Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 61



Only Noblemtl

#061

“Ha. What the heck···.”

Roosevelt paid no attention to Eleanor’s remark that a shotgun was out of the question on this auspicious day.

“Today is not the last day I can show off my daughter.”

“Oh my. Since when have you been so loving and caring?”

Franklin shook his head at Eleanor’s words, asking if the gentleman who had no interest in marriage or anything like that and who had only been kind to her as he pleased was now acting as a father.

Roosevelt was about to say, “Do you know how much effort I put in, from sending you to the Olympics to pushing you to the foundation, to the front and back?” but he swallowed with a short sigh.

It’s not that I don’t trust Eleanor in front of me, but the fewer people who know about a secret, the better it is to keep it safe.

“There’s no need to create unnecessary gossip when we haven’t even had a baby yet, let alone a baby.”

“What do you mean?”

“no.”

Eleanor, who had been looking at Roosevelt for a moment, asked with a pleased smile on her face.

“Since you’re both old, wouldn’t it be better to skip the engagement and go straight to the wedding?”

“I guess I’ll have to ask Mrs. Pinky or MacArthur for their opinions, but I guess not?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to get busy starting tomorrow. The list of invited guests includes a dress…”

It’s our new home, it’s the Army Chief of Staff’s official residence, but we’re decorating it all new for our new life…

Roosevelt glanced at Eleanor, who was smiling as she folded her fingers and counted the things to do…

‘Let’s see who will run for the Republican Party. Will Hoover come? No, I don’t think so. It’s called the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s wedding, so he’ll come.’

Thinking about the guys who would frown upon seeing him at the restaurant, a smile naturally appeared on his face.

Vroom.

“Oh, I see you’re here.”

Roosevelt was awakened from his thoughts by the sound of cars outside and picked up the Stevens Model 520 that was on his lap.

##

I swallowed hard as I got out of the car with a bouquet of flowers to give to Eleanor and a bottle of whiskey to drink with Roosevelt.

It was a familiar mansion that I usually went in and out of without much thought, but perhaps because of the circumstances, it felt unfamiliar.

‘I’d like to get it done this week, but that’s not possible. Let’s find a day when the weather gets cooler so we can have the ceremony right away.’

I stepped forward, recalling Mrs. Pinky’s urging to see her daughter-in-law and grandchildren as soon as possible.

The sight that appeared when the front door opened.

Crunch.

“Are you ready, Doug?”

The sight of Roosevelt sitting in his wheelchair, holding a shotgun, and glaring at me was exactly what I expected.

But unfortunately, the two women in the Roosevelt family, Eleanor and Anna, were on my side.

Of course, it was a very fortunate thing for me.

As I was pondering how to react, Eleanor approached me, shaking her head as if she found Roosevelt, holding an empty gun and weighing it, pitiful.

“Come on in, Doug. Is this for me?”

“Yes. I hope you like it.”

“The flowers are pretty. They smell good too.”

“Haha. No matter how pretty the flower is, how can it be as pretty as Eleanor?”

“Oh my. You’re still as talkative as ever. Come this way.”

Eleanor accepted the bouquet, smiled brightly, and led me inside.

“Wait, me? Huh? It’s going to be difficult if you ignore me like this.”

At that, Roosevelt screamed.

“Let’s stop the show with empty guns and go eat.”

“No. It can’t end like this. Do it right. Otherwise, I’ll end this marriage…”

“Are you going to object? Really?”

Eleanor’s face, which had been smiling brightly at my question… Oh my. For a moment, I worried that Anna would become like that later.

And Roosevelt, facing his wife’s sincere expression, glanced at me.

And then,

“Tch. Have a pretty daughter who resembles Anna, and get a son-in-law who is exactly like you, no more, no less.”

“what?”

I stopped and looked at Roosevelt’s words, which were a clever mix of curse and blessing.

As I looked at Roosevelt, still holding the shotgun in his hand and glaring at me, I felt as if I could glimpse a glimpse of myself in the future.

I sighed lightly, adjusted my clothes again, and stood in front of Roosevelt.

“I will do my best, Master. I will not tell lies that I cannot keep, such as not giving you any hardships. However, I will cherish and love Anna more than anyone else in this world. I will always respect her as a companion with whom I will live my life, and I will keep my faith in Anna for the rest of my life. So please give me your daughter.”

The corners of Roosevelt’s mouth twitched at my earnest oath.

“Hmm. Well, I don’t like it, but this little brat is finally getting married, so how could I object? Oh, I’ll tell you in advance that returns are not allowed.”

Only after saying those words did Roosevelt put his gun aside.

“Oh, I took care of that thing I owed you by taking out the bullet. Are you dissatisfied?”

In the meantime, the one talking about paying off debt was just like a natural politician.

Even though I know that it wasn’t me who took the bullet, it was Eleanor…

“Oh, yes. What could I possibly have against you?”

“Hahaha. By the way, if Hoover hears that you’re going to be my son-in-law, he’ll jump up in joy···.”

Anna, who had come close to Roosevelt, shook her head as she looked at him with a joyful expression just thinking about him.

“He’s my dad, but really···.”

##

As Roosevelt said, the news of my marriage turned America upside down.

“The Queen’s friend, the wedding of Chief of Staff MacArthur.”

“Who is the woman who captured the hottest bachelor in America?”

“The union of the Roosevelts and MacArthurs. What political impact will this marriage have?”

“Army Chief of Staff MacArthur is finally getting married.”

“Who is the woman who captivated the hero? Digging into Anna Roosevelt.”

As soon as the news of her marriage was announced, Anna became an instant celebrity.

Anna’s every move was covered in gossip, and even the clothes she wore and her hairstyle were spread in an instant.

“Of course it has to be the most extravagant.”

“sure.”

Mrs. Pinky and Eleanor got along very well.

The two of them had been brainstorming for days about how to make their wedding the best it could be.

“The wedding dress is···.”

“The bouquet···.”

And Anna, sitting in between,

“Excuse me, Anna, I need to talk to you about something.”

It seemed that rescue was urgent.

Although it was a bit awkward to see Mrs. Pinky and Eleanor laughing as if they knew everything, the operation went smoothly.

“Ha. Thank you. I really didn’t know that weddings would be this hard.”

Anna’s sighing figure was cute.

“I think you said it was fun a few days ago.”

“Me?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Anna crying, saying she didn’t realize it at the time.

“Oh, my. Doug isn’t suffering, is he?”

“So, what if Anna also has a way to escape from her suffering?”

“Why are you talking about that now? What is it?”

“Hmm. But you said you wanted to be the most beautiful bride in the world.”

“?”

I cautiously opened my mouth to Anna, who tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

“I was thinking about making our food a little more simple.”

I wasn’t old enough to have fantasies about a fancy wedding, but Anna was old enough to fantasize about marriage.

“Ah. I see, it’s because of the panic. That’s definitely true. If we had the wedding of the century like the two mothers said…”

Although he didn’t explain it at length, Anna got to the point right away.

Our wedding is at the end of September.

If I remember correctly, the Great Depression was only a month or two at most, maybe less.

Of course, people wouldn’t have panicked and started to panic just because the stock prices first fell sharply.

however,

“It’s become such a hot topic.”

“That’s because Doug is famous.”

There is a reason why they say that in your later years you should even be careful of rolling leaves.

The Republican Party, in particular, was quite embarrassed by this marriage.

Of course, it was common for families to have different party affiliations based on their values. A representative example was the Roosevelt family. Eleanor Roosevelt’s uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, was a Republican, unlike Franklin.

So, marrying Anna and becoming Franklin Roosevelt’s son-in-law didn’t mean I would immediately become a Democrat.

But isn’t it a bit presumptuous to just say that marriage is just marriage and pass it over lightly, given the Republican Party and Hoover’s intentions when he appointed me as Chief of Staff?

“There’s no need to do something that will be talked about. I’ll tell the mothers.”

“No, I···.”

“If Doug talks, my mom will be upset. I’m the one who’s going to be the main character at the wedding anyway. It’s better for me to talk.”

“Thank you.”

Anna shook her head in disagreement with what I said.

“You’ll still say you’re pretty even if you don’t wear a fancy dress.”

“Of course. You’re always pretty in my eyes?”

“Just in words?”

At Anna’s cute provocation, I hugged her waist tightly and whispered.

“I can’t stand it if you keep provoking me like this.”

“Oh my. There are mothers down there.”

“So I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t provoke me further, my lady.”

Anna burst into a bright laugh at the sight of me muttering that I should get married soon.

“Oh, and about our bouquet.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“that···.”

Eisenhower and Bradley were impressed when they heard Anna’s idea.

“Oh my god. I knew your wife was extraordinary, but···.”

“As a soldier, I am truly grateful and also ashamed.”

##

And finally, September 30th.

Anna and I had our wedding ceremony amidst the congratulations of many people.

“Hey, what’s that?”

“oh my god.”

“Is that by any chance Mrs. Pinky’s dress?”

“Oh, yeah. The design is just···.”

It was called the wedding of the century in the United States, and there was a lot of interest in who designed the wedding dress Anna would wear.

Those who were living in luxury and hedonism at the height of prosperity compared our wedding to that of European royalty.

Some of them even wished it were fancier and more extravagant.

“Isn’t this a chance to show that our America is doing better than old Europe?”

Often times, the public’s psychology can be irrational, and our wedding was no exception.

In that respect, Anna’s wedding dress, which was altered from the one worn by Mrs. Pinky a long time ago and me wearing my army uniform, did not meet people’s expectations.

“What is that?”

“no way.”

“Are you disappointed?”

Since it was a wedding that had become such a hot topic, there were quite a few invited guests, and quite a few of them chattered thoughtlessly.

In particular, the envy and jealousy of those who thought that I, who was chosen as the best groom candidate, was stolen by an unexpected person remained.

“You’re beautiful. In my eyes, you’re more beautiful than anyone else in the world. Even if you were wearing a turtleneck.”

“i know.”

“okay?”

“Yes. So you don’t have to worry about the ugly appearance of losers.”

“My bride is also merciful.”

“Because I am the winner.”

The wedding was chaotic because so many guests came.

“Congratulations. I am very sorry that Her Majesty the Queen could not come in person.”

I even broke into a cold sweat at the Dutch ambassador’s congratulatory remarks.

“Surely you didn’t have enough time to do this in such a simple manner···.”

I also exchanged greetings with Kennedy, who smiled faintly as if he knew my intentions well.

“You’re finally getting married. Congratulations.”

“The bride is very beautiful. I envy her.”

Minoh and Pershing also came to offer their congratulations.

But the most talked-about guest was, of course, President Hoover.

“You said you didn’t want to get married so you could enjoy life, but it seems like you couldn’t because your standards were too high.”

“Mr. President.”

“congratulations.”

“thank you.”

When Hoover, who had just exchanged greetings, came face to face with Roosevelt, everyone’s attention was focused on him.

Although they were talking with smiling faces, the atmosphere surrounding them was…

‘You shouldn’t come near it.’

Looking around the banquet hall, it seemed like there were more than a few people who had the same thoughts as me, and the area around them was completely empty.

##

“uh?”

“Senior, did you take notes?”

“what?”

Chief of Staff MacArthur’s wedding was the hottest event in the United States at the time.

Thanks to this, every little thing, from the groom and bride’s outfits to the guests and even the food served at the banquet, was treated as newsworthy.

“I mean, a bouquet.”

“Bouquet? Here’s what kind of flowers it’s made of···.”

“No. The person who received the bouquet.”

“Huh? Wait a minute.”

The reporter, who had been flipping through his notebook for a moment in response to his junior’s words, muttered with a puzzled look on his face.

“I don’t think I threw it?”

“Really? I don’t remember seeing it either.”

“Check with other people too.”

After a while,

“Yes, I asked other reporters too, and they said they didn’t throw it.”

“what?”

“Maybe there was no one who would have received it? Mrs. MacArthur is a bit old.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, most of my friends are probably married···.”

“No, but something is strange?”

Somehow, my intuition as a reporter was sending me signals that this was a scoop.

“Let’s wait in front of the embassy.”

“yes?”

The junior cried at the senior’s sudden words, but their hard work was not in vain.

The next morning, I was able to follow the newlyweds holding bouquets as they headed somewhere.

“Oh, this is···.”

The couple headed to the place they were holding the bouquet they used at their wedding yesterday.

“It’s the epitaph of an unknown soldier.”

“Wow, really···.”

The two people offering bouquets and praying in a pious manner were captured on their cameras and were published as a scoop that afternoon.

“A wedding bouquet dedicated to the nameless soldier.”

“Mrs. MacArthur wants to remember the veterans who died in a foreign land.”

“The first place the newlyweds visit is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”

Immediately after the scoop was published,

“Aren’t you following the British royal family?”

“It’s so intentional.”

“That’s right. Isn’t this planned showmanship?”

Some people were displeased with the two people’s actions and criticized them.

But with the news that followed, the voices of criticism lost their strength.

Last command