A True Patriot

The year was 1963.  It had been six grueling months since the man had first landed in the tropical lands of Vietnam.  Beads of sweat dripped off his helmet, as the hot humid air clung to his skin.  The soft buzzing of mosquitoes fainted in the distance as the man continued his walk.  The trees of the jungle stood eerily still, the leaves making no movement from the lack of wind.  The ridged sun was shaded by the dense canopy of trees above him, yet the air was thick and muggy.  Each breath was becoming harder.  The man’s legs began to ache from his three mile hike back to camp.  He had just been on a reconnaissance mission, and could not wait to get back to a safe zone in camp.  It had been a whole week of hiding in ditches, trying to avoid the enemy.  His mind pondered the thought of quitting.  The thought that he was too insignificant and his efforts were pointless.  He was tired of seeing death.  Death from friends, death from family, and death from those he did not know.  His heart ached for the forgotten, for the men who died fighting, doing the same thing he was doing.  Then the man thought quickly of his father.  His father was a man of great honor and pride.  He had a great sense of joy and pride in his country, so much that he risked his life for it and others.  The man thought of his last days on this once bright but now much dimmer planet.  He thought of the loneliness that the man must have felt as he took his last breath.  But more importantly he thought of how insignificant he was when his father died.  He was just a small boy, not able to help save his father.  He had never felt so helpless than when he thought of his father.  Yet his father sparked something deep inside.  The thought of being able to help those in desperate need was why the man had come to this wretched country.  As the man was closing in on the camp, he could see its black gates awaiting his homecoming.  He thought of friends there, and his letters from home.  He could not be any happier than to see those enticing gates.  He began to smile, then he heard the gunfire.  The sound sent immediate chills down his back, as he ducked and rolled behind a tree.  Taking his firearm in his hand, he quickly checked the area looking for his attackers.  An explosion shook the ground, as fire and smoke caressed away into the sky.  Plants began burning, tears crept into the man’s eyes from the toxic smoke.  He turned his head quickly to see if any of his men that were on the mission were still with him.  He saw one soldier ducking under a pale green plant, hiding from the madness.  He shifted his head to the right only to be met with sadness.  One of his friends lay just thirty feet away from him, with a bullet in the shoulder and chest.  He was gripping his letters from the states trying to read them one last time.  The man was about to get up to finally help somebody, but gunfire scattered the jungle.  About 200 feet away another explosion ripped through the jungle.  The man sat there waiting for the right time.  Then he looked toward camp, hoping help would be on its way.  All he saw were its steel black gates.  Half a mile more he thought, and he would have been safe with his troops.  He tried to get up to help his friend, and was met with bullet in his shin.  He let out a scream of hopeless pain.  He tried to get up, but his leg could not bear the wait.  He could hear his friend panting with excruciating pain, yet he could not help him.  He heard his cries for help, and his cries for life, yet there was nobody who could give him what he wanted.  He began calling the man’s name in a desperate tone, begging for help from anybody.  The man’s eyes began to blur with tears as he could not answer.  The spree of gunfire suddenly stopped.  There the two friends sat, both in vigorous pain.  Silence was met with sorrowful screams, as the two’s cries echoed throughout the lonely jungle

FireWorks

The wind whistles through the trees, the leaves rustling with excitement.  The bright sun bears down on the small boys neck, he squints wishing to see its beauty.  The day is July fourth, the day of independence for his great nation.  He does not know it yet, but one day this small child will grow up fighting for his freedom, and more importantly his country’s liberty.  However today is a simple day.  A day full of celebration, parties, and reuniting with loved relatives.  But to this boy there is no knowledge of the importance of this day yet.  He cannot comprehend the sacrifices that were put down for his comfortable life.  He knows only of his father, a courageous man who went off, fighting to protect the very thing that was given to him more than 200 years ago.  The boy has no major memories of his father, but he remembers his strong, warm embrace.  He remembers his welcoming smile, a smile which would comfort him and give him ease.  He thought about his father, and his homecoming.  All he wanted to do was see his smiling face once again.  But his thoughts were suddenly jolted as the car came to an abrupt stop.  He quickly through open his car door and jolted towards his house.  As he swung the door open he was welcomed by his aunt and her sons.  He had not seen his cousins in ages and wanted nothing more than to play with them.  The aunt welcomed him into the house, but for a brief moment he saw a flash of pity and sadness in her eyes.  His aunt welcomed his mother into the house with a long thoughtful hug.  He turned around and was surprised to see a similar look on his cousins faces.  The thought of something being wrong quickly left his head, as all he wanted to do was have a fun time tonight.  So he encouraged his cousins to come along and play with him.  One by one they started to run after each other, and imagine different worlds and mystical creatures.  The sun began to fade, turning into a dark orange.  The scattered clouds of the horizon slowly began to fade away.  A clear sky emerged, a great background for the firework show that was about to begin.  The boy took a seat in a chair a bit distant from his cousins.  He loved the firework shows and did not want to be distracted by his loud cousins.  The boy waited anxiously, awaiting the magical works of art that were soon to come.  Suddenly there was an enormous explosion, and different colors lit up the sky.  The show was starting.  The noise was like cannon fire, yet there was a type of grace the boy loved.  Bright colors illuminated the sky, as the exuberant screams from his family chorused throughout the yard.  As the small boy was sitting there he began to think of his dad again.  Wherever he was in the world, was he witnessing fireworks as well.  Was he feeling loved on this important day.  His mind pondered these different thoughts, and felt sad for his father.  He was sad that he could not be embraced with people he loved constantly.  He was sad that he could not live in luxury, or even in comfort.  Then a small thought crept into his mind.  Would he ever see him again?