‘I have been charged with the task of distributing tokens of the nation’s gratitude: medals of distinguished service awarded in recognition of those who have had the opportunity to serve with exceptional distinction.’
Names followed. The officers received Liberty Crosses and the NCOs and privates got Liberty Medals. Each man went up to receive his decoration from the hands of the Colonel, along with congratulations. Some of them took their time walking up, soaking up every last moment in the limelight, but most scurried up and back at a sort of half-run, as if embarrassed to be receiving a prize for something they didn’t realize they had done. They could not have been more Finnish in the disparaging attitude they all took toward the proceedings. Shitty little trinkets.
The trinkets were trivial, of course, particularly in the minds of those to whom they were not conferred. The strangest thing about the whole business, though, was that it did not seem to dawn on a single one of them that what they were honoring was the best killers. Not even the battalion chaplain, who led the closing prayer. This last went rather dismally, as the Colonel’s presence gave the chaplain stage fright and banished whatever pitiful trace of oratorical skill he might have possessed.
All sorts of curiosities emerged from that man’s mouth: about how the devil’s henchmen were going to be crushed with the help of God and the German army and also that of the Germans; and about how many of their comrades had already borne the heavy burden of sacrifice before the altar of the nation’s success.
They sang the hymns and returned to their tents. They gossiped over the decorations, and the guys who had been passed over pointed out how many of their undeserving compatriots had received a medal. Koskela had been awarded a Fourth-Class Liberty Cross, and Hietanen, Lehto, Määttä and Lahtinen had each received a Second-Class Liberty Medal.
Rahikainen cracked a joke about some decoration or other, prompting Lehto to throw his own medal at his feet.
‘Take it, if you want one so much. I don’t go for shiny stuff.’
‘Aw, I couldn’t do that to a pal! ’Sides, neither do I.’
So that was where Lehto’s medal stayed. Lahtinen looked at his and muttered, ‘They’re really bribing us with stripy colored ribbons? I’m not killing anybody for that. Don’t want to be killed for one, either. I’ll shoot like hell if somebody shoots at me, but I don’t jump for bronze lumps and ribbons.’
Määttä flipped his over, studying it carefully on both sides. After he’d looked it over for a while, he showed the others what had caught his interest. ‘“Awarded for valor”, it says. The other bit must mean the same thing in Swedish. “För tapperhet” it’s got scratched in there. But what’s that supposed to mean, “valor”? Can’t make head or tail of that.’
‘It means, the deep-forest warrior has no fear except the fear of God. He removes his cap for nothing save the church and the courtroom. It signals the conviction and fearlessness of the Finnish hero … Heeheeheehee!’
‘Oh. Well, that clears it up. Of all the … I thought it was something important since they put it on there in lots of languages.’ Määttä genuinely despised his medal. He pinned it so it dangled from one of the straps of his pack, and later it fell off and disappeared somewhere along the road.
The distribution of decorations made them suspect that their break would be over shortly, and Lahtinen summed up the general sentiment when he declared, ‘They don’t give these ribbons out for free, boys. Won’t be long before they send us off somewhere where we’ll be paying dearly for them.’
It was August already. The summer was heavy with all the produce the sun had sired. Light greens deepened and the whole landscape brimmed with overripeness, indicating that the glory of its summer youth was gone. The last few nights, having had some respite, the men had been able to admire the magnificent moonlight. Many childish letters were scribbled on such nights. The camp guards wandered about in the moonlight, dreaming of women – naked, usually. And the shouts issuing from the tents typically went something like, ‘They keep harping on about how small the nation is and how small the army is, but then they don’t give us any leave!’
‘If I had a couple of weeks’ leave, the Class of ’41 would be massive. They would not want for recruits. Guaranteed.’
‘Shut up and let a fellow sleep, wouldja? … Go bang your elbow against some rock out there and it’ll calm down all right.’ Hietanen’s protest didn’t by any means put a stop to their fantasizing, however. More and more attractive visions of their upcoming leave came drifting into view, visions which, while highly unlikely to reach fruition in the majority of cases, still made each man feel like quite the lady conqueror.
The whole business came to an abrupt halt as the tent flap opened and a face popped in, its two sharp eyes darting quickly about. ‘Which tent the bosses in round here?’
The question rolled out in the rapid-fire clip of the Karelian isthmus as its speaker’s penetrating eyes surveyed the tent’s interior.
‘There’s one there,’ somebody gestured toward Koskela.
‘It’ssa company commander I want. Guess you’re a platoon leader?’
They pointed the man toward the command tent and he left. He had a buddy with him, too, and one after the other they walked over to Lammio’s tent. Lammio was sitting in the back, listening to the radio. The two of them crawled into the tent on all fours.
‘Ah-hah. Guess this here’ssa company commander. We’re your reinforcements. Guess’sa Major called’da say we’d be comin’. This here’s our orders, both of ’em.’
Lammio looked the two men over in the weak light of the oil lamp. ‘Indeed … well. You’re a corporal?’
‘’Ndeed I am. Earned me some stripes in’na Winner War. Not too sure what for, though. Ain’t done nothin’ bad to nobody … but hey, lissen here, Lieutenant, you just sign us up in’na same squad, same platoon at least, all right? We’re neighbors, see, made it through the whole Winner War together.’
Lammio was offended. ‘You will do well to remember that this is not a reserve regiment. We are not in the habit of instructing our superiors to “Lissen here”. Nor do we tolerate exceptions, as they encourage a relaxing of discipline amongst the conscripts.’
The man looked at Lammio out of the corner of his eye. A tiny, almost imperceptible smile flickered at the corners of his mouth as he said, ‘Aw, I see! So that’s how it is. Well, now, I didn’t know nothin’ ’bout that. Two a us here, we’re just reservists, see.’
His voice had taken on a penitent, beg-your-pardon sort of air, but he forgot it quickly as he barreled on at his usual clip. ‘But lissen here, ahem, ahmmean, Lieutenant, sir, you just make sure me ’n’ Suslin’ here stays in’na same group, all right?’
‘Who?’
‘Suslin’.’
‘What is your name?’
‘Sus. Private Sus’s m’name.’
‘So, “Susi” then. And your name?’
‘Rokka here, yessirree. First name Antero. Been called Antti m’hole life, though, and I even say it m’self.’
‘So it is Corporal Rokka, then. We do not have any squad leader positions available at the moment, so you will commence as deputy leader in one of the squads. You can join the Third Platoon. Address yourselves to Ensign Koskela. He will assign you your positions within the platoon as necessary. Is that clear?’
‘Yee-ess indeedee, clear as a bell! Now if you could just let us know where’da find this fella Koskela, we’ll be all set.’
Lammio was a little thrown by these continual orders issued by an inferior, and not entirely certain how to ha
ndle them. They seemed to belong so naturally to this man’s whole persona that even Lammio hesitated in making a fuss, however contrary to regulations his conduct may have been and indeed was.
He pointed the men toward the Third Platoon’s tents and Rokka said, ‘Oh we already stopped in’nere! C’mon Suslin’.’
They walked one after the other, the quiet Susi speaking now and again as he followed Rokka. ‘Stickler for the rules, that fella. If there’s any more like him I’m not sure we’re gonna git on so well round here, Antti.’
‘It’ll work out all right, always does! Don’t you worry, Suslin’. That fella’s awful young, see. I guess all a bosses round here’s career fellas, so a course they’re pretty militaristic. But we’ll git on same way we always have. Or whadda you thinkin’?’
‘We’ll git on,’ Susling agreed, and the issue was settled.
A small chaos ensued as the two of them scuttled into Koskela’s tent. It was as if the whole tent was suddenly filled up by one man, with Susi seeming but a shadow of his chatty companion.
‘Happened upon just the right spot first time round! Company boss said’da go over’n join Koskela’s fellas. You must be Koskela then. Boss said we oughdda introduce ourselves and you’d figger out what to do with us. We’re your replacements, see. I’m Rokka and this fella here’s my buddy Suslin’. But where’re we gonna find a place to sleep? Well, guess there’s a lil’ space here. C’mere Suslin’. Over here. Just squish this stuff over a lil’ bit, you with those buckets for boots. Here, kick that bag a lil’ closer this way! Say, why you still got your boots on anyway? ’Spectin’ an alarm? OK, that’ll do. Suslin’, you use your coat for a blanket, might git cold overnight. Signs of it in’na air, see. Lord only knows, but just in case. All right, we sleep here. Goddamn it! Well ’at’s no good. There’s a rock under there. Look, lookit dat! Stuck good and deep right there in’na ground, ain’t comin’ up neither. Lemme move over a lil’ more this way. There. That’s good now. Plenty a space for that rock to sit’ter self down anywhere else, but no, she’s just gotta cram’mer self in right there. Well, guess that’s how it goes the world over, don’t it. Suslin’, if you’re hungry there’s still some crackers in’na pack. I’m gonna fall clear asleep soon … Hey lissen, Ensign! You know what time we’re headin’ out?’
‘Seems likely we’ll head out early, if they’re sending us reinforcements.’
‘Could mean’nat. Guess you must a lost some fellas for ’em to be sendin’ us out here.’
‘A few. Bombing just took a couple. You guys stick with the first squad from now on, OK? Then we’ll see if we start needing you more somewhere else.’
‘Don’t matter where you stick us long as we stick together. We’re neighbors, see.’
Finally, the man fell silent and dropped off to sleep. Somebody was still asking him something, but no further reply came.
‘He drops off kinda quick,’ Susi explained.
V
The next morning they were roused by a chattering Rokka, who had already been up Lord knows how long. ‘Tea, fellas! I took some mess bowls and fetched it from the kitchen. You all know which one’s yours. Lissen, Ensign! We’re headin’ out today. I went checkin’ up on things over there and they’ve already got gear for the whole battalion packed up on’na carts. That means we’ll be headin’ out soon for sure. Say, you fellas’s all pretty young. Me and Suslin’ here’s both over thirty. Got wives and kids, too.’
‘None of us’s hitched,’ Hietanen said. ‘We’re, uh, Finland’s junior heroes.’
‘Well, we’re heroes, too, me and Suslin’! But, goollord! Lissen’na that cannon fire. Well, that’s where we’re headin’ real soon.’
‘Have you guys been out on the front before?’ Koskela asked.
‘In’na Winner War. We had our jitters out down in Taipale. Kannas’s where we come from. Got our goddamn farms stolen. Got out with our lives, though! Course they took a couple a cracks at those too. We’ll see if they git on any better this time round. It’s Kannas where I wanna fight. I got some things a settle up with the neighbors round there, see. Ain’t got no damn business round these parts.’
‘It doesn’t matter where we fight,’ Salo said. ‘There’s cabins up for the taking all the way to Smolensk.’
‘I don’t know nothin’ ’bout Smolensk. Seems like we’re makin’ those Fritzis out as some kinda gift from God. They’re makin’ it through all right, but I saw some of ’em on my way out here and those fellas click their heels too goddamn much ’fyask me. That ain’t how you git things done. But anyway, that ain’t our business. Europe can go to hell far as we’re concerned. We just take Karelia and go home.’
‘I don’t know,’ Hietanen said. ‘If we were thirty million, we could take a crack at the whole world too – ’cause we’d hold all the cards.’
‘Deep-Forest Warrior Takes Charge. Heeheehee!’ Vanhala giggled.
Rokka started gathering his belongings into a pile, making up a tune as he went.
Mmbadedar-dee dah-dee dar … tell ’em
we hold all the cards … mmba dee dah-dee dar
’cause we’d hold all the cards …
‘Start gittin’ your things together fellas, we’re pushin’ off soon …’
Right from the start Rokka seemed to belong – he never acted like a newcomer in a strange group, bashful for a while before acclimatizing to the particular spirit of the crew. Rokka was pretty much domineering right from the get-go. The others weren’t really offended by it, sensing that beneath this man’s brazen self-assurance lay the goods to back it up. He was certainly confident of their as-yet unannounced departure and acted accordingly. And indeed, when Mielonen came down the road twenty minutes later yelling, ‘Get rrready to move out! Take down the tents! Departure in one hour!’ he did not miss the opportunity to say, ‘See? And what did I tell you all?’
Mielonen’s announcement didn’t provoke the usual round of commentary, however, since they all more or less recognized that their time was up.
And so they left. They marched rather gloomily toward the rumble of cannon fire. Little by little they slipped back into the mind-frame of the front, that curious state of mind governed – sometimes clearly, sometimes more obscurely – by death. The booming of cannons solidified into something real again. Men came toward them from the opposite direction, carrying guys from the preceding battalion who had been killed or wounded trying to penetrate the enemy artillery blockade.
Lucky for them there was a break in the firing, during which they were able to get through. As they neared the front, they turned off the road and set up camp in the forest behind the front line. They whiled away the entire day there, trying to guess what their assignment would be and listening to the faint fire coming from the positions down on the riverbank about half a mile in front of them.
Sometime before midnight, Rokka, who’d been wandering off somewhere unknown to them for quite some while, arrived, announcing, ‘They’re gonna make amphibians out of us this time, fellas! They’re haulin’ pontoons and storm boats over there.’
‘Straight into the piss we go.’
‘Aw, c’mon, fellas. It’s just water.’
‘Guys, we’re crossing the river in cutters.’
‘Yeah, I bet we are. Nothing but the best for the hero brigade.’ Sihvonen was bitter.
‘Seems’a me the job’ssa same wherever they dump you. What’ssa difference if you’re on land or water? Death’s pretty much the same wherever it nabs you, ’fyask me. Everbody thinks those pilot fellas’re some kinda heroes
, but I don’t really see what difference it makes how high up you are when death shoots you down.’
‘Don’t talk about death!’ Hietanen exclaimed in mock horror, shivering with fear. ‘You’re gonna make me wet my pants over here.’
‘Well, just make sure you don’t leak all over the rest of us.’ Rokka sat down on the grass and started chomping on his rye crackers. He looked around for a second as if searching for a target upon which to unleash all his excess energy. Spotting Kariluoto’s platoon a way off to the side, he yelled, ‘Hey you, Ensign! Lissen!’
Kariluoto turned to Rokka in wonder and asked, ‘What’s the problem?’
‘We’re crossin’na crick soon!’
‘Yes, I know.’
‘Well, ’at’s all.’ Rokka waved him off and turned toward Koskela. ‘Heya, Koskela, lissen here, how we gonna organize this here crossin’? Sh’we put the guns in’na boats or are we gonna set up some kinda firin’ positions on’na bank?’