There is a 16 year old boy. His name is Chris. He is 6’ even 162 pounds. He is a student in Wayne, Nebraska. He is a junior about mid-way through the year and he’s looking for the year to end. He didn’t know why he wanted school to end, but he just did. There was this teacher named Mr. Story. The two of them really didn’t get along. Chris wasn’t doing well in his class with Mr. Story so he stayed after class one day.

Mr. Story asked Chris “What do you want to do when you are older?”

Chris said “I want to follow my father’s steps and serve in the army as a soldier and make my way up in rank and eventually become a general.”

Mr. Story thought to himself and all of a sudden his face lit up. He said to “I have a project for you! I’m going to set up a letter for you to send to an Army soldier.”

Chris jumped on it. He was so excited he was going to write to a soldier. Mr. Story had a trick up his sleeve. Chris sent a letter to the soldier and in that letter he described himself to the soldier and how old he was, what grade he was in, he told him a little about his family, and he asked some question about the soldier. Some of the questions Chris asked were “How did you get involved with the army, what is your favorite thing about being a soldier?” He had so many other question but did want to make a fool of himself. He gave Mr. Story the letter and went home.

Mr. Story took Chris’s letter and put it in an envelop and added a letter he wrote himself.

About two weeks later the soldier receives the letter. The soldier’s name was Sergeant Johnson. The Sergeant read the teacher’s letter first then he read Chris's and wrote back to Chris. The letter said, Hi my favorite thing about being a soldier is knowing that people love us and knowing that they have the utmost respect for us. I got involved by my father he was a general. He has really inspired me to become the person I am today.

He wrote some other questions and told Chris about the normal days of a soldier and what they did. The two of them kept writing back and forth for about five months and then the Sergeant suddenly stopped sending messages back.

Chris was worried, so he sent three more messages to the Sergeant asking, What happened to you are you okay did you get shot did you get killed?

Chris finally got a message about two months later it was from Sergeant Johnson. In that letter, the Sergeant said, I’m fine I have just been in the hospital for the past couple of months. I was shot twice once in the leg and once in my upper right chest. I’m going to be fine. I will be getting shipped home very soon. I can’t wait to see my family. I have one son, he is your age and I also have a daughter that is 13. I going to be back home in 10 weeks.

They grew strong during the time that they talked to one another. They talked about girls, life, future plans.

Chris learned so much from Sergeant Johnson. They grew a bond like father and son. The end of the 10 weeks was nearing.

Sergeant Johnson sent his last letter to Chris. In the final letter Sergeant Johnson said, Dear Chris, I have had a good time writing you it has been fun learning about your life and your family. I enjoyed getting to know you and I hope I have gave you some good advice for the ladies. I wish i could come to meet you and talk about your future as a soldier. I will be arriving sometime in the next two weeks.

The sergeant folded up the letter put it in an envelope and licked it and shut it and then he put it in the mail. Later that day the sergeant gets a call he has to stay another week.The week drags on like it was a month in the sergeant's eyes he can’t wait until Friday only two more days.The two days seems like weeks in the sergeant’s eyes he is very excited for Friday. The week finally ends. The sergeant starts to pack up all of his guns and all of his cloths, and all the letters. Sergeant Johnson get on the plane to go home to his hometown Wayne, Nebraska. He arrives in Lincoln, Nebraska at 11:30pm so he just sleeps in his terminal. The next morning he is awakened by a random person.

The person sits down by him and asks “Him how it was over the and if it was the best choice for him and that they respect him.

The sergeant just nodded and said “yes it was the best decision of my life I'm proud to serve my country. He told the man it wasn’t easy over there we fought like h*ll and we lost some of are best friends.”

Then he got up and left he turned around and waved goodbye. The Sergeant went and tryed to rent a car but they just wouldn’t let him. So the Sergeant went on and found a bus and took the bus to the stop in West Point Nebraska. He got a hotel in West Point and stayed the night it was now Thursday and he had to wait until Friday to get bus ride Wayne. The soldier woke up the next morning and got ready to meet Chris. Sergeant Johnson goes and get on to the bus and heads to Wayne. Chris was waiting for the mailman for two weeks now. The mailman come he puts the envelope in the mail box.

Chris watches him leave. Once the mailman leaves he runs to the mailbox goes through all the letters and finds it the last letter. Chris goes inside and opens the letter he reads it and he see that sergeant johnson is coming. He finishes the letter and sits there asking how many weeks it has been then all of a sudden the doorbell rings. Once he hears it he runs down to the door and says who is it.

The person at the door says it’s Sergeant Johnson.

Chris hurries up and opens the door and he says dad!

Mr. Story was jogging down the street when he heard dad he just looked and smiled and keep on jogging with a big grin on his face.