By John Tustin
“Patriot ” (noun): A person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.
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Once there was a soldier whose name was Jack. Jack originally didn’t want to be a soldier, but Jack’s father was a soldier, and his father’s name was also Jack. “Born and bred in the greatest nation,” Jack was. So Jack Jr. decided to become a soldier after receiving a sudden goodbye letter from his father. This was the letter:
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“Junior, I am writing this letter to let you know that I love you. I am currently stationed at —————-. Things are not going well. The platoon is diminishing and General———- is not responding the way the squad has been hoping. You might never see me again. Your mother has been sent another letter; take care of her, and try to listen to her.
Goodbye.”
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Jack was 18. He was old enough to handle his father’s sudden departure. His mother was also prepared, and she fell back on the company of Jack’s siblings, and her own family. Jack went through his training to become a soldier. Sure enough, in due time, his training was complete. Jack was 185cm tall, and of medium build—in other words, an average soldier. Jack was a good soldier. His superiors would tell him what to do, when to attack and when to flee, for he was the army’s soldier after all. Jack was eventually put into the field as a sniper, and he was a very good shot. His missions would go like this:
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– Find assigned station
– Arrive at station
– Check station
– Set up at station
– Wait for target
– Report everything you see
– Aim at said target’s heart or head
– Fire when commander says via radio
– Escape the station
– Get out of the hot zone
– Return to base
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Jack successfully accomplished every mission he was given—meaning the army accomplished every mission. Jack felt indifferent to these assignments, but also proud that he was fighting for the worthiest cause of all. Jack completed so many sniper missions that he was called “Red”. On one of his missions Red was all ready to pull his trigger, but just as his commander was giving him the go ahead, the radio malfunctioned. “Red” was ready to shoot and was sure that he could. But Red hesitated to shoot. After all, it was Jack making the decision. “Red” then thought more about it, and shot. Red then returned to his base.
This was the first time Red did not kill on order. The second (and last) time Red did not kill on order, was the last mission the soldier ever took. Red was stationed on top of a building, waiting and watching. Red spots his target and is waiting for the right moment, but his target—who is a soldier for the opposing side—sits down and starts writing a letter. Jack, being curious, uses the scope to read it.
Then the commander gives Red the “ok” to shoot. And Jack decides not to shoot. Jack reports that he was not able to eliminate the target because of weather, and 3 days later he quits. Later, Jack attends college, gets his degree, and gets married. His wife, before their marriage, naturally asked him why he quit the army. Jack had never told anyone this, not his brothers or sisters, not even his mother. Jack trusted his girl, however, and gave her his own honest answer, “I was a soldier. I wanted to be a patriot”.
