Fulton Sheen: Winning Story

Happy Easter, everyone!

The winner of our Fulton Sheen friendship quote prompt is Sam Herbison! Congratulations, Sam!

I hope you enjoy his entry!

Torn Asunder

by Sam Herbison, Grade 9

Peter was bone-weary.  He had survived living in a clumsy landing-craft boat for three days, the invasion of Utah Beach, and three days in Normandy, France.  It seemed like the past week felt more like a year. But he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Now that the chaos was somewhat over, Peter started to look for his friend. Jack was a paratrooper who had landed in Peter’s sector in the early hours of the invasion.  He was also Peter’s childhood friend who did everything with Peter.  They both were on the same baseball team, with Jack playing third base and Peter at left field.  They both enlisted at the same time, but in different units. Peter prayed that he didn’t get lost, which happened to a crushingly large amount of the paratroopers.

That night, Peter was sent on patrol duty. He walked past a brick wall. There, he found a paratrooper, crouched down in the dirt.  He was about to ask him if he had met Jack, but then he noticed something. The man was signaling violently for Peter to get down.  Peter then heard bullets,  fired from a machine-gun.

As he hit the ground, he heard bullets whiz by his head.  Responding shots from a rifle rang through the air. He saw the paratrooper trying to hit the German machine-gunner.  But the German was behind a small brick wall.  The only way he could kill him was by standing up and with luck, have a bullet hit the machine-gunner.  If he didn’t, there would be two more casualties in the U.S. army.

Peter saw the paratrooper make the Sign of the Cross, mutter a few words, and stand up.  He saw the man get off one shot before getting riddled with bullets.  He saw the man fall, and the machine-gun firing ceased. Peter waited for a few moments, then got up and walked over to the man, going to see if he could save him. There, perforated with bullet holes, undoubtedly dead, was Jack.

Peter was sobbing.  He felt numb all over and was oblivious of everything that was going on around him.  Sometime later, he heard a voices.  It was a search party, looking for him.  A hand laid on his shoulder, someone tried to mumble comforting words.  “Pete, we really need to go.  I’m so sorry.”

Peter never forgot Jack.  He took on the responsibility of visiting Jack’s parents and wife that Jack was dead.  Jack’s wife was expecting their first child.  After the war, Peter converted to Catholicism, and every week made sure to offer up a Holy Communion for the repose of Jack’s soul.  The wound in Peter’s heart never completely healed, because it had been torn in two.