Falling in love was the last thing Army pilot Carl Prosser expected to do while stationed in Korea. But he meets a young man named Tommy who's touring with the USO and does just that. Their relationship deepens through an exchange of letters.<br><br>When the USO troupe returns to the front, Prosser devises an elaborate plan to see his lover one last time before the entertainers return to the states. At the last minute, though, there's a change of plans when the enemy hits the USO troupe and Prosser fears Tommy is gone forever.

For the Boys

The soldiers eased the wounded man onto the floor of the chopper. One of our own, I could tell from the uniform, and I had seen too many wounds just like the one in his lower belly to know that he wasn’t going to make it. His hands were slick with his own blood, holding onto his stomach as if that alone could staunch the wound. When he saw me staring, I turned away. Don’t let Tommy be like this,I prayed, busying myself with monitoring the instrument panel. Please God, don’t let him die.


One of the USO girls lifted the man’s head into her lap and held his face in both hands as she stroked his flushed cheeks. Her hair fell in a veil that covered her face, but when she tucked it behind one ear, leaving a smudge of the soldier’s blood on her cheek, I recognized her as Bert’s girl, Ellie. “It’ll be okay, honey,” she was saying. I could hear the tears in her voice. “Everything’s gonna be fine. Just hold on a little while longer. Hold on, shh.” 


Chapter 11