 Soldiers of the press, this week, the road to Rome. Awesome, awesome. Stop it, will you? Stop it! Oh, why don't you die? Give me some water, please. I've given you all my water, I tell you. You think I'd like to listen to you dying? Do you? Do you? Well, I'm happy. Why should I feel sorry for you? You killed my best friend. You're not like a dog out there in the field. Like a dog. You never get my chance. My best friend, do you hear? My best friend! Personally, I'll take a barrel of beer. Well, you can have your barrel of beer, brother. Personally, I'm going to get married when this war is over into the sweetest little gal in West Virginia. Ah, you're off, you nut bits. Hey, for Mr. Vermillion. Where, Jim? Me and Vic here. We got... Yeah, I heard you. You know what? It seems to me that's all you guys ever talk about. Mr. Vermillion, you're a correspondent for the United Press, aren't you? That's right. Now, come on. Now, who's right? Me or Vic, huh? Well, I... I'd say you're both right. Hey, what do you mean? We both can be right. I assure you can. Get married and have your beer, too. Ah, now that's not what I mean. Hey, get down, fellas, get down. German mortars put a temporary end to that argument. We were standing on a crag at Artina. At the tip of an American salient. Pointed at the German defense line on the road to Rome. The lowest was a quiet valley centered with locust blossoms and poppies. At night, it sparked with fireflies. But in a matter of seconds it became a roaring battlefield where men were bleeding and dying. Come on, let's get out of here. You said it, brother. But where are we going? We're going down that wire gully into that house there. Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, Mr. Vermillion! Come on, fellas, let's go. We made the dash down the gully across a hundred yards of open road into the house while shells burst on buildings to our right. There we found six soldiers waiting for the barrage to stop. From the house we watched the beginning of the battle toward Valmontone on the road to Rome. Boy, I'm glad to be out of that. Are you all right, Mr. Vermillion? Just out of breath, that's all. Hiya, fellas. Mind if we join you? Hey, fellas, what's that? That's our artillery opening up and the gerry's over there in those houses. See? Boy, listen to those babies. Hey, you know, tell me on a clear day you can see Rome from here. I'd like to see it myself. I've not run here. Right, Mr. Vermillion? Come on, Vic. Another day, another gerry. Let's go. Jim and Vic were the first out, with the six yanks in the house veering off to the right. From all indications it appeared that the Germans in the houses across the field had been knocked out. As my two friends advanced, I saw other troops getting ready to crawl out of the ditches to follow them. Suddenly from one of the houses ahead, the German machine gun cut loose on the six yanks to the right of Vic and Jim. As they fell, two threw up their hands. The other four just crumpled and laced in. Jim, we've got to do something about that typewriter. How many grenades do you carry? Two. How many have you got? One. I used up the rest of the dog gun. Well, three's enough to take care of that, baby. Here, let me have them. Now listen, dope, somebody's got a cover. Now come on, give them to me. Yeah, that's right. Now look, I'm going around to the side and you keep your eyes open. Now, Vic, get down! Look, now's your chance. Go ahead. I'll cover you, boy. Okay. So long, kid. So long. Easy. Oh, Lord, take care of that. Take care of him, won't you? Come on, let him get chilled. He's a good guy. Yeah, he's a good guy. Oh, God, he... No. No, they missed him. They missed him. Oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you. Keep going, boy. Keep going. He's going to run for it. Vic! Vic! Run! Run, boy! Run! Run! Hell, just as he was within throwing distance of the enemy machine gun. When Jim saw his comrade fall, he sneaked his way inch by inch through the red poppies and locust blossoms to the body of his pal and removed the three grenades from his pockets. Then he turned his attention to the geometry. Don't worry, Vic. I'll get him. I'll get him if it's the last thing I ever do. Missed again, huh? Now let's see how you like this. Watch Jim hurl the grenades one after another in quick succession. The next moment, he dove into a window of the enemy-occupied house. Nobody here must be in the next room. The door's shut. Well, it goes. Up with your hands, crowd, and keep them up. You understand me? I understand English perfectly, Herr Platter. That's just dandy. Where's the rest of your pals? Yeah, pals, buddies, men. Where are they? Oh, see for yourself. Just three of you, huh? Yes. Okay. You and me are going back to my... I'm afraid we're not going anywhere. At least not for the moment. I got plenty of time. I'm afraid you're wrong again. Hey, listen to me. I've got a... You see, what you heard is a German artillery barrage. And that means counterattack. Come on. What are you talking about? I'm simply telling you we are caught between two fires, my friend. Don't you friend me? You'll kill my buddy, or you'll destroy me. Very well, Herr Platter. You can either kill or be killed. I have no choice. Shut them down like a dog. I hate your knackers. That dirty kraut. Donny, I got myself killed. That's your own fault, buddy. Where did I get you? Let's take a look. Stomach, huh? Got a first aid kit around here. Private Jim McGaw found himself in a curious, you might say, almost in a car, but predictable. Alone with two dead Germans and a third who was dying trapped in the crossfire of American and German artillery. The blast from a gun was followed a split second later by the whistle of the shell and the explosion. Jim watched houses crumbling in the town which he knew held shivering citizens in their own barren rooms. Rooms as barren as his. The only difference was that Jim had company. Dead company. What time is it? I don't know. Close to midnight at this. Herr Private, please. Yeah, what do you want? What do you want? Officer, officer, officer. Stop it, will you? Stop it. Why don't you die? Give me your offer, please. I've given you all my water, I tell you. You think I like to listen to you dying? Do you? Do you? Oh, why should I feel sorry for you? You killed my best friend. Shot him down like a dog out there in the field, like a dog. He never had a chance. My best friend, do you hear? Do you hear? Let me try to tell me. Officer, please, close it. I can't get any closer. Why, you dirty swan. That's the last rotten trick. You'll play. Vic. Vic, we did it, didn't we, boy? Yeah, you know something? Yes, I'm not going to get that foul up here after all. Yeah, Vic. But Vic can't say we didn't try. Wait. Can't say we. And so two pals who lived in peace and war on the road to Rome lived again in death. It would be unthinkable at this moment that men of all nations fighting and working together for freedom should ever allow themselves to forget men like Jim and Vic. Because they died trying because they knew that it is only a victorious Allied army that will restore the world. A world where human beings can live in decency and peace and happiness with their fellow men.