June 1944, Normandy, France - 82nd Airborne soldiers in a town cemetery in search of hiding Germans 

Normandy cemetery

US soldiers scramble for cover as a mortar shell explodes; Cassino area, Italy. April 25, 1944

Close call

During a brief lull in the action at the Falaise Gap, Doc Bulger began nosing through some of the German wreckage. A dead Kraut driver sat in the front seat of a disabled, nondescript two-door sedan. But in the backseat, Doc discovered several briefcases.  Curious, he opened one to find it packed full of baby-blue bills—1,000 Franc, French notes. Had he stumbled onto a German Division’s payroll?

A life of luxury, early retirement, a debt-free, Stateside medical practice—the possibilities seemed endless. But just then, an uninvited visitor from above peered over Doc’s shoulder.  A man of the cloth, Chaplain Joseph Esser, abruptly interrupted Bulger’s wistful glimpse into a privileged future. “You have to turn that in to Regiment!” Esser counseled. So much for Doc’s big dreams! He’d have to work for a living after all.

