I’d like to say that I remember you, but the gottdamned unvarnished truth is that I do not. I have so many memories of my time in the service that many of them have melted together. I read your story and can remember a thousand of ‘em just like that. You still thirsty maggot?

But I’m glad that you stuck with it, didn’t pussy out, and have gone on to serve our nation and our Army with honor. I retired in 1993 after 23 years of wearing boots. My wife left me years earlier, said she couldn’t compete with my mistress, you know her- the Army. My two children are all grown up now- my daughter with children of her own. I don’t see them much, can’t afford to travel cross country and well, they’re young and busy puttin’ their lives together. I do work a few days a week down at the local VFW to try and augment my reetirement check. Serving drinks to a bunch of whinin’, baldin’, limpin’ old bastards is a far cry from leadin’ soldjurs though, and I don’t care much for the uniform I wear now.

The Army was gottdamned good to me over the years, but I think it cost me a helluvalot. I missed too many of my kids’ birthdays and Christmas’ and my daughter is still mad at me for missing her wedding. She just doesn’t understand that I couldn’t leave the gottdamned desert durin’ that first gulf war. And I’ll be damned if I never did get to have that talk with my son about wimmen, though I probably would’ve fucked that up too. Jill left me as soon as the kids had graduated high school. I don’t blame them for not visitin’ or callin’ much, I never did a good job of formin’ a solid relationship with them while they were growin’ up. I always thought that there’d be time for that later. Sumbitch.

I live in an apartment in downtown Savanna, Georgia; one room, a gottdamned cat and a 13 inch television- American made. I try to get out for a walk everyday, PT- good for you, good for me, but some days my knee just hurts too damned much. That’s whatcha get after 23 years of humping a ruck all over God’s damned creation. But I hope that I did some good durin’ them 23 years. I hope that I made a difference in a few soldjurs like you Hook. I hope that I served America properly.

Well, I better get goin’. The library is closin’ soon and I’ve a long walk home. Godspeed Sgt Hook you Gottdamned Maggot!

Respectively,