A young man in a green army uniform walked into a cafe` near the bus station and sat in an empty booth. A girl who looked to be in ther late teens walked over to his table. The bright red, white, and blue bow in her hair was the first thing he noticed.
"How can Ihelp you sir?" the girl asked him kindly.
"C-Could I get a cheeseburger and a coke?" he asked her, nervously.
"Of course, it'll be out in just a moment." she told him. She then went to the kitchen to put the order in. When she came back she set the food in front of him. "Would you like anything else?" she asked him.
"Would you mind sitting down and talking to me for a bit? I'm feeling a little low..." he asked her.
"I'm off in about an hour, I know where we can go." she replied.
~

When she walked out of the cafe to meet him she had changed out of her uniform, though the patriotic bow remained in her hair. She lead him to the pier and they sat down, all alone.
"My name is Alfred." he told her.
"My name is [Name]." she replied.
"[Name]... You probably have a boyfriend, but I don't care. Ive got to one to send letters to, so can I send one back here to you?"

So the letters came from the army camp, first in California, then Vietnam.
'Dear [Name],
I think I have fallen for you... And it kind of scares me. When it gets rough over here I just think of that day on the pier, and I close my eyes just to see your smile. I wont be able to write for a while, but dont worry.

Love,
Alfred

PS- I'm supposed to be coming home soon!'
One friday night young [Name] went to a football game for marching band. Once the anthem was sang, a man said, "Folks, please bow your heads for a list of local Vietnam dead..." The young girl carefully placed her piccolo on the stands before sneaking away to hide under them and cry to herself.
Only one name was read, and no one really cared much, except for the pretty little girl with the bow in her hair.
They had all told her she was too young for him. But she kept waiting for the love of her traveling soldier. She knew her love for him would never end. How could this have happened? Why, when he was so close to coming back home, back to her, did he have toleave her? She wondered on and on as she sat under the bleachers, crying.