The Choice

“I feel hot. My chest is tight.”
“What are you thinking?”
“at it isn’t safe. at we’re going to be attacked. at we need
more air support if we’re heading to that part of the bush. And they’re
not giving it to us.”
“Are you mad about that?”
His eyes snapped open. “Of course I’m mad. ey send us in there,
they feed us a bunch of bullshit about America being the strongest
army in the world, that the gooks don’t stand a chance.”
“The war wasn’t what you expected.”
“They lied to us.”
“You feel betrayed.”
“Hell yes, I feel betrayed.”
“What happened the day you got the order to send your troops on
the rescue mission?”
“It was night.”
“What happened that night?”
“I’ll tell you what happened. It was an ambush.”
“Your men got hurt?”
“Do I have to spell it out? ey died. ey all died that night. And
I’m the one who sent them in there. ey trusted me, and I sent them
in there to die.”
“War means people die.”
“You know what I think? Dying is easy. I have to live every day
thinking about all those parents burying their sons.”
“You were following an order.”
“But I knew it was the wrong decision. I knew those boys needed
more air support. And I didn’t have the balls to demand it.”
“What did you give up to become a colonel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You made a choice to become a soldier and a military leader.