“Don’t forget, I have a cousin in Boston,” he teased her. She knew she’d have to go home to Boston after the war, since the family lost Greg. “What specialty would you want, or just general practice?” he asked her.

She thought about it for a minute before she answered. “Maybe pediatrics. It seems like a nice, happy practice after all this. You?”

“I’ve thought about it. I like the idea of obstetrics for the same reason. If I never see another bleeding male body, torn to bits and broken beyond repair, it will suit me just fine.”

Suddenly the idea of medical school didn’t seem like it would cause such a battle with her father. She had the feeling that he might not fight her on it so vehemently after the war. But they all had to stay alive and get home first. They couldn’t make plans yet.

There were rumors that a big invasion was being planned on the coast of France, but it was top secret and no one knew anything for sure. Their C-47s were too awkward and cumbersome to land on the beaches, so they wouldn’t be able to pick up the wounded. The air evac unit would have to come in by ship from France, or from hospital ships off the coast of England. There were rumors that two or three ships would be coming soon, but they hadn’t seen any so far.

Five days after their casual conversation about medical school, which was just something to talk about, Audrey and Lizzie were sound asleep in their beds in the dorm when the night duty officer went floor to floor pounding on the doors and an alarm bell sounded. Within minutes, everyone was up and in the halls. A hospital ship was lying off the coast at anchor. It had come in during the night, and the Germans had bombed it. It was sinking, and the nurses were needed on land and sea to help rescue the injured men who would otherwise go down with the ship. The C-47s were going to try to land on the coast as close as they could to fly the wounded in as quickly as possible. The officers who ordered them to their posts said the ship was burning and would go down soon. The Luftwaffe had clearly known about the ship and had bombed it mercilessly despite the visible red cross. A second hospital ship had been sunk at sea, heading for Southampton.