Comrades-in-Arms: Stories — Rita Oakes

Long before ''Don't ask don't tell,'' gays served in the military--sometimes openly--more often in secret. In this volume the author imagines what their lives might have been like. Within, you will find tales of historical fiction mixed occasionally with supernatural horror, including: a French fusilier fighting guerrillas and growing disillusionment in Napoleonic Spain; soldiers encountering unnatural horrors during the 1812 occupation and retreat from Moscow; a good-natured Wiltshire man finding companionship and courage amid the muck and misery of the Western Front; a downed American airman realizing everyone is not quite as they seem as he takes refuge with a band of Polish partisans during World War II; and more. Comrades-in-Arms offers tales of battles and the aftermath, of comradeship, loss, duty, and discovery.