Rum and Courage

Well at night, you know, you’d patrol “No Man’s Land” from shell hole to shell hole, you know, and try to get as close to a German post or something like that, and you just gradually took what was coming to you afterwards. They’d give you a shot of rum, rye, rum, always rum, your lieutenant always had a flask of that. And if you were going over, he’d give you, and I’ll tell you it just raised your head right up, made your hair stand on end, it was rum, and you were raring to go. That was it. There was no fear.