A Soldier

Francis Kong in his book, “Life’s Work”

 A soldier who was finally coming home after having fought long and hard in Vietnam called his parents from San Francisco. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I have a favor to ask. I’d like to bring home a friend with me.” “Sure,” they replied. “We’d love to meet him.” 

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued. “He was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a landmine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.” “I am sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help find him a place to live.” 

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.” “Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden to us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.” 

The son hung up the phone, and the parents heard nothing from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son died after falling from a building. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they did not know… their son had only one arm and leg.