Dedicated
To the real men of Easy Company, the heroes of the 506th, and all World War Two veterans. May we never forget their endless sacrifices. They were heroes, even if they would never admit to it.
To Natalya Kovshova, Mariya Polivanova, Virginia Hall, Simone Segouin, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Freddie Oversteegan, Truus Oversteegan, Hannie Schaft, Małka Zdrojewicz, Bluma Wyszogrodzka, Rachela Wyszogrodzka, Zinaida Portnova, and to all the "women of no importance" in World War Two, who helped win back peace for their countries and for the world. May they rest knowing their sacrifices won the world freedom.
And to my Uncle Mike, a Staff Sergeant radio op aboard the C-47s on D-Day, without whose bravery and skill the Paratroopers could not have been taken to Normandy.
Disclaimer
This story is based on the HBO series Band of Brothers. While the characters portrayed are historically present, there are discrepancies between the show and the real Easy Company. When possible, I will be informing the HBO characters with the biographies of the real men who served. However in any case where history and show contradict, the show canon will take precedence. I will also be taking liberties on their post-war lives to further distance them from a direct portrayal of the veterans
While research is being done by the author, nothing written is claimed to be one hundred percent historically or medically accurate. Women were not fighters for the USA in WWII, but the French Underground and the Soviets had women in combat situations. This story is inspired by them, and the women spies of WWII employed by many nations.
This book addresses period-typical sexism, period-typical antisemitism, period-typical racism, PTSD, and period-typical mental illness shaming.