I can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like be Annette, the reluctant patriot; to have the man she loves killed before her very eyes, and then to know that her own actions led to his death. How must it feel to hate this American, who has come to help liberate France, with such overwhelming passion, yet have to help him nonetheless, in order to save her own skin? To be swept into the insanity of a war she never wanted any part of? A war that she and her German officer lover tried so carefully to be insulated from? Then in the end, to have kill? Kill, and then have to start her life all over, with no idea if how she will survive?

Will she be persecuted as a collaborator, or will she be hailed as a hero for helping the American, Saunders, to escape? I ask myself these things, even though I will never know the answers. "Just for the Record", I find myself wanting to tell Annette that I’m sorry for her horrible predicament, and to wish her safety and peace. So long from your friendly 349th

- Heavy Weapons Crew

By Rose Ann Schrock (Carbine) on Unrecorded Date:

I know exactly how you feel, HWC. Poor Annette was given such a hard time, wasn't she? She really was not just a selfish woman that collaborated with the Nazis to get luxeries; she really loved the German with all of her heart. I think that Saunders showed very little sympathy for the girl; he failed to realize how she felt inside. The Sarge seemed to just view her as the sterio-type hussy that would do anything to live well in a country ruled by the enemy. I join you in wishing her well and happiness, even though, like you said before, we'll never know.
Hazelnut

By Lyne Tremblay (Lyne) on Unrecorded Date:

Hello, Hazelnut. I don't think that I agree about Saunders showing little sympathy for Annette at the end. When she collapses, crying her eyes out in the barge, he comments that, "yes, she WAS hurt that badly", meaning that her heart had been broken. He feels for her, and he knows what she is going through in her emotions. He certainly understands that she had been deeply in love with her boyfriend. I was really touched by the beautiful scene in her dining room. After Saunders almost "loses it" in front of this stranger, he gets up and invites her to dance. He doesn't confront or accuse her, he just speaks with her. I think that he understands that she is frightened. They look like two scared people clinging to some kind of hope for the future.
Liked that scene so much, that I'm going to go and put on some nice music and dream of the Sarge, now.

PFC

By Sharon Hazlett (Ivy) on Unrecorded Date:

A 'reluctant patriot' describes Annette well, HWC. She almost had to be shamed into helping Saunders by the shopkeeper and his grandson. At first, to me, she seemed an unsympathic character. She stated it was not her war and wanted no part of it. She lived very comfortably and had luxuries via her boyfriend.
But she and Kurt genuinely loved and found solice in each other. Even as he lay dying Kurt loved her enough to want her to escape the Gestapo.
Although she tried to distance herself from the war, in the end Saunders was right when he told her "it was everybodies war".

Ivy

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