The war in Europe was days from ending. Everyone knew it. The German army was collapsing, the roads clogged with refugees and stragglers. Sergeant Joe Walker's squad drew the last patrol of their war—a final sweep through a forest before the ceasefire took effect.
They moved cautiously, not wanting to be the last men killed in a war already over. The forest was eerily quiet, birds singing over the distant rumble of artillery that had finally fallen silent.
Then they found him—a German soldier, young, alone, sitting against a tree. His rifle lay across his knees, but his hands were raise