Chapter 41
11:30 AM
June 18, 1943
The Genero Farmhouse
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Southeast of Waggoners Gap
On Friday morning, a prematurely graying Phillip Genero sat fidgeting next to the breakfast nook’s open window. There was no cool breeze off the ridgeline to stir the stifling air. Phillip felt edgy as he nursed his second cup of black coffee.
Normally, the men in Phillip’s family had aged well. After all, he was the product of hardy peasant stock. The death of his daughter, his fear for his paratrooper son in this awful war, the strange and inexplicable events of the previous night, and his wife’s highly unusual behavior had taken a serious toll. This morning, Phillip felt much older than his 45 years.
Five days earlier, on Monday, Phillip’s boy had returned from the w
