There were quiet whispers of another woman in Sergeant Bud Richardville’s life. Someone he met while serving in the Graves Registration Sevice in Europe during World War II.
But Bud was married and Catholic.
My World War II historical fiction novel Your Forgotten Sons is set for release June 6, 2024 in honor of the 80th anniversary D-Day. While Bud’s story details the ordeals he and his men confronted as they gathered the dead, it also presents the moral delema he faced by loving two women.
Find below an excerpt of Bud’s story.
Luxembourg City
1945
Since it was midmorning, Bud opted for coffee and a croissant with a slice of white cheese and some jam. That the coffee was real was astonishing. The nutty, smoky aroma was almost overwhelming. And the pastry was warm and buttery, and Bud couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything so delicious. He wanted another one, so he raised an arm to attract the waiter, but stopped when he sensed someone watching him. She stood on the other side of the ornate, cast-iron railing that enclosed the patio of the café. Again, she stared at Bud with those unblinking blue eyes.
“Hello.” Bud stood and smiled, dropping his napkin on the ground. Her bright red hair was uncovered and fell in short curls around her face. Freckles spread across her nose and cheeks. “We met at Malmédy.” Immediately, Bud wanted the words back, the horror of that place still fresh in his memory.
“I do not think we actually met.” Her English was laced with a British accent.
They stared at one another for a long time, until Bud, feeling awkward, broke the silence. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee?”
“Eva! How nice to see you!” The waiter smiled at the woman.
“Bonjour, Victor!” She smiled as well, and the change in her expression was startling.
Bud pulled out a chair at the table where he’d been sitting. Eva paused, seemingly unsure.
“Yes, yes! Have some coffee, Eva. It’s been such a long time. I had no idea you were back.” The man’s brow furrowed. “I hope everything is all right.”
She took a deep breath. “At least I am home now.”
Bud watched as she turned and walked away, and his heart unexpectedly sank until she stepped into the doorway that led to the interior of the patio. Then Eva walked to the table and sat.
Bud didn’t know what to say, and several moments ticked away. Victor broke the silence when he returned with a fresh pot of coffee, a cup and saucer, and two warm croissants balanced on a tray. He placed everything on the table and gave Bud a fresh napkin. Then he turned to Eva. “You are too thin, my dear. Eat!”
She nodded, a sad expression on her face. After Victor filled her cup and topped off Bud’s, the proprietor walked away, leaving the two strangers alone.
Bud watched Eva take a bite of the croissant. Her eyes closed briefly as she chewed.
“Exactly the way I remember it.” She placed her palm on her heart, and Bud noticed she was missing several fingernails and the index finger on her right hand, a ragged pink scar marking where the finger had once been. She saw Bud staring but kept her hand in place for a moment longer, as if wanting him to look at the damage, then she reached for the coffee cup.
“So…you live here?” Bud focused on his second croissant and slathered some jam on the pastry.
“I was born here. I am a Luxembourger.”
The appellation sounded funny to Bud, but he didn’t mention it. “Are you friends with the owner?” It was all he could think of to ask.
She raised her eyebrows, which were golden-red like her hair. “Victor?”
Bud nodded toward the window where the man was polishing glasses inside the café.
“Victor and my father were best friends. I used to come here when I was a child. When the café was slow, they’d play chess.” Her English was flawless. “And they’d give me breadcrumbs so I could feed the pigeons.” She gazed into the street. “Not so many birds now. The people had to eat them. Both my parents are also gone.” She smiled, but the expression was sad, so Bud remained quiet, unusually tongue-tied.
“Were you in medicine before the war?” Bud finally asked.
Eva pierced him with those icy blue eyes that were hard to read. “No. Were you?”
Bud laughed. “No, I worked in a paper mill. Why do you ask?”
She gave the smallest of shrugs. “You were working with the bodies.”
“I’m part of a graves registration company. I’m not really sure how I ended up there. Most of the men I work with have no medical training, though Doc is a veterinarian.”
Eva nodded. Then she stared toward the sidewalk, where a young couple walked past arm-in-arm. They smiled and spoke animatedly in French. She blinked several times as if remembering something.
“More coffee?” Victor stood nearby, and Bud could see a bright red stain on the man’s white apron, one that reminded Bud of blood but appeared to be strawberry jam.
“Thank you, yes?” Eva held out her cup.
“I’m so glad you’ve returned, Eva. You know, I worried.”
Eva reached out and grasped the man’s hand. “I know you did, Victor.”
He glanced at her damaged hand and proffered a sad smile.
Eva just nodded.
Bud wanted to ask what had happened to her, where her father and mother were, and what her life was like before the war, among a hundred other questions, but just the fact that he was dining with a woman who was not his wife seemed wrong. Then he felt silly. After all, it was only a pastry and a cup of coffee. What harm was there in that? And still, he felt unsettled, guilty.
Your Forgotten Sons
Inspired by a true story
Anne Montgomery
Release Date: June 6, 2024
Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to the Graves Registration Service where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?
Join us at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix on June 6, 2024, for the lanuch of Your Forgotten Sons. Find out more about the event here.
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