I must have looked a fright having traveled for days, not shaving, or having at my disposal basic hygiene. My uniform, or what was left of it, and my foot gear would have done the average scarecrow proud.

Some things you can fix and some things are what they are. On the second day I passed some farmer who recognized me and the stories of my survival and my homecoming took on legs of their own.

Could that be my little Heide in the distance? I felt the fatigue of days on the road and the nightmares of traveling through enemy lines.