Bonds Of Brotherhood

Martin Ryder glared angrily at his son, fists clenched in rage. He could scarcely believe what he was hearing. His only son had volunteered for the army because his friend had been drafted. Martin had served with the 82nd Airborne division during World War Two and seen first hand what evils men are capable of during war. He also feared for his young son, not just from physical harm but from the mental scars, some of which he still bore. "All my life I have prayed that you never have to go to war and you fucking well volunteer for one!" He yelled at his son. "Dave's going, He's my best mate. I can't let him go alone. Besides, Granddad told you all about the First World War and you still volunteered for the Second. Now it's my time and I will not back down. I'm not a child any more, I'm eighteen and I will decide this for myself." John could feel the anger flowing through him and for the first time in his life he was going to decide something for himself. The family had only moved to America two years previously from England where Martin and Yvonne had met during World War Two as Martin was training for the D-Day invasion. After the war they got married and moved to Northern England. Once their son, John, has finished high school they had moved to Martin's home town of Rock Wells, a small town in Minnesota, eighty miles from the state capital of Minneapolis, to be nearer his father in his later years. They had moved into a house on Sixth Street, a small cul de sac of two storey detached houses, and Martin had bought the local store using his savings and the remnants of his GI Bill. John had opposed the idea of moving to America from the beginning, he did not want to leave his friends in England. Martin wondered how in just two years his son felt he owed so much loyalty to his new friend and his new country. John had worked in his father's store and spent most of his days planning his escape from his family's boring life. Now he had his chance. Martin saw the determination his his son's dark blue eyes as they burned with a fury Martin head never seen. He looked down at his son and his drooping shoulders dropped even further as he realised that his son was now old enough to decide the matter for himself. He now thought he had made a terrible mistake moving back to his native land. He ran his hand through his greying hair and stormed from the room in frustration and kicked the nearest object, which unfortunately was the family cat, a mangy thing that he had always hated. With a terrified shriek it ran from the house, into the street, and under a car. Yvonne Ryder sat in the armchair and stared at her son, no longer knowing what to say she just wept silently. She had never seen her son behave this way and began to wonder just how long he had been planning this. She knew he wanted to stay in England and now wondered if this was his revenge for making him leave. At the sight of his mother's tears, John's anger suddenly ebbed from him and he felt guilty at having caused his mother so much upset. "I'm going mam and that's all there is to it. I'll stay at Dave's until the day I leave." His voice was barely a whisper. "Bye mam, I love you." With that he kissed his mother goodbye and left the house. He decided it was best not to talk to his father as he did not want to cause any more upset for his mother. His heart heavy with guilt, John trudged down the street and across town to his friend's house. He barely noticed the warm afternoon sun on his back or the soft summer breeze on his cheek. Had he known what was in store for him in Vietnam he would have taken the time to notice the comfortable weather, it would be the last time he would feel it for a long time. He also would not have walked past the grocery store without going in to say goodbye to Hannah, the girl behind the counter whom he was madly in love with but would admit it to nobody. They had first met when John had started working at the store upon his arrival in America. Hannah was eighteen years old, the same age as John. It had not taken long for them to become close friends and John always looked forward to seeing her. Whether it was at work or watching the Minnesota Vikings, John was happy to be with her. Even though he still did not fully understand American football. The only person that knew of John Ryder's infatuation with Hannah was David Marks, who had been sworn to secrecy. Though he did not know it yet, it would be a long time before he saw her and when he did things would be completely different. So, with a heavy heart he knocked on David Marks' door. Marks answered the door, saw his friend standing there and knew what had happened. "I take it your parents didn't do back flips when you told them?"