Darry-

A few weeks later...

Our uniforms were taken and burned, we watched them burn. We were given blue and gray prison like jumpers and our shoes taken. We were forced to be bare-foot. Our meals were few and of little amounts. Our morning meal was a bit of lumpy potato like food and a cup of coffee. Lunch was a bowl of rice, bread and water. Dinner was just a bowl of water and stale bread, sometimes beans.

We worked waist high in rice paddies, sowed Vietnamese soldiers uniforms and washed clothes. Sometimes, we took turns feeding the camp of Vietnamese soldiers. We worked long twelve hours days and were forced to live in horrible conditions.

One officer had taken affection towards me. I would never forgive him after what he did. He did horrible things to me and I hated them. At first, when he started to do those things, I felt the pain afterwards. It made me backside sore, but after a while, I just grew used to the pain. I became numb and empty, the only thing that kept me alive was Jenny. I didn't tell anyone else about the rape.

Our holding cell was a fenced area with a small hut, bamboo platforms served as beds and the floor was dirt. It was never clean and disease spread quickly. I knew that when I arrived twenty men were here, there were only twelve now.

I lost track of days and days turned into a month. No one had found us and I grew weakened. I had lost some weight and muscles that was for sure. I felt tired and weak, I didn't know how long I had been here. My hair had grow longer and my facial hair grew longer. My clothes tattered and dirty, my body was coated in layers of grim.

Each morning they tried to make us salute the Vietnamese flag and we morning I had enough, I talked it over with a man called "Cowboy". Cowboy talked to a man named "Tex" and we made a plan. We had began to sow together an american flag and one morning Tex had flag raising duty.

He raised the flag and we would be there to salute our flag. We planned to sing the "Star Spangled Banner. We knew we would be killed or shot out, or beaten and punished. But we refused to salute their flag.

We heard the bungle sound as Tex played it. We woke stiffly in our bed and went outside to line up. Guards stood around us and it was still early in the morning. The commanding officer hadn't even seen the flag pole yet. Tex raised the flags and we stood waiting.

The sun rose as we stood stiffly in our spots. Tex moved and took his spot next me and the commanding officer came out side. We began to sign.

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

The men barked angrily at us and we didn't even finished the song yet. I felt as the man hit him with the back of his gun.I felt as a blow hit me in the back of the head. I fell to the ground unable to move a muscle. The warm blood pooled around me. The commanding officer barked at Tex and they carried me to our hut I don't remember anything after that. I just remember my head aching and my vision going black.

I remember some visions but after that everything is blank. I heard the voices of Tex worrying over me. I laid there in the hut in the POW camp feverish and sick. My head wound grew worse and the infection spread. I was in the middle of fighting for my life.

I ached all over and I had chills in the hot humid weather. I wasn't aware of the world around me and at one point I lost conscious . After that, I have no memories of the POW camp, my world was an empty black place.

Meanwhile...(Back home)

Soda-

Pony and I were siting up the baby's room since the baby was due any day now. The summer greet us and we prepared for the birth of the baby. Pony was finished with school for the summer. Jenny had taken of work due to her pregnancy.

I had pained the baby's room yellow and the paint was dry. Now Pony and I worked to put the crib together. We had just about finished the crib. I heard a knock at the door and worried. No one who knew us knocked on our door. We had been working on the baby's room when the knock was heard. Jenny's hand rested on her stomach and Pony wrapped an arm around her as I answered the door.

I saw a man in dress blues and worried that the worst had happened. "I'm looking for the family of Darrel S. Curtis Jr..", the man says

"That would be us.", I say

"May we come in?", the men asks

"Sure.", I say opening the door wider

The soldier came in and we took a seat. I offered him a seat and he took one. We sat on the couch and he sat in Darry's favorite armchair. I took a seat with Jenny in the middle. We all feared the worst. I prayed to God that he was alright. He just had to be, his baby was on the way.

"I'm sorry, Darrel S. Curtis Jr.'s entire company was killed. We couldn't identify any of the bodies. From our knowledge, there are no know survivors at this time. He was either killed or missing, our records suggest he was killed in action. ", the man says

Jenny was in tears and sobbing silently. I wrapped my arm around her. Pony was holding back tears, I could see them gleaming in his eyes. I wanted to break down but I couldn't not yet. I needed to be hold them together first.

"There has to be a way to find out if he's still alive.", I say my voice breaking

"I'm sorry, bombs were dropped and most the bodies were badly burned or disfigured. We only have two men on record that are missing from our count. We don't want to give the false hope that its your solider who could be he's missing, the luck isn't on his side.", the solider says

"He has to be alive.", I say nearly losing it myself

"I'm sorry, he was a great solider. He earned four medals overseas. A medal of Honor for saving several mens' lives in a firefight. He risked his life for men he didn't know. He earned the Vietnam Service Medal, the purple heart for being shot twice, and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving a man's life not on the battle field but on the base.", the man says

"Thanks for your time." I say calmly as he handed me a box of personals, a medals and a flag.

The man saluted me and I closed the door behide him. I felt the tears in my eyes and sat the box down roughly. I started to sob as I wrapped my arms around Jenny. "I can't raise this baby on my own.", Jenny said her voice broken

"You won't, I promise. Darry is fine, I bet he's alive.", I say

"I can't lose my big brother.", Pony cries

To be continued...