Orders: A Vietnam Story

Part 7 "Last Piece of Business"

The sound of the plane engine wakes me up as we pull into the airport. The plane stops and I get off, rushing down the steps with my bag. Me and about one-hundred other Vietnam soldiers walk to taxis and buses.

I ignore the cursing, spitting, and hatred from the mobs of protestors, with flower bands around their heads. If only they knew how it really was. Maybe they would understand.

In the terminal waits my girlfriend Jessica, who I met in college back in Colorado, where I live currently. She hugs me, and in the sweetest, calmest voice tells me, "Everything is alright now, you're safe."

I feel the wet tears from her eyes seep through my jacket.

We walk to a cab, hand in hand. Another mob of protestors yells at me.

"Make love, not war," "Violence is not the answer," but one call stands out to me.

"How could you love a man like him?"

I stop and turn towards the direction it came from.

"Who just said that?" I yell.

"David, come on," Jessica pulls at my arm.

"No, no, no, Who. Just. Yelled. That?"

A man emerges from the crowd.

"You think that you deserve a beautiful woman like her because you're a big war hero?"

I ball my left hand up in a fist.

"You and your friends are the reason this country is at war, why don't you go back where you belong, in the jungles!"

I rear back my fist, slugging him right in the jaw. He falls to the ground, and I bend over above him.

I spit in his face, "You think you know a fraction of what goes on over there, you think you know the hell that I've faced, the fire I've walked through, there are thousands of good men out there who died and you don't even have the balls to back your country from the homefront," I stand up, "None of you have the guts to do what we do over there. The truth is your scared. You don't like the idea of us getting involved because we may lose this fight! So instead of facing your fear you hide it behind flowers and love, but it's all a lie. You see I know what goes on out there, I know good men who have died for your country, and our purpose, but I guess that's not good enough for you people."

I turn and lead Jessica to the cab, opening her door and letting her in before moving the my side.

The cab driver is an old man, maybe late fifties. His hair is grey, and his voice is raspy. About half way to my destination, he clears his throat.

"You're right, kid. You speak the truth, the question is, are the people willing to listen?"

"Probably not, but I do what I can," I say, grabbing Jessica's hand.

The snow falls in heavy sheets, like white curtains on an empty stage. The cab pulls to a stop, I step out and walk through the snow to the white door illuminated by a single light.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door opens. Mrs. James stands there, an apron around her waist. Her black skin is wrinkled and there are bags underneath her eyes.

"Excuse me Mrs. James, my name is David White, I served with Eddy in the army, may I come in?"

She looks down, "Sure, any friend of Eddy's is a friend of ours,"

Loud pounds of steps down the stairs echo through the house. Four children emerge from the hallway, two girls and one boy.

I take a sit on the couch, opening the shoebox I brought in with me.

"Eddy was a great man. He followed his duties, he was a great soldier, always kept his composure, and was very calm. I brought somethings of his."

I reach in and remove his dogtags, his boots and a picture of him and I.

"Thank you for your time, I just wanted to bring you these," I say, standing up from the couch.

I walk out into the cold December night. The cab door squeaks open as I slide into the seat.

"Did you give them everything?" asks Jessica.

"All but one," I say, removing the letter from my pocket.

I read the suicide letter one last time before tearing it up and letting it go into the wind. I watch it blow away, high into the sky. Maybe one day someone will piece it together and know his story. As long as his family doesn't have to know about the suicide part of his death.

Throughout this whole time throughout the good and the bad, we followed our leaders, we followed our orders, and now, this is how it ends. This is how Eddy's life ended.

Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this story, I hope that this ending was satisfactory and I hope you will stick around to me for my next story, so that is one story I've actually completed... one down, one-thousand to go!

TheDeViOuSSGT