Welcome back, peeps, to Part 2 of the Character Chat with Savannah's characters and mine! You can read Part 1 here - also, I've got a guest post today on Little Blossoms for Jesus!

As Savannah turns the interview over to me, I tuck a bit of stray hair under my garrison cap and check my notes.  Oh, I get to start with a fun question!

“Okay, guys – if you could be different fictional characters, who would you be?” I begin.

Jack pipes up right away. “I’d be Superman!”

Logan grins. “The Lone Ranger.  I like listening to the episodes on the radio.”

As Jack starts whistling an off-key version of “Hi-Ho, Silver”, Jesse agrees. “Being a Texan, I’ve got a soft spot for the Lone Ranger too.  But I’ve always admired Dr. Livesey from Treasure Island.”

Savannah has a couple more questions for her characters. “Gerrit, what songs do you like to sing when you milk your cows?”

“I like to sing hymns and patriotic songs,” Gerrit answers. “My favorite hymn is ‘Whatever the Future Might Hold for Me.’ And I love our Dutch national anthem, ‘The Wilhelmus.’”

I go next with another question for the squad. “If you could choose a different time period to be written in, which would it be?”

This time Brendan speaks up first. “I’d like to live during the American Revolution or shortly afterward, when the Founding Fathers were writing the Constitution.  It would’ve been an amazing time to be alive.”

Jack has his answer ready. “The Civil War, and I’d wanna be a cavalryman under Jeb Stuart.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, I could see you as one of his men.”

Savannah asks the Resistance members, “If you could whisk your family away somewhere safe, would you?”

Gerrit purses his lips. “If I could get my family somewhere safe, I would, but I would come back to keep fighting the Nazis and working to rescue Jews.”

“Well, I wouldn’t leave without you, Gerrit,” Marit puts in.  She smiles at him.

“My answer is the same as Gerrit’s,” Pieter says. “As tempting as it would be to flee, some of us have to stay.”

Elsje says, “My first priority is my baby. So, ja, if I could get her somewhere safe, I would.”

David looks sad. “It’s too late for that for me. My family is already gone, and now I am just trying to do whatever I can to keep that from happening to anyone else.”

The squad members frown in sympathy, and Steve says, “That’s what we’re fightin’ for too.”

“Yes, it is,” I agree. “Logan, is there a song that you think resembles you or something you’ve learned?”

Logan chews his lip thoughtfully. “Hmm, I’m not sure.  I mean, ‘Don’t Worry, Mom’ always makes me think of the folks.   And the hymn ‘Yield Not to Temptation’ is a good one for me to remember.”

“Gerrit,” I ask next, “what is it about Montana that makes you want to move there?”

Gerrit smiles. “I love the idea of wide-open land as far as the eye can see. The Netherlands is a very small country with lots of people packed in, so that appeals to me. I love watching American western films and reading western books, so that’s what first sparked my interest in the American West and Montana, specifically.”

Logan grins. “I love westerns too!”

I groan inwardly as I look at the next question; this is going to be awkward. “If you could change one thing about the author, what would it be?  This question is from Shades, and she said ridiculous or funny answers only.”

The Resistance members laugh as the guys all start talking at once.

“Her laugh,” Sam says. “It’s too cheerful and annoying.”

Parker looks annoyed. “The fact that she knows my backstory.   I don’t want anyone to know about it.”

Several of the others give him interested looks, but Jesse is speaking. “Well, this isn’t really funny, but she seems to enjoy hurting her characters, which . . . well, I won’t say what I’m thinking.  But it seems odd to me, because otherwise she’s a nice girl.”

Jake shakes his head. “She sings and mutters to herself, and it’s unnerving.”

I pretend to be miffed. “Really, Jake?  You have no appreciation for my music.  Well, Elsje, was there a specific reason why you chose the name Anneke for ‘your’ baby?”

“I just thought it was a beautiful name, and it means 'grace' which I loved,” Elsje replies.

I ask the squad, “If I were to look through all the food you own, what would you have the most of?”

Steve gives a short laugh. “K-Rations.   That’s pretty much the only food anybody owns in the field.”

"Well, I have candy,” Zachary puts in. “Mostly chocolate.”

“Yum, chocolate.” Now I want some, but I’m not done yet.  The next question is for David. “You’re a veterinary student, so what’s your favorite animal?”

David perks up a little at that. “Hmm. I love most animals, so it’s hard to pick one! I really like dogs, horses, and goats, though!”

“Oh, this is another fun question for the squad,” I say. “If you had superpowers, which ones would you have?”

Steve grins. “Telepathy – it’d sure be useful to be able to make guys do what you want ‘em to.”

Logan laughs. “Well, Sarge, you kinda do that anyway, ‘cause nobody wants to argue with you.  Anyway, I’d like to have X-ray vision.”

“Flight!” Jack exclaims.  I’m not surprised.

Sam frowns thoughtfully. “Mind reading, so I can tell what people are sayin’ about me behind my back.”

Jesse shakes his head at Sam before answering. “I’d really like to be bulletproof, because I don’t care to get shot again.”

Matt speaks up for the first time. “Invisibility.  It would be really nice to be able to disappear.”

Jake nods. “Yeah, me too.”

“Marit,” I ask, “what kind of camera do you use?  I collect cameras, so I’m curious.”

“It’s a Leica,” Marit says, “which is, ironically, German-made. My parents gave it to me for my birthday a few years before the war.”

“Ooh, nice!  I really want a Leica, but they’re expensive.” I check my list again. “Okay, for the squad – Tim wanted to know about the chaplains, since I didn’t write about any.”

Sam snorts and mutters, “Who needs one with Jesse around?”

Jesse just smiles. “Captain Hodges, the chaplain at Camp Fannin, was my best friend when I was in Basic.  We spent a lot of time together praying and discussing the Bible.   To the world, he looked like a quiet, unassuming man, but he had a lot of wisdom and experience.  I really looked up to him.”

“He sounds like the kind of guy I’d like to know – kind of like you, Jesse.” There’s one more question left for the Resistance members. “Pieter, as the oldest child, do you feel extra protective toward your younger siblings?”

Pieter nods. “Yes, I do feel protective toward my younger siblings. I’ve always been someone who tries to avoid conflict, though, so, for example, if someone was bullying my younger sibling, my first instinct would be to just get us out of there. But something I’ve been learning, especially since the beginning of this war, is that sometimes you do have to fight for what you believe in. As one of my good friends says, ‘Some bullies can’t just be ignored; they need to be stood up to.’”

“It was me who said that,” Gerrit speaks up.

“And I definitely agree.  Okay, Logan, you get our last question; this one’s from Gemma.  How did fighting in the war change or challenge your faith or convictions?”

Logan rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve had to deal with some of the moral issues of war, of course.  But more importantly, I’ve been exposed to a lot of things that my parents sheltered me from before – things like drinking, gambling, and, uh, other stuff.   It forced me to step up and figure out for myself what I believed and why I believed it, instead of relying on my parents’ beliefs.  It hasn’t been easy, but it’s definitely been good for me.”

I nod. “I know what you mean; I’ve had to grow up in my faith too.  Well, everybody, that’s all the questions we have.  Thank you for cooperating with me and Savannah, because we had a lot of fun!”

“We didn’t have much choice,” Sam mutters.

I give him a pretend stern look. “Well, at least you said some things.  We’ll let you guys get back to your unit now, and let our Dutch friends get back to their Resistance work.”

Don't forget to enter the giveaway if you haven't done so already!

And be sure to check out Savannah's blog and the other participating bloggers!

• L.E. Levens
• Addison Crissone
• Sophia McCrary
• Journey Bloomfield
• Emily Brown
• Katja Labonté
• H.C. Kingsley

Your song of the day is the one Logan mentioned - "Don't Worry, Mom" - which I have never seen on lists of popular 1940s songs, but I really like it! It's different because the singer is addressing their mom, not a sweetheart like most of the songs from the era.

Be back tomorrow for a guest post from Savannah! 🫡✌️🪖