Albanian Escape: The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines

12. Marathon March

12 Marathon March Report of Captain Lloyd G. Smith, OSS 3°December 1943 A later message dated December 30, 1943, instructed me to proceed according to the original plan. (At this time, I knew nothing about the attempt at air rescue.) By this time (December 30, 1943) German activity around Dukati, Terbaci, Brataj, and Ramica was greatly reduced. Reports from our men stated that the Germans had withdrawn from most of the villages. This is SOP with the Germans. They move into a village, kill a few Partisans and after a few days, move out again. I accordingly decided to move down into the Palasa-Dhermi area and to send out couriers on all possible routes to secure information as to the whereabouts of the party which was presumed to be making another attempt to reach the coast. 30 December t943, Thursday-tOtS: Doksat Refugees continued to come to Doksat and brought news of life in the city since the takeover. Some ofthe refugees described the American planes that had been seen the previous day, but they had no idea why the planes came. Steffa visited, bringing the stories once or twice a day. "They said the Germans were frightened and taken totally by surprise. One man laughed as he told me about three German officers who were 170 Albanian Escape sitting and smoking cigars in a small tearoom where he worked. At the sound of the airplanes, the officers crawled, or tried to crawl under tables." Steffa laughed. Jens was almost thoroughly convinced that they could have been rescued if only they had known ahead oftime how many planes were being sent and how surprised the Germans would be by their arrival. She felt more sorry than ever for Gary. His decision must have been hard to make in the face of so much opposition. Jens never questioned him about it, and to the best of her knowledge, neither did anyone else. Steffa was still pushing the idea that he could be of great help to the Allies if he were in Italy. "The pilots haven't said a flat 'no' to this proposition yet," he said. "Itisn't really their decision,"Jens said. She hated getting drawn into the conversation, but Steffa always waited for a reply. "Gary is in ultimate charge. He only received the final word a day or so ago that he could leave the country with us. He probably has to okay whoever else goes with us. You saw for yourself yesterday that Gary has the final say on everything connected to getting us out of Albania." "Yes, I saw. That was very highhanded on his part, don't you think?" Steffa waited for Jens's response. "No, not really. If only they'd had time to verify the message, or if it had been clear. I believe his decision was difficult for him, with at least twenty-seven people pulling the opposite way, but that's his job, and frankly, I have a lot of faith in his ability. I felt very sorry for him when he had to face ten women with tears in their eyes. Gary has my total respect." "But none of you three cried," Steffa said. "We all shed a few tears," Elna said. "Two of the girls are still crying today," Steffa said. "I know because I just visited them." "Who? For heavens sake, if the planes are gone, they're gone! They'd better snap out of it," Marky said. Her voice was heavy with disgust. After Steffa left, Jens decided to go upstairs to lie down. "Don't even call me for food," she said. "Unless, of course, we should get steak, French fries, and salad. You know, that best meal!" Marathon March 171 31 December 1943, Frlday-0800: Doksat to Saraglnlshte For reasons unclear to Jens, Gary decided to move the party from Doksat to a village farther back from the coast. After a three-hour walk they arrived at Saraginishte, a cluster offive or six houses. When Jens and four other nurses arrived at the house assigned to them, their host was very busy loading what appeared to be a large trunk onto a horse-drawn, two-wheeled cart that stood at the entrance. After they were settled in, they looked out the small window on the opposite side of the house and saw a young man helping their host unload the...