The Soldier

A soldier, a young vibrant man with a family decides to fight for his country. He knows not yet that when he touched the pen to the paper, he'd regret it.

Johnny Perchard, a young man with his life ahead of him. With a wife and child on the way, he was living happily ever after. But he becomes a man who answers the call to become a soldier in the U.S Army, with no experience at all he plunges into battle with strangers who now have his back. Strangers that have his six, strangers that have to depend on him and he depend on them. He doesn't know what to expect and he doesn't know the pain the he will bring on his family and on himself when night fell upon him and his team.

Johnny now lying flat in the darkness, waiting. Waiting for the sun to break the darkness, waiting for a unfortunate event that could change his life forever. When he thought about all the horrible things that could come upon him if he even for a second dozed off. Right when everything had been still, a fire shot loud. It echoed as if he had been the person who shot it. He jumped, steadied his gun and got ready to fire if necessary. The enemy, Korea, had been waiting just like us, for an opportunity to fire upon us with hatred and the will to kill every American on Korean soil. They got it, a man fired on the belief of seeing a sudden movement on the other side of the battlefield.

All hell broke loose. All Johnny heard was screaming, the sound of pain, loss, gunfire, and even the laughter of his beautiful wife. Johnny thought he was going to die that but the night carried on into the day. He thought to himself for every Korean man he killed, "I'm doing this for my wife and baby, but also my country!" But also thought for every Korean man he killed he orphaned a family, the very idea didn't make him different from the men on the other side battlefield. Fighting for their families as well as he was.

Johnny fired and fired and aimed not to miss. His goal; live to see the smile of his baby Anna Marie Perchard. His creation that will one day make a difference in the world. He never thought he would have to fight to live to live to see his baby. Johnny fired until he could fire no more. No more ammo meant dying sooner or later. He fought now to see the dawn only for dusk to follow. His years in the Army, he feared the dark for the irony of shooting one of his own men but also feared morning for it would give the enemy the ability to see him and take his life. He became very paranoid and never slept.

Then the day came that changed his life. He felt it. The sharp, nabbing pain in his side. He looked down to see his own blood pour out of him. He couldn't believe he had been shot, he fell, in agony and pain, clutching his side. His goal; survive. Johnny started to yell, "Help! Medic! I've been shot!" They came, but because of so much blood loss he became unconscious and unresponsive to questions. The last thing he saw was his family flash in his head before darkness clouded that out.

He made it to the hospital, hanging on for dear life. They went straight to work and tried to mend the damage done to him. They put him on a oxygen tank, to keep him breathing. It would be awhile before they could give him blood since they have no medical records for this soldier who fought bravely for his country. They needed his blood type, but Johnny needed time. Time to pray, to be asked for forgiveness for his sins. He needed time to write one last letter to his family, telling them he's sorry he couldn't make it, sorry for being a failure to not only them but to his country. He just needed... time.

He was cleaned up and set to a clean hospital bed, to lay there and wait for his life to end or a miracle to begin. Johnny never thought a bullet, a tiny bullet could make him think of all things he didn't get to do with Anna Marie and his wife Elizabeth. This bullet would be the decider of life or death. The bullet would make its statement in the hours to come.

Johnny never got to see the smile of his baby. Or even the birth of her. The last thing he thought was the last thing he said to his wife Elizabeth, "I'll be home before you know it. I'll be back, I promise. I love you darling." Johnny looked at the nurse, and said, "Tell my wife I'm sorry. I broke my promise." and he closed his eyes and darkness over came. He knew he could see from above and watch over his family. He could protect from above.

The heart monitor flat lined and the nurse wrote his time and day of death on his clipboard, and sighed with a pain of having to give the message of her husbands last words. She closed Johnny's eyes and covered his face with his blanket. She shut the light off, for they would come get his body to bring home.

Elizabeth cried for weeks and slept by Johnny's picture every night. Johnny was rewarded the purple heart and given the full recognition he deserved. He thought he would regret fighting for his country but he didn't regret a year that her fought. What he did regret was bringing pain on his family everyday of their life in years to come. He was a hero, a father, and U.S Army idol for soldiers to come.