A Bullet Shell of a Memory

Format: Kindle

Synopsis

Michael Fox is watching his brother in arms, Robert, being lowered into the ground. It is his funeral and Michael is overwhelmed with grief. A memory flutters into his mind of his first time going over the trench. Then it travels to Robert and him fighting side by side in the war. Michael tries to understand what they gave up while fighting for God, King, and Country.

Inspiration

My inspiration for this short story was an image in my head of a British soldier with brass knuckles and bayonets in his hands. He was running through the cratered mud of no man's land, trying to get to the enemy's trench. Then, I began to think about the man’s struggle during the war and how it would have affected him later in life. I also thought about what he would have sacrificed as a youth being dragged into the war and all of the memories of his friends that had or had not made it home. I have noticed that there aren't many stories written about WWI because it was such a horrible war. Being a history major, I felt the need to write a story about a generation of people that was slaughtered unnecessarily and that everyone seems to forget.