George
Your mention of "Captain Strickland" reminded me of my uncle Troy Strickland who served in WWII and participated in the invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaigns. He was a corporal, was wounded twice, and sent back to the front both times after recuperation; and like most WWII veterans, told very few stories of his experiences. But one story he related very late in life involving the second time he was wounded I'll always remember; it was from the battle of monte casino. It was bitter cold and the battle had devolved into close range skirmishes and hand to hand combat. Occasionally a truce would be called and during that time both sides would gather dead and wounded (he said corpses would be stacked like "cord wood"); and often during these truces German and American troops would visit each other and the Americans would trade cigarettes and chocolate for items the Germans had. He said these visits were always friendly, but as soon as the truce period ended both sides went back to killing each other. During one of those skirmishes, he was shot thru the leg by a German gunner he could clearly see about 30 yards away; the bullet broke his leg, and he was saved by another trooper who pulled him to safety. But the thing I remember most is what he said about the German who shot him. Said he held no grudge or animosity towards the man, as he knew the only reason he was there shooting at him was for the same reason he had to be there; because his government gave him no other choice.
