Soldier Boys
Soldier Boys
By: Dean Hughes

This book is spilt into 2 kid’s stories Dieter’s and Spencer’s.
Dieter’s story
Dieter is a boy living in Germany during WWII, with a very strong belief in what Hitler and the Hitler youth are fighting for. He was excited about the Hitler youth because he was dared to dive into a very cold pond, and got praised by the older Hitler youth when he did. Two years later he is a Hitler youth leader trying to help by building trenches in a town in Germany when England’s fighter planes come by and kill one of his friends. After that incident an SS man contacts him by phone and tells him to be out in front of his house, in his best Hitler youth uniform at 5 am. He ends up getting an award from Hitler himself for fighting so valiantly by digging the trenches even under fire. He then asks a leader of the German army if he can fight in the war. The person he asks says yes, so he is sent to the 47th corps part of the 15th army, where he meets Schaefer and they head into a battle. He goes and kills his first American soldier. On one of his next battles, while they are fighting up the hill he is shot and left on the ground to die. A medic comes to help him, but the medic is shot. He lies there yelling for Schaefer, although he thinks Schaefer is dead. An American boy, a bit older than him, comes out and tries to drag him off of the field after the battle. But two German guards come and shoot the American boy. Dieter is sent back home with honors, and that is the end of his story.
Spencer’s Story
Spencer’s story begins when his father signs his papers so that he can join the paratrooper’s brigade in America. He is forced to work vigorously during his 3 month training for paratrooper duty at a fort in Nevada. He is then shipped off to England to wait a month for orders. There he meets Ted, a friend that he will have in his brigade. One day when they are out going down a hill, they start getting bombarded by German firing. They retreat and luckily they survive. The next day they try the same thing, only this time they are prepared. They have two more US army brigades, and they beat the Germans down. But unfortunately for Spencer, Ted has been hit and killed. While watching after the battle, he sees medics starting to come. He sees this one hurt kid, but doesn’t think too much about it. A medic runs up and tries to help the kid, but one of Spencer’s troop men shoots the medic. Spencer hits the kid yelling Schaefer all night long, he finally runs out against orders and tries to drag the kid up the hill while singing Silent Night to help calm the kid down. But unfortunately two German soldiers came up and shot Spencer because they thought he was trying to take Dieter prisoner. Spencer’s family mourns him, along with his older brother who is still in the navy. And that is the end of Spencer’s story.
Filed under: Uncategorized on March 4th, 2009