When We're All Used Up

Epilogue/Afterword

[January 12th, 1982]

Jordan and I walk into a bar and order some drinks and pretzels.
"How've you been Jordan?" I ask while tapping on the bar table.
"I'm doing alright I guess, things are pretty bad but hey, it could be worse. Ended up working in construction, head of the team too. Got myself a nice house but still no family or anything." He lays out his life after we left pretty easily. "What about you Anderson, or do you prefer Andy nowadays?" He says teasingly.
"It's still Anderson, and life's been going great so far, I'm a scientist, I own a house and I have a lovely wife and such a strong little man. So yeah, pretty great." I say, relatively unfazed.
"Great for you, I guess you got the long end of the stick." He says. "By the way, how'd you choose being a scientist, that's not really something I thought you'd be."
"It's the reason why I decided to bring you here, to respect the dead the way he would like us to. To meet up and talk, just like we used to when he was around." I say.
"Well, I would say that's mighty dumb but you went through leaps and bounds to make it here and to get me here too." He says in a tone that is both teasing and thankful. Our drinks arrive in glass bottles and I put my glass up in the air by my chest.
"To the lost ones, who never made it home." I say
"To the lost ones." He says, hitting his glass on mine.

[End]

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~~Afterword~~

The Vietnam War was a real event in American history, which showed the country how wrong a war could go without good planning and adaptation. The Vietnam War was an event that happened during the Cold War, a period of history following World War Two where NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), formed in 1949, and Capitalist countries were afraid of the looming power of the Warsaw Pact, formed in 1955, and Communist countries. There was no direct fighting between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Most wars, like the Vietnam War, were proxy wars, which is where a country instigates or supports a war without being directly involved. The major country backing the North Vietnamese government and military was the USSR. The Southern Vietnamese government and military were mostly backed by the United States. Before the U.S. officially entered the war in Vietnam, it just supplied South Vietnam, along with a handful of American troops. During the conflict, U.S. military officials attempted to resolve the conflict similarly to Korea, keeping the south Capitalist and the north Communist. However, it didn't work. The war ended in April 30, 1975, when NVA (North Vietnamese Army) tanks rolled through the gate of the presidential palace in Saigon (modern day Ho Chi Minh City). This was a devastating and humiliating defeat for the U.S., however, it taught vital lessons about "modern warfare" and how it could work.

Despite the Vietnam War and Cold War being true events, this novel is a work of fiction and should NEVER be substituted for first hand accounts or genuine research. Also, almost all situations and all characters have been created by me, S.C., and have not been based on any true story or soldier. Any resemblance to any true person is completely coincidental.

Finally, I would like to thank people who helped me through the creation of this novel including my family, V., and my close friends.

I hope you have enjoyed this novel. - Clantic/S.C.

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