In the jungles of Vietnam, First Lieutenant Stu Willis met Private Richmond Patterson and fell hard for the new recruit. Their brief romance burned bright, but the very war that brought them together finally tore them apart.<br><br>This isn't the happy-ever-after you're looking for, but it is one of the best stories I've written to date. So consider yourself warned.

Soldier Boy

I don’t remember how I made it back to the encampment.I don’t remember Don helping me into my bed.I don’t remember anything but those bloodied curls,those lifeless eyes,those chapped lips that would never say my name again.


Somehow Don managed to give me Rich’s dogtags.He said there was no family tosend them back to and I deserved them.I wear them around my neck with my own,a constant reminder of the one man to whom I had promised forever.When the nights get too bad,I lose myself in drink and finger the tags,and I remember the way it felt to hold him in my arms,to make love to him.I remember how alive he once was,smiling at me,or kissing me,or just breathing beside me.


I look at his initials on my arm and know he’s somewhere out there,waiting.For me.I know I loved him,and love him still.


Chapter 5