Caleb Jones

Sergeant **Caleb Jones** was a paratrooper of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team. He is dropped into Southern France as part of Operation Dragoon, where he lands alone.
He soon finds an abandoned shelter where he also finds Corporals, James Rossi and Harland Curtis.

Jones explains that the trio must head for Les Arcs as soon as they can as the Germans may send patrols after them. The three travel through the French country, eventually stopping at a road. They encounter German troops. The three try to hide in the grass but Rossi inadvertently alerts them to his position, and is forced to open fire and kill a German. The two groups engage in a brief firefight, which ends in all of the German offier's, (Neumann's), troops being killed. Seeing this, he tries to flee and is pursued by Jones. Neumann trips and Jones catches up to him, but is reluctant to shoot him, being religious. He apparently kills Neumann anyway.

The three soldiers continue making their way to Les Arcs when they find a woman named Emilie, who is a member of the French Resistance. She explains that her fellow Resistance members are being held prisoner by Germans not too far away, and she needs help rescuing them. Rossi is against this, suspicious of her motives, but Jones agrees to help. The group is briefly attacked by a German plane after it shot down an Allied plane. They find a dead American paratrooper and bury him. The soldiers find where the French are being held, so Jones and Rossi separate to clear the building while Curtis and Emilie cover for them. Jones is attacked by Germans, but they are soon shot by Curtis and Emilie, while Rossi kills the guards on the other side. They find three prisoners; Philippe, Gustave and Jacques, but they learn one other was apparently tortured. Rossi goes to rescue the other, but discovers he is dead. He is then attacked by two Germans. Rossi shoots and kills one and engages in hand-to-hand combat with the other. Before Jones and Curtis can intervene, Rossi overcomes an intense fight and brutally beats the German to death. Jones is shocked by Rossi's brutality.

Jones, who speaks French, plans with Philippe to travel to Les Arcs, where Germans have overtaken the town. Along the way, they encounter a jeep with two American troops; Lieutenant Woodard and Private Stewart. Their vehicle has broken down, and Curtis begins to fix it. Rossi and Emilie have a shooting contest, where Rossi bets a kiss and Emilie bets a whistle. Emilie surprisingly wins but kisses Rossi anyway, bewildering him. After Curtis fixes the jeep, Jones notices Woodard has German binoculars and wears brass on his uniform, something U.S. troops don't do in combat. He realizes the two are Germans posing as Americans and captures them. Jones tries to get info from them and after Gustave kills Stewart, Woodard admits they were assigned to kill a French informant and collaborator to prevent his capture by the Americans. Jacques takes Woodard away and returns with two more French resistance fighters.

The group arrives at Les Arcs and Jones spots a German tank and a armoured half-track vehicle full of German troops about to leave, intending to attack the rest of the paratroopers. Jones decides to ambush the Germans, and the group splits up into two. Curtis fires a rifle grenade at the half-track stopping it, but the German troops disembark and start firing. The Allied group fire results in high German casualties and Jones and Curtis both start pursuing the tank, which apparently fled earlier but now is firing at the group. All French troops except for Emilie are killed. Rossi covers for Jones and Curtis while they go after the tank. More German soldiers are killed as the skirmish ends with Jones disabling the tank using a magnetic hollow charge and grenades. However, he is seriously wounded when a German shoots him in the chest. Curtis tries to flee but is shot in the back. Rossi is also seriously wounded after being shot. As all three lay dying, they have recollections of their previous lives.

Curtis tries to recite the Airborne Creed. Before he can finish, he has a hallucination of his girlfriend, but in reality is Emilie trying to tend to his wounds, but he ends up dying in her arms. Rossi regains consciousness and is approached by Neumann, who Jones spared earlier. Rossi gets up to fight but collapses due to his wounds. Neumann who is wounded does not kill him, honoring Jones' example. He takes Rossi to an abandoned farm, where he bandages his wounds and makes him a meal. Neumann tries to befriend Rossi and shows to him photos from his dead brother and his little son, but Rossi cannot understand how a German could exhibit the same compassion for an American soldier as was shown to him when his life was spared.

The following morning an American detachment discovers Rossi and Neumann who has died from his wound. Rossi claims and receives from an officer Neumann's Luger pistol as a trophy. In a military field hospital Rossi is informed that Sergeant Jones is alive but wounded and Curtis is dead. Emilie visits Rossi, gives him Curtis's photo camera, whispers in his ear her real name and gives Rossi a goodbye kiss. The dead Neumann remains in the abandoned farm the photos of his son and his brother in his hand and his Luger pistol near his hand.