=2=
Markman regarded the document on the table.
Typewritten: itself a characteristic indicative of an older era.
The contacts they had developed at NARA occasionally payed off. The document was what they called, with good reason, an OOPART. It had simply emerged in the archives, at least according to the archivist who was an expert on those records. Before a month ago, as far as they could determine, the document had not existed. Yet, today, here it was, with a date indicating it was written in the waning days of World War II.
![[Image: irp.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/0tXjsWz/irp.jpg)
Markman poured a mug of coffee from the 'Silver Bullet' and began reading ...
- - -
The two jeeps pulled up behind a slight rise, the drivers keeping the vehicles close to the road because of the deep snow. Lieutenant Raker wordlessly signaled "Tiny" to cover an obvious avenue of approach with his Browning Automatic Rifle. At the jeep, Miller had trained the .30-caliber machine gun to cover a trail leading into the forest. Pointing to Kline, Raker grasped his carbine and indicated they should move forward.
The mission statement had been ambiguous. "Something" involving lights and explosions had happened to the front of the 1st Battalion, and Raker's I&R Platoon was tasked with assessing the incident.
Raker and Kline moved forward in short bounds, one covering the other as they moved. As they came around a bend in the road, Raker stopped, taking in the scene before him.
Something like fifteen German soldiers lay dead in the snow, ahead and along the sides of an assault gun, which was clearly out of action. There were no shell or bomb craters, no sign that mines had detonated. Just dead men and a wrecked self propelled gun.
Kline examined one of the corpses. The man's Wehrbuch stated he had been in the SS mountain infantry. But the wound ... like nothing Kline had ever seen. There was a big part of his torso gouged out in a neat cut ... but no blood on the ground. It was as if the wound had been immediately cauterized. Raker stared at the wrecked gun. The battle damage was very odd. There was a spherical chunk of it missing by the gun mantle that included a complete and large penetration of the frontal armor. Clearly there must have been considerable heat involved, as the ammunition inside the vehicle had detonated and cracked its hull.
Raker and Kline checked the other corpses. Similar "cauterized" wounds and no blood. The two men pulled back to the jeeps, eased onto the icy road, and slowly made their way back to friendly lines.
- - -
Markman clucked his tongue and took a sip of the coffee. The description of the wounds reminded him of mutilation reports, although those were usually more precise. Whatever had happened, it sure as Hell wasn't caused by weapons fielded by the Army in 1945. Thanking the archivist, he requested the document be scanned and sent to him via the classified email system.
One more piece of the puzzle, he thought.
=2=
Cheers
Markman regarded the document on the table.
Typewritten: itself a characteristic indicative of an older era.
The contacts they had developed at NARA occasionally payed off. The document was what they called, with good reason, an OOPART. It had simply emerged in the archives, at least according to the archivist who was an expert on those records. Before a month ago, as far as they could determine, the document had not existed. Yet, today, here it was, with a date indicating it was written in the waning days of World War II.
Markman poured a mug of coffee from the 'Silver Bullet' and began reading ...
- - -
The two jeeps pulled up behind a slight rise, the drivers keeping the vehicles close to the road because of the deep snow. Lieutenant Raker wordlessly signaled "Tiny" to cover an obvious avenue of approach with his Browning Automatic Rifle. At the jeep, Miller had trained the .30-caliber machine gun to cover a trail leading into the forest. Pointing to Kline, Raker grasped his carbine and indicated they should move forward.
The mission statement had been ambiguous. "Something" involving lights and explosions had happened to the front of the 1st Battalion, and Raker's I&R Platoon was tasked with assessing the incident.
Raker and Kline moved forward in short bounds, one covering the other as they moved. As they came around a bend in the road, Raker stopped, taking in the scene before him.
Something like fifteen German soldiers lay dead in the snow, ahead and along the sides of an assault gun, which was clearly out of action. There were no shell or bomb craters, no sign that mines had detonated. Just dead men and a wrecked self propelled gun.
Kline examined one of the corpses. The man's Wehrbuch stated he had been in the SS mountain infantry. But the wound ... like nothing Kline had ever seen. There was a big part of his torso gouged out in a neat cut ... but no blood on the ground. It was as if the wound had been immediately cauterized. Raker stared at the wrecked gun. The battle damage was very odd. There was a spherical chunk of it missing by the gun mantle that included a complete and large penetration of the frontal armor. Clearly there must have been considerable heat involved, as the ammunition inside the vehicle had detonated and cracked its hull.
Raker and Kline checked the other corpses. Similar "cauterized" wounds and no blood. The two men pulled back to the jeeps, eased onto the icy road, and slowly made their way back to friendly lines.
- - -
Markman clucked his tongue and took a sip of the coffee. The description of the wounds reminded him of mutilation reports, although those were usually more precise. Whatever had happened, it sure as Hell wasn't caused by weapons fielded by the Army in 1945. Thanking the archivist, he requested the document be scanned and sent to him via the classified email system.
One more piece of the puzzle, he thought.
=2=
Cheers
Fire In The Hole