Sitting inside the smoky room, the Glen and Lt. Colonel Simms kept silent and evaluated the last few hours as Glen had told his story.

Glen sighed and folded his arms. Looking down at the ground, he felt confused by the emotions that had swept over him the days he was gone.

Simms was silenced by the sheer emotion in which Glen had possessed and expressed to him. It was surely a different story than what he’d been faced with in the past, and now that it was over, Simms couldn’t make heads or tails of anything he had just heard.

He felt the cold ferocity of war clinging to his ears, melding one with his inner self. Simms was viewed as an unbiased, untested man who simply traveled and listened to other’s stories of war… rather than experiencing them himself.

Now he was being faced with a test of morals.

Should he tell Glen of his real purpose or keep his keep his intent silent. His orders were to never tell the soldiers of his true responsibility, but to only listen to their stories and report back the truth.

However, Glen had moved him thoroughly with immense power.

The feelings that escaped his lips, the numerous times that a tear rolled down Glen’s cheek, or when Glen had begun to completely weep. They were all very real things in which Lt. Colonel Simms took to heart.

He couldn’t let himself leave without telling Glen the truth.

Glen looked back up to Simms and stared him straight in the eye. The last few hours, he was forced to conjure up recent experiences he wished he never known. He was put through a hell and forced to recollect it no matter how much he wished against it. Glen noticed as Simms bit his lip nervously, almost as if he was at a dilemma of conscience.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he felt best not to ask. Perhaps it was Glen’s own yearning to never say another word or not put an Officer in an awkward position. Either way, he stayed quiet.

“Glen,” Lt. Colonel Simms said softly. “That was quite…”

Simms hesitated before labeling Glen’s time away from his fellow soldiers.

“That was quite… something, I’ll say.”

Glen was confused as to what his reply should be. Not testing his luck, he stayed quiet and let Simms continue.

“Now, the reason of you telling your story to me is not for a debriefing,” said Simms before letting his voice trail off.

Glen’s eyes closed; he was emotionally, mentally, and physically drained. He feared the chance of being court martialed, humiliated, and sent home because the officers felt that he couldn’t mentally cut it.

Going home to the daunting face of his father, who may as well have a screw-up for a son.

“Sir, I can make it,” Glen pleaded his sanity. “I’m healthy now, I can still fight.”

Lt. Colonel Simms simply shook his head and rested his hands on his knees.

“Glen,” Simms spoke quietly. “I’m not sending you home.”

Glen felt his lungs exhale and the sense of panic leave his body, but now he was left with a feeling of curiosity. What was Lt. Colonel Simms here for?

“Then Sir, if I may ask, what is your purpose?”

“Glen, I work for the Investigation Council that awards high caliber medals. I was sent here to determine if you were worthy of the Medal of Honor. Folks from your base contacted my superiors, telling them that they had a boy from Memphis who survived in hostile territory for three days alone. That alone could get you a medal like this, and with your story…I’ll make sure that you are a war hero to everyone in America.”

Glen’s eyes grew in surprise.

This was too much for him, and he was starting to feel dizzy sitting down.

“Your story is the kind that gives people hope in this war, in their boys in Vietnam. So, to the question of you still fighting in this war, you bet your ass that you’ll still fight. We need it to prove that even after everything you’ve gone through, you’re still fighting for your country.”

Glen tried to comprehend the truth behind Lt. Colonel Simms.

“Glen, I have to go in about ten minutes with my chopper,” Simms said before stood up, which prompted Glen to do the same. “But I’ll make sure you have that Medal of Honor.”

Barely aware of what was happening, Glen shook Lt. Colonel Simms hand and saluted him. Simms smiled and left the room at a brisk pace, obviously in a rush to contact his superior officer. The truth felt more shocking that the realization of everything he’s been through.

He felt nearly betrayed that Simms may give out the bitter emotions and experiences that he went through while he was alone in the jungle.

Then Glen’s thoughts became broad and abstract: his story would become well-known, and everyone in America would have the opportunity to judge him.

Would they understand this soldier’s tale?

Could they?