The Messenger Page #3

Sir, tell me.

Oh, why? Oh, no,

please, God, no! My, God, why?

- What's going...

- I have bad news, Mrs. Burrell.

The Secretary of the Army has asked me to

express his deepest regret...

...that your son,

Private First Class Leroy Burrell...

No, no, no!

You got to go! You got to go!

- I'm very sorry, Mrs. Burrell.

- No. Listen. No!

That's my baby. That's my baby.

We can't do this right...

- Your son was killed yesterday...

- Monica... Oh, my God! My house is a mess.

- A Casualty Assistance...

- No! Don't you say that about my baby!

Don't you say that about my baby!

- I'm very sorry for your loss, ma'am.

- No! Make him go!

A Casualty Assistance Officer

will contact you shortly...

- To help you arrange for the funeral.

- Tell him to stop saying that!

We left them with the next-door neighbor.

- How'd she take it?

- Hard. Very hard.

- Okay.

- Yep.

We'll be there by 1000 hours.

All right, thanks. Good luck.

CAO is on the way.

No such thing as a satisfied customer.

Ice cream! Ice cream!

Ice cream! Ice cream!

Double whiskey, please.

- Hot water and lemon?

- And a glass of ice.

I'm in AA, if you're asking.

Been sober three years. Mind you, I never

drank anything stronger than pop.

Of course, my pop would drink

just about anything.

Oh, they tell them to get ready

when their kids deploy...

...but they never really listen, do they?

Soldiers go to war

and everyone waves flags and applauds...

...look at charts, study strategies,

have "informed opinions. "

And then bullets fly and soldiers die

and it's such a shock.

F*** that! What did they think

it was gonna be like, Fear Factor?

- Where'd you see action?

- Desert Storm/Desert Shield.

Never got a crack at Enduring Freedom

or Iraqi Freedom, much to my chagrin.

Wasn't much of a war, but...

I got my baptism too.

You weren't the only one getting shot at.

So they say you saved your buddies.

You want to know what I think?

I think they ought to show

every goddamn funeral on TV, live.

Have the president come

around from time to time and eulogize...

...the vice president, get people used to it.

I mean, are we at war or not?

- Thank you.

- Sure thing.

- Let me know if you guys need anything else.

- Oh, you know it already, Emily.

I'd like to strap her on and wear her like

a government-issue gas mask.

- I got my sights on her, so don't even go there.

- Roger that.

Lfigure I could play

the sensitivity card.

Tell her what my day was like

down in death valley.

Then again, sympathy backfires...

...she'll never leave.

Trust me, I've been married three times.

Twice to the same woman.

So now you know what the mission is.

Yeah.

Hey, if you're not cut out for it...

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