ways.
On day five here, I was emotionally gone. I donât knowâI thought Iâd be stronger but it was just getting to me. Getting to my head. I was really going to break down. But this guy named Carter whoâs from Texas took me under his wing and helped me out. I almost think heâs a guardian angel, though I donât think guardian angels use that kind of language and talk about girls that way.
Things are better. Itâs strangeâyou go eighteen yearsand then suddenly your whole life changes. Like that. Not in a bad way. I know what theyâre doing and why theyâre doing it and I keep that in the back of my mind. I also think of Dad, of you guys, of the people back in our neighborhood and in our church.
I think about all of you when things start getting too heavy.
Iâm not here to follow in Dadâs footsteps. Iâm here to serve all of you and to serve this country.
Day by day Iâm beginning to understand that a little more.
It fills me with pride even when the muscles are aching and the mind is close to breaking.
Thatâs all I can say for now. Iâm going to be learning soon how to shoot an M16. Hopefully Iâll qualify the first time.
Look forward to talking to you soon and hearing your voice.
Love you,
James
Beth stops reading the letters and puts them back in order.
She remembers the words she wrote after one of these early letters. She shared a passage from Romans that was meant to encourage. She could still recite it word for word:
We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Beth had told James to continue to persevere and hope. That had been early on during his time at Fort Benning.
I need to do the same. I must do the same. I must remain hopeful.
âThis must be your little sister,â the raspy voice says.
âBehave, Murphy. You donât want to mess with Emily.â
Beth shuts the door of the van and walks around the passenger side, noticing Emilyâs unamused glance through the open window. When she gets behind the wheel of the familiar vehicle, she can hear the man in the back already probing Emily for information.
âI bring Murphy to Mountain Home every Tuesday,â Beth says.
She had woken Emily up and urged her to come with her this morning. At first, Emily had asked if this waslike one of those Angel Tree things theyâd done together around Christmastime. Beth hadnât said what they were going to do, but the moment they arrived at the Mountain Home VA Medical Center to switch vehicles, Emily knew.
âWhy do you want me to come?â
âTo keep me company,â Beth had replied.
But Murphy was company enough.
Beth wanted Emily to participate in this weekly ritual to understand just a little more. A little more about service, about veterans, about a part of the military that she could never learn from her father.
As she starts up the car, she can smell the odor filling the van. Itâs one of the bitter realities of life. Age has a scent, whether itâs the top of a babyâs head or the deeply etched wrinkles on a manâs hands.
âTell Emily a little about yourself, Murphy,â Beth says.
âIâm dying, how âbout that?â
Emily glances over and gives her the
Get me out of here
look.
âMaybe a little something about you. A little something lighter.â
âLighter, huh? I was married once. For a couple of days. But turns out she couldnât speak English and didnât quite know what she was getting herself into. Plus, the guy who married us wasnât exactly legit.â
âMurphy served in the Korean War, didnât you?â
âEver heard of that one?â
âKorea?â Emily says, not trying to hide her amusement. âIs that a country or a type of illness?â
The cackle fills the van. âSheâs got your sense of humor, huh? Korea