Sitting helplessly. [WWII]

>Sitting helplessly under intense artillery fire is pure hell, combat at its absolute worst. The shells were coming in by threes. “Wiseman and I sat in our corners and cursed. Every time we heard a shell come over, we closed our eyes and put our heads between our legs. Every time the shells went off, we looked up and grinned at each other. >”I felt sick inside. I said I’d give a foot to get out of that place. We smelled the gunpowder as a rancid thunderhead enveloped our hole. A nasty, inch-square chunk of hot steel landed in Wiseman’s lap. He smiled. >”Three more. And then three, and then three. No wonder men get combat exhaustion.” [Webster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Pfc_david_webster_506.jpg) later wrote his parents. “Artillery takes the joy out of life.” __________________________________ **Source:** Ambrose, Stephen Edward. “Hell’s Highway.” *Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest*. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004. 132. Print. __________________________________ **Further Reading:** [Private First Class David Kenyon Webster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kenyon_Webster)