
They didn't get across before the bridge blew.
Now we know how the Stag feels
When the hounds are baying at his heels.
We were in reserve, resting in a nice safe place
When all hell blew up in our face.
German guns destroyed our front without a trace
And sent us on this frantic survival race.
We are a squad of Engineers and a platoon of Infantry
The Germans will probably chase us back to Normandy.
The radio don't work, the batteries are in the red
Our maps are wet and muddy, to uselss to be read.
They say fools rush in where Angels fear to tread,
Looks like tomorrow these fools will all be dead.
These German tankers are smart and intelligent men
I am sure they have been this way time and time again.
You can bet they will find their way around
A blown bridge and some marshy ground.
If they can keep their tanks on a roadway that is sound
They can breeze right through these Belgium towns.
So the Captain says pack up men "Lets be gone
We don't want to stay here till dawn".
Now it's hard to travel through the woods at night
You feel your way like a person without sight.
But sometimes in a clearing the sky will glow bright
From the artilleries flickering light.
When we came out of the woods onto open ground
We could see ahead a little Belgium town.
The place looked real peaceful. Not like a war zone
Just about like a little country town back home
A place where conflict and violence is unknown.
A sign in Belgium read "Welcome to Bastogne".
The town was full of soldiers, from Privates to a General's staff
All were fleeing from the German's path.
Not many civilians were walking around
Most had enough sense to get out of town.
So when billets in an abandoned house was found
We thought "Man no more sleeping on cold ground."
Captain James was a good officer, One of the very best
He was worthy of any medal you could pin on his chest.
He treated his men good that made him a winner
He would never eat until the men all had their dinner.
He loved his men, though they be saint or sinner
Most of the men would die with him before the end of winter.
An orphan unit in the Army really has a hard time
The way you are treated is surely a crime.
If you don't belong to a division or corp
The brass hats treat you like dirt on the floor.
They ignored the Captain, shoved him right out the door
They told him it's time to go back and fight the war.
They told the Captain, reinforcements are on the way
The 101st Airborne is coming to save the day.
Two mighty armies will soon meet in this place
They will slug it out, toe to toe and face to face.
And the vanquished would disappear without a trace.
It was the beginning of the end for the Master Race.
But it didn't matter to us we were going back on the line
Sixty one infantry men, they kept the engineers behind.
We loaded up with rations and started back from where we came
Things all looked the same til we started up that country lane.
Sometimes in life you discover things you can't explain
And memories which you always retain.
In war there are things a man shouldn't have to see
And you ask Almighty God "How can this be?"
The Captain got a signal from one of the forward scouts
He said, "Hold up men we better check this out"
So we formed a skirmish line, just in case of Krauts.
And waited for the Captain for find out what it was all about.
At the edge of some woods a nude woman lay
She had been raped and murdered, Maybe just yesterday.
Off a little lay a dead man, perhaps the womans spouse
A little farther was a couple of dead cows.
It don't take much of this stuff for your blood to arouse.
Up in the trees we could see an old stone house.
Just another desolate forlorn Belgium farm.
No wisp of smoke coming from the flu
No light anywhere shining through.
The front door was open, just hanging askew
A place where death welcomed you.
It was the Ardennes forest in nineteen fourty four
When the Captain peeped through the open door.
The whole Western front was now on fire
It was to be the Germans finest hour.
Now they would show the world they still had power
The American Army they would devour.
Of people around there was no trace
The Captain said "Go check out the place".
So like a pack of hound dogs hot on the spoor
A squad of us rushed through the door.
And gave the place a hasty tour
And found three maidens huddled on the floor.
The Captain came in and looked, boy was he mad
Soem things in war are really sad.
He thought about the problem for awhile
Then he turned to me with a smile.
"You stay here in this domicile
Dont' go outside, keep a low profile."
An order is a command and you have to obey
So the Captain left some rations, they they packed up and went away.
And now the real war was about to start
The war of the sexes for mind and heart.
And these three girls were so smart
It would be love before we would ever part.
What to do with these girls was on my mind
When I turned around to find.
Three faces wearing silly grins
Three faces that never knew sins
Three faces that looked so gaunt and thin
Three hearts waiting for me to come in.
When I looked at them I just fell
They really put me under their spell.
But I made a fire to get some heat
Then fixed the girls something to eat.
They were the hungriest girls I ever did meet.
Must have been empty down to their feet.
I think the girls names were Gigi, Wigi and Mimi
At least that is what I thought them to be.
I dont' think they ever had a comb to run through their hair
Dirty rags was all they had to wear.
The house was empty, the floors were bare
Just one bed for all to share.
Three little girls left here in this lonely palce
No warmth, no food, no one to wipe the tears from their face.
Gigi was nine, maybe ten, Wigi was eight and Mimi was five
How did they manage to survive?
Were their parents no longer alive?
Was there some help, I could contrive?
Now the sound of battle was just outside
So I took the girs down to the cellar to hide.
It seems the battle raged all night
As we lay huddled together in fright.
But things quieted down with the morning light
That when I awoke to a fearsome sight.
German soldiers filled hte place
Their weapons pointed at my face.
They made the four of us walk outside
I had to carry Mimi cause she cried.
An officer asked questions and it was Gigi who replied
I just wanted to go some place and hide.
The officer looked me in the eye, my chances were getting slim
Until mimi made a face at him.
The officer laughed then broke into a roar
Made us go back inside, and put a guard at the door.
He sent us some food, enough for four
Mimi ate mine and hers and wanted more.
Locked up there I liearned to love these girls
Gigi, Wigi, and Mimi were truly pearls.
And the officer of these troops, he was a good man
Maybe he had daughters back in his homeland.
In war you never know what fate has planned
But I'm sure he would help us if he can.
Then one day we heard a loud roar
It was a sherman tank outside our door.
It was a bright sunny Christmas day.
The Germans just up and melted away.
The American Army was back to stay.
Now Gig, Wigi, and Mimi could go outside and play.
I wish there was soem way I could give this story a happy end
What I say now will cause your heart to rend.
These shamelss girls that I loved so
Now flirted with every G.I. Joe
Why a hundred kisses they would bestow
For just one cup of hot cocoa.
Then came that sorry unhappy day
The Red Cross came and took my girls away.
Now they are living in my memory.
And dear girls If you ever think of me
The love is still there and always will be
For Gigi, Wigi and my dear Mimi.
I know my Captain sleeps in Belgium beneath a cross
Perhaps the German officer too was lost.
But we wil meet again in eternity
And I am sure they are going to ask me
What was the names of the girls you had to oversee?
Why Captain that was Gigi, Wigi, and my dear Mimi.
