by

Duke Barrett

In Brief synopsis

Fiction but somewhat autobiographical

A story about a draftee who was a musician in the Chicago area in the 1960's. . Johnny Richards was an R & B guitar player who answered his nations call and voluntarily joined the Army Paratroopers. Figuring he was already in a fix by being in the Infantry, going  airborne  and training and fighting with the best-made sense to him.
My thoughts for this story are more suited for a short story like the old Twilight Zone stories. The story has a twist at the end. Johnny bonds with his other army buddy's and is well liked and respected for both his personality and soldiering skills. He is a wise cracking somewhat egotistical character who likes to bitch about the situation. An ex golden gloves boxer, he exudes confidence. Johnny and his buddy's talk about future plans and women. Johnny tells of a beautiful French Vietnamese girl he met and possibly hooking up with her in the world

The paratrooper reconnaissance platoon is assigned a mission and once again delves into the unknown.  Boarding the helicopters they bravely fly into a hot landing zone and are engaged with the enemy. Their platoon sergeant Conners skillfully rains heavy artillery and helicopter gunship fire on the enemy. In the ensuing firefight some casualties are taken and in this action, Johnny Richards is shot in the chest. Lying there, gravely wounded, his brothers in arms tend to Johnny. They talk about coming to Chicago to see and hear him play his guitar. Lying bloodied and in pain he calls out  Ma!!
The scene changes to a Chicago nightclub in 1983 with Johnny playing in a band. He talks about his past, playing music and a bit about Viet Nam. He seems an a bit off center to his band mates, as if he were from somewhere else. As the evening concludes Johnny drives home in a car he dreamed of owning back in Viet Nam. At home , in bed ,is his beautiful wife Mei. They have two children. Johnny Jr. and Nicole.12 and 8 years old respectively.
Mei calls Johnny at work and tells him about a story regarding  the building and dedication of  the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, DC, a place Johnny has always been attracted to. Plans are made to visit Washington for their upcoming vacation.
The story takes us to there and it is here where the twist happens. Johnny and family visit the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier ,The Kennedy Grave sight , and finally the Wall  It is here that all of the dreams he had, pursuing  a career in music, marring the beautiful Vietnamese girl, traveling, and raising a family all come crashing in on him .Standing at the  Wall  with the family in the background, they start to disappear. He calls out their names in frustration. He is now no longer in typical tourist clothing but in  the bloodied fatigues  he was wounded in. Johnny is now all alone, and cries out Ma!!
The scene changes back to the battlefield and the Medic is working on him, screaming breath mother fucker!  Breathe !. Johnny has died. Just another faceless name on the  Wall  His buddy's are pissed.
The scene goes back to the  Wall  and at the same spot where Johnny was is instead his Mother. She cries softly, what a shame, he and all on the Wall  had their dreams broken.
The scene goes back to the battlefield once again where the casualties are being loaded onto the medevac chopper ( dust off ) and the platoon once again is given the command to move out.

Scene from over head is to watch these paratroopers set off to finish their mission and the music playoff would be What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted