After Payton spent much of the previous two months platooning with the left-handed-hitting Timo Perez, Perez is now replacing right fielder Jeromy Burnitz and left fielder Roger Cedeño, even against left-handed pitchers.
The hill ahead, outside the German town of Tettingen, had twice been assaulted by Sgt. Nicholas Oresko's platoon in the previous two days, but it remained in enemy hands.
The platoon had captured the man in a bunker the previous night.
In Platoon, the movie that had made Stone's name the previous year, Charlie Sheen as a GI in Vietnam had two role models: the dull, Christ-like good sergeant (Willem Dafoe) and the charismatic bad sergeant (Tom Berenger).
Meanwhile, on the right flank B Company was also able to re-occupy the platoon position it had been forced to relinquish earlier the previous evening.
To make clear the seriousness of their charge, the major noted that six students from the previous officer class, who had graduated just two days before, were already leading platoons at a mountain warfare school.
The previous unit at the outpost had left this bit of art to commemorate its dead — the reconnaissance platoon of Third Battalion, the Rifles, or 3 Rifles Battle Group, as the unit was known.
The Chinese attacks then continued against 3 Platoon, lasting until 04 30, although they were not made with the same weight as the previous assaults.
The platoon had landed beside the River Dives at Varaville about 8 mile away, and had spent the previous day fighting their way towards the bridges, trying to rejoin the company.
When day broke, it was discovered that Derrick's platoon were directly overlooked by a Japanese bunker though this would not have been visible during the assault late the previous evening.
