The letter lay untouched on his desk, its creases marked with dust. I knew my father very well, well enough to know something happened and I was not supposed to know. My name is Thomas, I am the son of John and the brother of Anthony. My brother Anthony was a great man we were eight years apart and I always looked up to him. During the rough times we had growing up he was there to help me and my family get through them together. He was basically the glue that held our family together. He was a strong minded person with a heart to help other people.

Our family’s life turned south in the fall of 1955.  I just settled back in to the swing of things regarding school and my other activities, I came home one day to my mother crying and my father hugging her. I immediately asked what was wrong but I received no answer. I ran upstairs to my brother’s room but he was not there. I see an envelope on his desk with the title “Dear Mom and Dad”.  It was unopened so I began to scramble around his room looking for a note for me, I did not find anything. As the day went on my mother called me down for dinner and had the envelope in her hand.  I asked if I could read it aloud to our family because she began to choke up.

The note read, “Dear Mom and Dad, I am writing this letter to let you know that I have joined the military with a few of my friends to fight for our country in the Vietnam War. I could not do this in person because I know you would not have let me leave. This is my first grown-up decision and I expect you guys to agree with me on this decision. I will write to be you every week until I come home. Love, Anthony”. My father suddenly stormed out of the room and my mother followed. I could not believe what I just read. As time went by slowly, my brother was writing us and keeping us up dated with his life during the war. Eventually, the letters grew shorter and we would only receive a letter maybe once or twice a month.

I began questioning if he still cared about us anymore, ever since the first letter I have not talked to my brother. It hurt me to find out that he was leaving without saying goodbye in person.  Another four months blew by and we had not received any letters at all. My parents began to worry and so did I. One day on a walk home from school I saw an unfamiliar car outside my house. Quickly, I ran down the street and saw two man dressed in Army uniforms standing on my porch waiting for my parents to answer the door.

When I reached the porch I opened the door and let them in. They began by saying they had terrible news, your son Anthony has been killed in the line of duty. The room went completely silent. Before they stood to leave they gave my family their condolences than handed my father a letter. My mother began to cry and my father tried to comfort her. I ran up to my brother’s room and sat there wishing he would come back.

As the time for the funeral came around I was not in a talkative mood.  So I spent time in my father’s office at our house. The note was still there unopened. I picked it up and opened it and began to read.
Dear Mom, Dad and Thomas,
I have written to you guys as actively as I said I would. Things have been getting rough around here and people are beginning to get scared. I wanted to write this letter to let you know that if anything happens I love you guys and hope you feel the same. I believe the way I left was very immature and I apologize. I hope to be home soon.
Love your Son and Brother,
Anthony