War Photographer's Notebook

In the rescue buoy, which was swaying slightly with the waves, the whirring gas stove not only heated the two boxes of cans that Wei Ran rummaged through, but also gradually warmed up the public space of only four square meters.

While heating the can, Wei Ran also learned from the noisy radio that the current time was late at night on September 1940, 9.

This is undoubtedly a special day, because it is the most tragic day of the British air war - both for Britain and Germany.

Of course, for him, knowing that he was shot down on this day, even if the plane was not piloted by him, was somewhat balanced.

Muttering to himself, Wei Ran placed the heated cans and some food such as biscuits on the small table against the wall between the two beds. Then, Wei Ran also dug out a bottle of brandy and two small cups.

While he was busy preparing food, Julian also stuffed a towel into his collar as a napkin, and even used a small comb he found somewhere to tidy up his shiny hairstyle.

After a delay, when Weiran turned off the oil stove and sat beside the bed, Julian had already helped pour more than half a glass of brandy.

"First cup, I wish we can return to the blue sky." Julian held the cup and said a toast that Wei Ran was not interested in.

"I wish we could land safely." Wei Ran touched the other party's cup with a smile, then brought it to his mouth and drank it all.

While he was pouring the wine for the other party, Wei Ran asked casually, "Julian, you don't look like a rookie. Are you a veteran?"

"At least I'm not a novice when it comes to flying airplanes."

When Julian talked about flying-related topics, the arrogance in his tone that Wei Ran had almost forgotten revealed again inadvertently, "When I was 16 years old, I joined the Bremen Aviation Flying Club. Since then. I've been flying mail planes for Bremen Airport since I was 19."

"It's not like he was beaten down."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, but what he said was: "So when did you join the army? What battles did you participate in?"

When asked about this question, Julian fell into silence. He turned to pick up the cup Wei Ran had just filled and drank it all in one gulp. Then he roughly scooped up a large piece of hot beef with his dinner fork and put it in. Chewing hard in his mouth.

Just when Wei Ran thought he wouldn't answer the question and was about to talk about something else, Julian picked up the towel tucked into his collar and wiped the corners of his mouth, "I joined the Air Force when I was 25 years old. I took part in the bombing of Warsaw.

After the fighting there, I was transferred back to France to participate in the bombing of the Meuse River. After the Battle of France my time was occupied with transporting bombs to England. "

After speaking, Julian took the initiative and added enthusiastically, "Before this summer, I had always driven a Stuka, a Stuka equipped with a Jericho horn."

"A very noisy bomber," Weiran commented absently.

"What about you?" Julian's conversation seemed to be all about planes and flying. "You can also fly a plane?"

"I don't know how to fly a plane, but I have flown a glider. Although we are in the countryside, there is a glider club."

Wei Ran, who was full of lies, said with a sincere face, "To tell you the truth, I still have a few pilot friends."

"Your performance in heaven is not like your first time on the battlefield." As Julian spoke, he took the initiative to pour a glass of wine for Wei Ran.

“It’s definitely not the first time.”

Wei Ran continued to blather, "I was operating a machine gun on another plane before. Unfortunately, I was the only one who survived after that plane made an emergency landing. After recovering from my injuries, I was sent to your plane."

"You're in luck"

As he spoke, Julian poured a full bottle of wine for himself, "I mean, you can survive the crash landing and parachute from my plane. You are lucky. These experiences will make you the next one." The crew’s mascot.”

“Mascots usually don’t end well.”

Wei Ran picked up the cup and clinked it with the other person, "Before I stitched up your wound, you said you had stayed in this kind of sea hotel?"

"That was when the Stuka I just mentioned crashed."

Julian put down the cup, "The situation is almost the same as now. After my partner and I completed the dive bombing, the fuel tank was hit by an anti-aircraft gun. We used the remaining fuel to leave the UK and enter the Channel. Finally, after all the fuel and altitude were consumed, I parachuted and swam in the sea for more than ten hours before I found a buoy.”

"Did your partner survive?" Wei Ran asked as he put a spoonful of beef into his mouth.

"survive"

There was no smile on Julian's face when he said this, "Later, after my partner and I were rescued, we were assigned to the bomber together. My partner became my navigator. You have seen me at least. Over his body."

It was he who immediately matched it with the body that had been lying in the cockpit of the bomber.

By some strange coincidence, Wei Ran asked, "Isn't your partner also a noble?"

"You seem to care about being a noble?" Julian looked at Wei Ran, "Don't you really like being a veterinarian?"

“Just asking”

Wei Ran first casually glanced at the military skull ring on the index finger of his left hand. After thinking for a moment, he pointed to the radio not far away with the spoon in his hand and said in a casual tone, "This is it." It's so big, and there are only two of us, are we going to drink with him talking in his sleep?"

"daydream?"

Julian smiled and seemed to be in a much better mood. "My partner is indeed a nobleman. He is a down-and-out Junker who always dreams that he is still a nobleman."

"Tell me about him. What's his name?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he did not forget to pour another glass of wine for the other party, "I have always been curious about what kind of life the nobles live."

"His name is Pascal von Ginter"

Julian said with a smile, "The name Feng was added by his father himself. In fact, their family's 'fiefdom' only has a farm of less than 5 hectares left."

Just rations? Is this a Junker noble?
Wei Ran grinned, suddenly realizing that this pilot who was particularly weak when flying in the sky also knew humor.

"What about you?" Wei Ran asked, "Why is there no Feng in your name?"

"Those letters prove nothing except a waste of ink when signing."

Julian replied with a particularly disgusting reply, and brought the topic back to his late partner, "Pascal yearned for the aristocratic life far more than you do now, and he was also a loyal listener of the Austrian who talked in his sleep.

Frankly speaking, he is a good partner, but communicating with him is very difficult. "

“I didn’t expect someone wearing that kind of ring to say something like that.”

Wei Ran pointed directly at the rank military ring on the opponent's hand, "This is even stranger than sitting at the same table drinking with a noble."

"this?"

Julian shook the ring he wore on his left hand side by side with his wedding ring, and explained with an indifferent expression, "Any team member who has served for three years and performed outstandingly can get this stupid ring that only increases flight weight. My hand I got this one because I participated in the battles between Poland and France.

"I finally know where your tone came from when you were on the plane, so arrogant that you needed to be beaten up." Wei Ran said deliberately in a joking tone.

"Do you want to duel with me?" Julian asked jokingly.

"Forget it, noble sir." Wei Ran picked up his wine glass and clinked it with him, "I can't afford a fencing."

"You seem to know a lot about those bad habits?"

"As I said, I have a few pilot friends."

Wei Ran finished speaking and drank all the wine in the cup, "There is a noble among them. I often hear him talk about interesting things."

"What's his last name?" Julian asked curiously.

"Cape" Wei Ran replied casually.

"Cape of Ruhr?"

Julian almost subconsciously asked the second question that was almost certain but somewhat unconvincing.

"Do you know him?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Thanks to those bad habits"

Julian took out a cigarette from the cigarette case on the table, lit it with some difficulty and then took a puff. "Although some families are lonely, they have always heard about it."

"Like Capet?" "That's a real surname with a fiefdom."

Julian threw the lighter and the cigarette case to Wei Ran, "The fief I'm talking about this time is not just a 5-hectare farm, it's the kind of fief with a castle.

If I remember correctly, that small family didn't seem to be very prosperous, and quite a few of them died on the battlefield of World War I.

But that’s all I know. The last time I heard this surname was more than ten years ago, probably when the family received a large amount of compensation. My father was very envious at the time, but since then he has never heard of it again. I haven't heard anyone mention it. "

I've been to that castle.
Wei Ran secretly added something in his mind, and then heard Julian ask, "So you are from Ruhr?"

"Aachen, I'm from the countryside in Aachen."

Wei Ran continued to talk nonsense about his life experience, "It's a small town next to the Hürtgen Forest. If I hadn't joined the army, I wouldn't have even been to Aachen a few times."

"Are you married?" Julian asked in the thick smoke.

"Not yet." Wei Ran filled their glasses again, "So you're married?"

"get married"

Julian shook the wedding ring on his left hand that was worn side by side with the military ring and said, "After my Stuka crashed this summer, the first thing I did after I returned was to marry my lover. Now. She is pregnant and her due date is in May next year."

"She's in Bremen?"

“Rotenburg”

Julian replied with a smile on his face, "It's not that far from Bremen. She is a music teacher. You must go to Rothenburg if you have a chance in the future. It is very beautiful there."

“I will go if I have the chance.”

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he sighed secretly. He was already sure that the person in front of him was probably Mrs. Kate's grandfather, but he didn't know.
At this moment, both of them heard the roar of the plane overhead.

"It's our fleet! It's the sound of flying pencils! Yes! It must be them!"

As he spoke, Julian had already grabbed the ladder beside the bed and stood up. He jumped to the radio distress device not far away and urged, "Hurry up! There is a flare in the watchtower!"

Without any prompting from the other party, Wei Ran climbed up the ladder and found a flare and a signal gun in the watchtower hanging with an oil lamp.

However, when he opened the door, he discovered that not only was there thick fog floating on the sea, but also cold drizzle was falling above his head. As for the rumbling cluster, he couldn't see it at all. arrive.

Without thinking too much, he raised the flare gun, aimed at the top of his head and fired a flare, followed by firing the second and third flares into the night sky shrouded in clouds and thick fog.

However, he didn't see any response until the roar of the aircraft above him disappeared.

"Julian! Is there a response on the radio?" Wei Ran shouted into the buoy and asked.

"No," Julian responded loudly.

"I have some bad news here!"

Wei Ran closed the iron door of the watchtower, looked at the sea outside the window and said, "While we were drinking, the weather started to turn bad. There was thick fog on the sea, dark clouds overhead, and it was raining. I'm afraid it just happened. Those planes couldn't see our flares at all."

"do not worry"

Julian jumped to the edge of the ladder with one leg, raised his head and said, "This is not bad news. Let's get down first."

Taking one last look at the rainy night outside the window, Wei Ran turned up the brightness of the oil lamp by the window, and then climbed down the ladder.

"Don't worry, there are aircraft patrolling these buoys every two days."

Julian said firmly while hopping back to the bed on one leg, "So we will be saved by this time the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"I hope so," Wei Ran muttered secretly, and couldn't help but start looking forward to the other residents in the buoy.

After being interrupted by the returning planes just now, the two lost interest in continuing to chat, so they simply turned off the noisy radio and lay down on their own beds.

Thanks to the half bottle of brandy that he had just poured into his stomach, and because of the fatigue he had accumulated before, it didn't take long for Wei Ran to fall asleep smoothly in the buoy that was like an oversized cradle due to the push of the sea water.

On another bed not far away, Julian looked at the two fingers cut off by Wei Ran with the dim light emitted by the oil lamp hanging between the two beds.

After a long time, he sighed silently, and with the help of his teeth, he took off the wedding ring and the military ring on his left hand with difficulty, and then put them on the two rings that were still connected by flesh and blood. on the severed finger.

Finally looking at his right hand wrapped in gauze, Julian took out the sugar bowl he had just taken from under the pillow when Wei Ran went up to fire the flare, and buried the two severed fingers with rings on them. into the sugar bowl, and tightened the cap tightly.

Soon after, Julian also closed his eyes and was shaken into sleep by the waves.

In his sleep, Wei Ran began to feel like he was an over-aged baby lying in a large cradle, surrounded by a group of beautiful girls helping to gently rock the oversized cradle.

However, the beautiful girls in the dream were rocking harder and harder, and they even shouted inaudible chants in order to rock the large cradle like a swing.

"Clang! Crash!"

Finally, the giant baby in the cradle woke up to the loud noise of a series of heavy objects falling to the ground. The dream of the girls shouting in unison became fragmented, and only the oil lamp swinging in the rescue buoy, the wine bottle and two empty cans that had just rolled from the table to the floor, and the table knife and meal were left. Fork and two glass cups.

Of course, there was also Wei Ran who subconsciously raised the captured Sauer 38 pistol when he was awakened, and Julian who raised the P38 pistol for the same reason.

They glanced at each other. Wei Ran, who had already sat up, was the first to put away his gun. He stepped on the wine bottle with his foot, picked it up, twisted the cap, and stuffed it under the pillow. "Why is it shaking so hard? I'll go up." have a look."

“Something is not right”

Julian warned vigilantly, "Victor, there should be a rope in the cabinet next to the end of your bed. When you go up, fasten your seat belt first."

"what happened?"

Wei Ran, who was grabbing the edge of the bed with one hand and busy picking up the tableware and cans, immediately realized the problem.

"The anchor chain of this buoy may have been broken, otherwise it would not be shaking so hard."

Julian pointed to the top of his head, "And if you listen to the sounds outside, I guess the waves outside are very big now. Unless necessary, you'd better not open the door. It's already cold enough in here."

"I'll go up and take a look."

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he threw the things he had just picked up randomly into a cabinet, then took out the rope, tied one end to the ladder, and tied the other end to his waist.

Quickly climbing up the ladder to the deck, he could hear the frightening sound of waves and the crashing rain without even opening the door.

But even if he pressed his face against the window, the only thing he could see was darkness beyond his reach. The oil lamp that was still burning could not even illuminate the deck that was only one meter wide outside.

"Whoa!"

Just when he was trying to see something, a wave hit the glass window protected by the barbed wire. In a quick glance, he even saw an octopus brought up by the wave.

Fortunately, the two iron doors in the watchtower were well-sealed and strong enough. At least when the wave hit, not much water seeped in at all.

After a moment's hesitation, he raised the brightness of the oil lamp again, and then wisely climbed the ladder back to the inside of the buoy.

"How is the situation?" Julian asked before Wei Ran could stand still.

"I can't see clearly." Wei Ran shook his head, "The waves outside are so big that I can't see anything."

"Go on to sleep," Julian said, lying on the bed again.

"How many hours have you been sleeping?" Wei Ran asked as he untied the rope around his waist.

"It's less than four hours." Julian took out his aviation watch and took a look at it. "Go on and sleep."

"We won't be pushed to the British side by the waves, right?" Wei Ran asked in a joking tone while lying down.

"Our hotel can't fly, and there are no aerial bombs for them." Julian joked, and then ended the chat by covering himself with a blanket.