© J. Hardy Carroll
They were just kids and they thought it was funny. He was a homeless Vietnam vet who had his foot blown off. The punks thought they were doing the world a favor by abusing him.
I found them a mile away from where they left him and made them tell me where they’d left his prosthetic.
I took it back and said he could come to my place. He asked me why. I told him that Marines have each others backs. Later that night, he stood on one good foot and one artificial one, and we both saluted the flag.
I wrote this for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ photo writing challenge. The idea is to use the image above to create a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. My word count (after a lot of editing) is 100 words.
A prosthetic limb and the American Independence Day. I didn’t have to think hard to write this one. My Dad was a veteran and so is one of my sons. For their sake alone, I’ll never take the knee in front of the American flag, though I respect the right of anyone who chooses to. After all, that’s what so many have fought and died for; the right to speak their mind in a free country.
Happy Independence Day to you and yours.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
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I took a guy like that home once. In the morning he was gone, and so was some of my stuff. I couldn’t really fault his choice
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It happens sometimes. I once believed someone’s sob story and lost a few hundred bucks in the deal. At first I was mad, but then I realized that I had acted out of kindness no matter the result.
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Very compassionate and in this instance the poor guy sounds genuine. I have also been taken by a good sob story
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Yeah. A lot of our vets never really come back to the world. He lost a lot more than a foot in Nam, but one of his brothers, a generation apart, found a way to redeem him.
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That’s some consolation. Well done the brother
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Whatever your feelings about war, those that serve deserve our respect for putting their lives on the line.
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It’s not about glorifying war. It’s about taking care of those who gave more to their country than their country gave back to them. Thanks, Iain.
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When one gives, one takes a chancre. In this case, the deed brought lovely results…
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Thanks, Dale.
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With so much disrespect in the world, we need more like this.
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I agree. Thanks.
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saluted with them too!
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Thanks.
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:_)
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Your story demonstrates what the 4th is all about. Nicely done.
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Thanks, Susan.
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I have a son currently in the Army, James. He’s in South Korea right now (a trip for grandchildren of veterans).
This is a good story, and I agree it’s okay for someone to kneel in front of the flag (as does he).
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Nice story, and I do get your comment now.
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Hopefully, in time those kids will look back and regret their actions.
Click to read my FriFic tale
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It’s good to celebrate acts of human kindness. You give a good description of the bond between the two marines.
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Happy Independence Day.
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Simple acts of kindness, whether rewarded or not, are well worth doing. You captured that very well.
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he lost his footing and hopefully he’d get it back.
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This is the right thing to do…
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Such a lovely story. Hope it’s the start of a great friendship for the two people.
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It won’t be a long friendship. In the expanded version of this story, Derek has cancer and will die in three or four months.
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A lovely topical take.
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Thank you, Sandra.
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Hope you had a lovely Independence Day. A very touching story, James. We need more kindness in the world and a willingness to be taken advantage of (within reason) to give it. You said it very well, to give honor to whom honor is due for the freedoms we enjoy.
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Thanks, Brenda.
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Dear James,
This bought a tear to my eye. Very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle.
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Beautiful story!
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Thanks, Dawn.
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