The sound rose, and he realized it came from the sea. Under the thud of heavy shelling and bombing, objects on the walls and tables danced.
The captain looked up from his watch and smiled.
“They’re right on time,” he said.
Puzzled, André asked, “Who is, monsieur?”
“This is the real Invasion, son, coming in now. This is what General Eisenhower has been planning for two years. Hundreds of thousands of men, tens of thousands of tanks, bulldozers, and trucks are moving in—now, in over four thousand ships. The Navy’s shelling the coast. We just came in ahead by parachute to get ready for them.”
André found himself too excited to say anything.
The captain spoke again, above the din.
“You see why we have to clear the enemy out of those bridgeheads? To let the men landing on the beaches come through. As soon as the Navy finishes this shelling, British, Canadian, and American troops will be landing on sixty miles of beach from here to the River Orne!”
CHAPTER SIX
Victor’s Mission
REMEMBERING the rolling crashes of the worst thunderstorm he had ever heard, André thought it had been nothing compared to this noise.