John Fetterman

“ The pallbearers, crisp and polished in summer tans, folded the flag from the coffin and Sgt. Ritter handed it to the young widow, who had wept much, but spoken little, during the past three days.
Then the soldier's widow knelt beside the casket and said softly. "Oh, Little Duck."
Then they buried Little Duck beneath a bit of the land he died for.
The soldier is home, there beneath a flag in the front room. It is a time of shattering shock for a mother who weeps, and a time of unspeakable grief for a father who mourns and tries to explain the loss to one of the young kinfolk. ”

“ At the funeral they form an attentive congregation joining in a farewell.
The funeral ends with a long, solemn line of people who file past the coffin for a final farewell. . . a figure of Christ, arms outstretched, marks the Perry County cemetery where Pfc. Gibson is buried. . . for the mother, the brief graveside service is the end of the formal tribute, but not of the despair. . . for the young widow, it is a folded flag to keep and a final good-by to the soldier who will be long remembered in his community. ”

“ Honey, listen, if anything happens to me I want you to know that I love you very, very much and I want you to keep seeing my family the rest of their lives and I want you to know that you are a wonderful wife and that I'm very proud of you. ”