A/N: I am very sorry for my writing style, after 4 years of writing nothing but scientific reports at university it is hard to get out of the habit. I must let everyone know that I hated creative writing while at school but I am hoping that by finishing this tale I can improve my writing and create something even slightly good for others to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hogan's Heroes characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Newkirk's Tale

The barrack is filled with the sound of sleeping men. On the top bunk nearest to the door, however, Newkirk lies wide awake thinking about a memory, an event in his life, he had forgotten and only an near tragic incident today made him remember…

The day had started out fine, the warm weather made it easy for everyone to get up for morning roll call and the kommandant, with Colonel Hogan's help, had decided that there would be no work details today so the prisoners were free to do as they pleased. Just before lunch however, a car pulled into camp. No-one was expecting a visitor so everyone was surprised when a Luftwaffe major stepped out of the car. He announced that he was conducting a tour for General Burkhalter and was to report back to him on the treatment of the prisoners. The first thing he ordered was a roll call of all prisoners. Immediately it was clear to everyone, prisoners and guards included, that this major had a great dislike for LeBeau, in fact for any Frenchmen.

After roll call was finished, the rest of the afternoon was spent keeping all the French prisoners out of sight of the major. Keeping LeBeau from going out and strangling the major was one of the hardest tasks. The first few hours went well, however as the afternoon wore on LeBeau started to get frustrated being stuck inside all day. Eventually the others were unable to stop him from leaving the barracks. Almost immediately LeBeau and the major ran into each other near the recreation hall. Before LeBeau could say a word the major started yelling. Both prisoners and guards ran to see what the commotion was, getting there in time to see the major strike LeBeau across the face. Not expecting the blow LeBeau fell to the ground. Hogan instantly headed towards the major in a fury. However before he could even take a step the major pulled out his gun and aimed it at LeBeau. Everyone froze as he pulled the trigger.

It was luck, just plain luck, Newkirk thought as he lay on his bunk, that the major, in his anger, had not aimed correctly. The bullet skimmed the side of LeBeau's skull and apart from being very shocked, he was okay. After that the camp was in an uproar, the prisoners were angry, the guards were angry, even the kommandant had no hesitation at ordering the guards to escort the major out of the camp.

The moment Newkirk saw the major pull out his gun and fire, a memory he kept hidden suddenly came flooding back. He remembered that he had seen something like this before only a few years ago and wonders why he had forgotten it.

3 years earlier…..

Newkirk, a prisoner of war, has just been deposited at a camp just east of Hammelburg. After being deloused, he is greeted by the kommandant of the camp Colonel Velten Hampel. He is told that he is now a prisoner of Camp Grün, one of the toughest camps in all of Germany. After the usual processing Newkirk is escorted by two guards to his assigned barracks. Before they reach it, however, the guards suddenly push Newkirk into an unoccupied barrack where they proceed to shove him to the ground. Newkirk automatically knows what is to occur and struggles to get up. Handcuffed as he is however he has no escape and soon the beating begins. Newkirk tries to defend himself but a sudden blow across his face causes everything to go black.

An unconscious and bleeding Newkirk is thrown heavily into his assigned barracks. The other men in the barracks quickly jump up and place Newkirk on a nearby bunk. They have seen this all before, every new prisoner is beaten by the guards within the first couple of hours. It is there way to disorientate the prisoner and prevent even the thought of trying to escape. The prisoners do their best to treat Newkirk's injuries. However they have to wait until he wakes up before they can learn anything else about them. Just over an hour later Newkirk awakens with a massive headache. He tires to move but immediately senses pain in his right side and realises he must have at least a couple of broken ribs. The other men start to introduce themselves but Newkirk has trouble keeping awake and soon falls back to sleep. The others realise that this is a sign of a head injury and take no offence, they let the new prisoner sleep.

A sudden bang of the door being shoved open awakes Newkirk, and the rest of the men in the barracks. It is a guard ordering all prisoners outside for roll call. Newkirk has trouble getting up from the bunk but is helped from the barracks by the rest of the men. For Newkirk the roll call seems to go on for ages, he is tried, dizzy and feeling sick. He tries to keep awake but knows that he may soon pass out. The prisoners around him help to keep him standing until finally after two hours of standing in line they are dismissed. Newkirk is helped to his bunk and is soon back in a deep sleep.

Newkirk awakes again in the late evening, this time he is more alert and is able to finally tell the prisoners in the barracks his name and where he is from. The other prisoners once again introduce themselves and tell Newkirk about the situation at Camp Grün. They are currently on starvation rations due to a riot which occurs not very long ago and costed the lives of over 50 men. Roll calls can now be over 3 hours long and the prisoners must stand at attention the entire time. Overall Camp Grün is hell, controlled entirely by the kommandant and his staff. The men in the barracks inform Newkirk that he needs to rest whenever he can as with his head injury he is unlikely to survive very long.

Two days later Newkirk has realise what the other prisoners were telling him was true. In this time he has been given very little to eat and he can already see that he is beginning to lose condition. The days always follow the same routine, 6am roll call, three hours standing at attention during roll call, confinement to barracks, a slice of bread for lunch, 30 mins of recreation in an area that size of a tennis court, luke-warm watery favour-less soup for dinner, then lights out at 7pm. However, on the morning of Newkirk's third day, there is a change in this routine.

The first evidence of this is when the barrack's door is violently pushed open and the guards drag the prisoners from their bunks. There are yells in German as the men are pushed outside and into line. While Newkirk gets into his place he seed a group of guards carry the body of a prisoner from one of the English barracks. The thing that makes this event even more surprising is the fact the prisoner is wearing red, not the normal blue of the British uniform. After a couple of hours standing in line the men are release. As they return to their barracks they discover that these have be thoroughly searched and now look like a disaster zone. The rest of the day is spent confined to barracks cleaning up the mess and wondering what occurred last night that resulted in today's events. Just as it is being to go dark rumour reaches Newkirk's barracks that the kommandant was murdered last night, stabbed though the heart while he was sleeping.

After a couple of days confined to barracks without food and very little water, the prisoners are finally released for attend roll call. The rumour of the killing is finally confirmed when the second in command, Major Gerd Kempf announces this mornings execution, by firing squad, of a prisoner for murder. The prisoners watch as guards drag the man from the cooler and place him next to the wall. Newkirk is too far back in the line to see the man's face clearly, but he can tell that this is the same prisoners he saw being removed from one of the English barracks the morning before. It is clear from the man's movements that he has been badly beaten.

The prisoners watch in silence as the guards attempt to blindfold the condemned, however he refuses and they allow him this one wish. Soon afterwards Newkirk hears a chant taken up by the prisoners in line. The words are 'Vive Le France'. Newkirk happily joins in, wanting to do something for the man that is to be executed. The chant stops suddenly at the sound of gunfire. The order to fire has been given. Newkirk watches in horror as the man in front of the firing squad falls to the ground. However soon afterwards he, along with the other watching men are amazed to see movement from the man and realise that he has only been wounded, not killed.

After several minutes, as both prisoners and guards watch in stunned silence as the wounded man struggles to sit up, Major Gerd Kempf steps forward to check the prisoner's condition and to give a final killing shot to the head. He aims and quickly fires. However the sound is wrong, and after a moment pause everyone realises that the gun has failed to discharge. There is a instant celebration among the prisoners as they realise that the wounded prisoner can now not be killed, in fact the Germans are now obliged to try and keep him alive. Newkirk watches as the guards carefully lift the wounded prisoner and carry him to the camp infirmary. The rest of the men are dismissed and are confined to barracks for the rest of the day.

Over the next couple of days the prisoners are removed from the camp and placed in other POW camps in the surrounding area. Before they are transferred, however, they are told never to reveal what happened at Camp Grün otherwise each and everyone of them will be tracked down and killed, including the wounded man now lying in the infirmary. Newkirk is moved around several camps but due to his disobedient behaviour never stays in them for very long. Eventually he discovers himself being taken back to Camp Grün and begins to get extremely worried that he is once again returning to hell. However he soon realised that is has changed since he left, it is now called Stalag 13 and there are many new buildings and barracks. After a week or so at the Stalag, Newkirk is once again threaten with transfer. However while in the cooler for talking back to a guard he meets another prisoner who will eventually change his life. A French corporal named Louis LeBeau. With his help Newkirk finds that not only does his behaviour improve but also for the first time since becoming a POW he is in fact once more enjoying life…

Present Day

Newkirk lies in his bunk thinking about that first meeting with LeBeau. He is very glad that he met LeBeau when he did and can not imagine what this life would have been like if they never had met. He probably wouldn't be around anymore that's for certain. He realises just how close he was today at losing one of this most closest friends. As he contemplates this he wonders what happened to the wounded prisoner at Camp Grün. Without him he probably would never have met LeBeau. He would still be at that camp, along with hundreds of others, struggling to survive beatings, sickness and eventually death. He hopes that that prisoner did survive his wounds and has found a safe place, with many friends, to see out the end of the war. As Newkirk finally falls asleep he hopes that one day he will meet that prisoners and thank him for not only saving his life but hundreds of others as well that were in Camp Grün.

On the bunk over the trap door LeBeau lies wide awake wondering why for a second time in his life did he survive having a gun fired at him. What did it mean?