[World War II] Thousands of Miles in the Sky

On June 22, we swore allegiance to the German Reich before Himmler. "Coopers said, "We swear to the death to defend not only Germany, but also Holland, and even the entire Germanic nation. "

The car fell silent again.Under the frequent bumps of the car, Illerman closed his eyes in a daze.

"Dieter, did you make an emergency landing behind the Soviet front alone this time?" Kupas asked suddenly.

"Yes." Illerman replied with his eyes closed, "We Germans seldom operate in large groups in the Air Force, and usually at most a few planes together. This time, the 52nd Wing and the [-]nd Combat Wing 'Immelmann' jointly performed missions. , It is already unprecedentedly huge. The situation where several people make an emergency landing at the same time can almost only happen on a bomber plane operated by several people. Like Mr. Haptman’s Sduka bomber.”

"You are alone behind the enemy lines, aren't you afraid?"

Illerman snorted softly, and said, "Not to mention...don't worry about being afraid. The Soviets are offering a reward for my life every month. I must not fall into their hands, otherwise I will definitely die. This kind of How could I be afraid at that time?"

Kupas tilted his head slightly, as if he didn't quite understand.His German is only lightly accented, with a guttural accent typical of northerners, but he still occasionally pauses in the conversation, seemingly recalling words.

"When we charge," he said carefully, "I am not afraid. Even in the snow and ice, I am surrounded by comrades who share life and death. We all fight for the same goal, and each can die for the others. Our blood is the same, and I have nothing to fear when they are by my side. Horst always rushes to the forefront, and I just follow behind him without thinking about anything. You German officers often do this, no He will avoid any danger by himself, and will only rush to the front line ahead of the soldiers.

"But to be like you, Dieter, I don't even want to face those Soviet beasts alone. It must take a lot of courage to be a pilot. As far as being able to fight side by side with comrades-in-arms, I think it's better for the ground troops Lucky."

Illerman frowned slightly, put his hand on his forehead, and said: "In air combat, when Soviet pilots abandon their planes and parachute, we will not continue to fire. The duty of fighter pilots is to shoot down planes, not to kill people. Sometimes The Soviet pilots were stuck in the wreckage after the crash, and we would get them out. The Soviet prisoners I met were ordinary people. I didn’t find the Soviets particularly scary.”

Kupas remained silent for a while, before responding after a long time: "We, the SS, do not keep prisoners of war."

Illerman opened his eyes suddenly, and looked at the back of Kupas driving in disbelief.The same dark hair, shaved on the sides to reveal the skin and partly combed back, was the same color as his jet-black uniform.

"Then what happened to you being captured?"

"The SS does not take prisoners." Kupas said lightly, "Those who are wounded and unable to evacuate will swallow their own guns. Generally, soldiers in the same class have an agreement. When the injury is too serious to be able to pull the trigger, Let the other party of the agreement do the work."

Illerman stared blankly at Coopers, with unconcealable shock in his eyes.

"There is also an agreement between Horst and I. When the German officer who made an appointment with him is not present or cannot shoot, I will do whatever Horst has to do. My hometown is the same as his mother's ancestral home. A village—when the native Germans can't help him, it makes sense for the Dutch and his closest blood to be in turn."

"But there is no blood relationship between you and him," Illerman said.

"People of the same country all have the same blood, Dieter." Kupas said, "This kind of blood connection is the origin of all nations' self-containedness. When people betray this kind of blood, they will be punished." The punishment of nature. Every nation has its own soul, and this soul is maintained by blood.

"The soul does not live or die, and is eternal, just like the life of a nation, which is passed on from generation to generation by blood. The individual soul is the blood of the nation."

Illerman looked at Kupas suspiciously, but did not answer.

"That's why when we die, we have to bleed." Kupas said enthusiastically, "If you don't see blood, you can't go to Valhola after you die."

"Vahora?"

"In the ancient Germanic beliefs, only the warriors who died in battle would go." Kupas said, "Have you seen Wagner's opera, Ragnarok?"

"I've heard of it," Ellerman replied.

"The Germanic warriors who died in battle went to Wahela after their death, drank and celebrated with the father God Woden, and waited with the gods for the final jihad, which is the dusk of the gods." Kupas explained, "In the jihad, humans and gods, Even the whole world will be destroyed. Until the tree of life sprouts new buds, history will start from scratch."

Ellerman looked out the window at the whiteness of the moonlight.There was a bit of confusion between his brows, as if he had heard it in a fog.

"When we got off the front line, we had to toast Woden every time we had dinner together. When we went to the front line, we reminded each other: If the brothers who fought together can't return together, then everyone will see you in Wahoola. German men I was born to be a fighter, and only dying in battle is an honorable death. So I never fear going to the battlefield, I know that no matter what, my comrades and I will live and die together, and we will never be separated."

After Coopers finished speaking, he stopped talking.The sound of wheels piercing the dirt road kept coming, and Coopers opened the window of the cab, with his left arm half resting on the window sill, and occasionally stuck his head out of the window to look at the nearby road.Not long after Yileman closed his eyes and rested his mind, he felt the mechanical shaking of the car body suddenly stop, and there was a sound of a car door. When he opened his eyes, Kupas had already stood beside the car and opened the rear door.

32

"Dieter!" Prinz seemed to have been waiting for a long time. At this time, he stretched out his hand and pulled Illerman before he could stand up. "It's intact! We are all ready to throw a birthday party for you!"

"Birthday party?" Coopers asked with interest.

"Our old rules here." Prinz explained excitedly, "When someone escapes from death, they hold a party to celebrate. Every day is less and less on the battlefield. If you can come back alive in this situation, of course you have to drink well. A drink!"

Illerman got out of the car and straightened up. He smiled helplessly and said, "Mr. Prinz, you wish I were dead."

"How can I do that?" Prinz said, patting Illerman on the shoulder vigorously. "You're dead, how can you hold a party? It's not like you don't know about Johannes' stupid mind."

"You're not under Mr. Hassohoff's control," Illerman said.

"That won't work, without you kids here, what we do is meaningless and not lively enough." After Prinz finished speaking, he looked at Kupas beside him, "Do you want to stay and leave after drinking? "

"I'm afraid not." Coopers grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "If you go back late, you will be pointed at your nose and scolded by the captain."

"It seems that your officer is also a dead-headed guy." Prinz nodded heavily.His eyes were a little blurred, and his body already smelled faintly of alcohol. At this time, he was slowly and carefully looking at the young soldier in front of him.Coopers looked back at him with friendly blue eyes.This handsome Dutchman was about the same age as Illerman, but his brows lacked the battle-tested exhaustion and showed a dash of indomitable chic.And the Iron Cross badge hanging proudly on his chest with a ribbon from the buttonhole of his uniform jacket proved that he had no shortage of front-line combat experience.

Prinz raised his hand and patted Kupas on the shoulder, and said, "Thank you so much for sending him back. Dieter is the treasure of our team, and if he loses it, he will be in big trouble."

"It's a small effort, nothing to worry about." Kupas said with a smile, and then turned to Illerman sincerely: "Dieter, just don't hate me for shooting you."

"It's not your fault," Illerman said.

"Then I'll go first." Kupas said, as if habitually slammed his legs together, and the heels of his boots slammed together loudly, "Heil Hitler!"

Coopers' left arm is clinging to the seam of his uniform breeches, his chest is raised, and his right arm is stretched out straight.Illerman paused for a moment before replying, "Goodbye."

Kupas lowered his right arm, smiled again at Prinz and Illerman, then turned and walked towards the driver's door.The high leather boots with rivets on the soles stepped firmly on the soil without making any sound.

Illerman followed Prinz toward the middle of the camp.

"What are you doing here?" Ellerman asked.

"I can't be here yet?" Prinz asked strangely, "Don't think that I am not a member of the 52nd Wing now that I have the name of the [-]th Flight Group. What's the big deal about taking time to come to the front line? Stuttgart With Alfred on it."

"Mr. Maziaz?" Illerman asked. "He must be busier without you."

"Alfret can deal with a few American bombers." Prinz casually replied, "He can borrow people from the [-]th Regiment at any time, thinking that the face of our Karaya group is in vain. ?”

Illerman nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Prinz leisurely lowered his head and kicked the loose clods, and said to Illerman beside him: "It's not bad luck, I caught up with a good unit and sent you back. If this encounters the No.30 Sixth Regiment of the SS This kind of stuff is enough for you."

"What luck." Illerman said, "I was almost shot in the leg by that Dutchman just now."

"Is he Dutch?" Prinz seemed a little surprised, "The person I was talking to was an authentic Berliner, and I knew it from the accent.