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Echo Taps
Most of the Greatest Generation didn’t discuss their own war heroism. Her beloved elderly uncle died before he could explain why.
Kelly has just begun interviews for her special newspaper section in honor of upcoming Veterans Day, but she struggles to understand some of the larger issues of the war experience. Her boyfriend Mitch has a few insights, but he was never in combat.
Out of the blue, Kelly begins having flashbacks to heartwarming experiences with her beloved Uncle Edgar, a World War II veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack… but he’s been dead almost twenty years. Kelly also believes she’s hearing messages from her deceased Aunt Mildred, who took her in after Kelly’s parents died.
Kelly is aware that siblings Mildred and Edgar (very close in age) were rumored to have had a nearly telepathic connection with each other, and she knows her mother (born considerably later than Kelly’s aunt and uncle) had some extrasensory perception. But did Kelly inherit any of those special senses?
Are Uncle Edgar and Aunt Mildred truly reaching back from beyond to help Kelly understand these complex issues? Or is Kelly just now remembering things long forgotten?
Why did Uncle Edgar tell the young family members such a different version of his actual experiences on December 7, 1941? Will Kelly’s key interview with the American Legion Post commander just confuse her more… or help pull all these threads together?
Kelly has just begun interviews for her special newspaper section in honor of upcoming Veterans Day, but she struggles to understand some of the larger issues of the war experience. Her boyfriend Mitch has a few insights, but he was never in combat.
Out of the blue, Kelly begins having flashbacks to heartwarming experiences with her beloved Uncle Edgar, a World War II veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack… but he’s been dead almost twenty years. Kelly also believes she’s hearing messages from her deceased Aunt Mildred, who took her in after Kelly’s parents died.
Kelly is aware that siblings Mildred and Edgar (very close in age) were rumored to have had a nearly telepathic connection with each other, and she knows her mother (born considerably later than Kelly’s aunt and uncle) had some extrasensory perception. But did Kelly inherit any of those special senses?
Are Uncle Edgar and Aunt Mildred truly reaching back from beyond to help Kelly understand these complex issues? Or is Kelly just now remembering things long forgotten?
Why did Uncle Edgar tell the young family members such a different version of his actual experiences on December 7, 1941? Will Kelly’s key interview with the American Legion Post commander just confuse her more… or help pull all these threads together?
55 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 24, 2013
4 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Salter
37 books30 followersPublished in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
Retired library administrator; previously a photo-journalist; veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Husband, father, and grandfather.
Retired library administrator; previously a photo-journalist; veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Husband, father, and grandfather.
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November 12, 2014
A well-written short novella that explores the psychology of military sacrifice in soldiers who've returned home. It's not a war story per se, no battles or guns, more a slow and deliberate case study. Because it centers on the memories of a little girl, remembering her deceased Greatest Generation uncle, there's a raw poignancy, especially at the end. Perfect for Veterans Day.
Displaying 1 of 1 review