"Let’s line up, maggots." scream Sergeant Jones and the other noncoms as they walked among the running bodies. "Can’t you grunts make a simple line."
I remember the confusion that morning.

Poem/story about forbidden love in a rural setting.

A story about a true American hero? …

Within seconds of landing to reinforce an American base, a new recruit is wounded before he gets time to fire a shot in anger. New Meat was a term used to describe new recruits by their more experienced comrades.

This story is dedicated to the men and women who never made it back home from Vietnam. New recruits, especially draftees, were termed New Meat. Late on in the war, most veterans of the conflict had already lost too many friends and did not want to become closely attached to these new recruits. Veterans cared for them, taught them, tried to keep them alive but to avoid further heartache, they would not allow them become friends.

A short story about the horrors of war, what we take with us and what we leave behind.