Life of the soldier. A memoir. I worked in the agricultural industry for several years, with my wife Sarah at my back in everything I did. My two sons have accompanied me in my efforts to keep the farm in business. Rowland, who was 16 at the time, helped milk the cows and make sure all the animals were fed on time. In addition to milking and feeding, he was in charge of cleaning the animals and, of course, his younger brother. James, who was 10 at the time, didn't help much. He remained on the sidelines helping Sarah gather food for dinner each evening. I, being a middle-aged man in my thirties, was at his peak. I considered myself one of the most athletically fit people in the small northern town of Calamine, Massachusetts. One day, around sunset, Sarah and James came running down the dirt road southwest of the farm yelling and screaming that I needed to get to the town post office as soon as I could. "What are you talking about?" I asked them in a confused voice. James whimpered with tears in his eyes, "They'll send you away to fight in the war, Daddy!" As soon as I made my way, I prepared my big horse and rushed into town as many local men had gathered. A group of them protested that “there was no way we would leave our families to serve in a war” in which they had no interest. Many of them were so outraged that they decided to avoid the law and leave the city that night. Romulus Scott, the richest man in town, had a plan to bribe the neighboring family to let one of their sons take his place. Seeing that the boy's family didn't have much to live on, they agreed. I left town and went back to the farm. I told the guys there was no need to worry about me... middle of paper... t camp. I asked a nurse what happened to me. I remembered that I had been shot, which turned out to be true for my bandaged leg. “A young man, about 18 or 19 years old, walked up and shot the guy who shot you and saved your life!” Confused by what the woman had said, I asked her to repeat herself. After fully understanding what had happened I ask her if she knew who this man was. I wanted to thank that man for saving my life. He told me that the man had died from severe blood loss. "Before he died he asked me to give you a message." He gracefully handed me a blood-stained piece of paper folded into four quadrants. “I love you, the best father I could have ever had.” I couldn't believe what I had read. I started crying, the nurse told me they had to send me home. They had more than enough soldiers to cover me. I asked to be left alone. She left without hesitation.