The Beginning

James lived a quiet life. He was a normal, unassuming guy. He was born in Belton, Texas in 1977, and lived his whole life there. At the time of his birth it was a small town of less than 10,000 people. By the time he went to High school, it had filled to over 15,000 people. Once James graduated High School, he enrolled in the University that is organic to the town. The University is names University Of Mary Hardin Baylor. It is a mostly religious school, with focus being put on religious studies and ministry. James ended up failing out of the college. He was never too fond of school anyways. In 1999, James decided to join the United States Military. Growing up in a small town, James had always seen soldiers as heroes. not to mention the fact that just a little over 20 miles to the west of Belton lies Fort Hood: the largest military base in the world. James lived a relatively peaceful life with the Army until 2001. On September 1st, 2001, tragedy befell the nation of America. The Twin Towers in America were flown into, subsequently falling down. James had watched the second tower fall, and became appalled. He had to do something to avenge the 3,000 lives lost that day. In 2002, James got his wish. The unit he was with deployed to Iraq on May 3rd, 2002. Over the next 5 years, James would go back to Iraq 3 times. He didnt mind deployment. It was always much easier to go through then to be back home where his family would always nag him. "When are you getting married?" "When are you going to leave the military?" "Are you going back to college?" Yeah, it was much easier to go through a combat zone than to deal with that. On the evening of his 30th birthday, James was called up to headquarters. He was to give a back-brief of his most recent mission which had led to some civilian casualties. It was standard procedure, and james wasnt too worried. Any time a weapon was fired, a 15-6 had to be initiated. (Investigation). As James was heading up to HQ, something in the sky caught his eye. "What the..?" He says before feeling a blast of heat. the shockwave was so powerful it knocked him off his feet, and he felt warm on the entire left side of his body. To make matters worse, he had fallen into a crevice in the ground, and sand was caving in around him. "Im going to die here." He resolves as he realizes blood pools around him. The one thing that puzzled him was that there had been no rocket alarm. How could there have been such a massive attack when the Alarm did not go off? Underneath the sand, his vision is blurred, he can only feel pain, he can not hear, and it is hard to bleed. He was going to die in such a forsaken place. With the last of his strength, he reaches into his cargo pocket, pulling out a picture. In the picture is the image of his family. His wife on the left, Him in the middle, with his son and daughter on the right and center respectively. "I'm sorry I could not be there for your graduation, Lilly." His daughter was the oldest of his 3 children. At 15 years old, she would graduate in 3 years. As he begins to feel numb, he pulls out a peace of paper that he always kept on him. It was titled "Letters from your Soldier."

To my family:

If you are reading this, know that I did what I did for you:

Every day the sun sets in this place, I am reminded of our love and hue,

for while I fight, others live and die,

grow not weary knowing that it was my time too.

Sam, forgive me. I can not teach you how to shoot a gun.

Lilly, I love you. Make sure that your wedding dress sings to me in the heavens.

Mike, make me proud. you will be a great football player.

Sarah, my love, my life... Thank you for standing by my side all these years.

Even though I am leaving, I will always be with you all,

for the curtains only gently fall,

do not worry, and seek not my crystal ball,

I love you, and I always will.

your Soldier.

As James reads the last part of his stanza, he smiles. At least he had been able to write his goodbye. As he draws his last breath, he looks to the sky. "Give them a good life." He prays as he sits up with the last of his strength. He leans against the pillar as his eyes shut for good. James Shiuyoff had breathed his last.