Civilian

With the war overseas still raging, the inevitable happened — Jennifer Griffin received her draft notice. Her grandparents and parents were upset – she, however, was ecstatic.

Soon Jen, as she was known to her friends and family, was off to the Marine Corps Training Center at Parris Island.  It would be nearly four months before she’d be allowed leave to visit her family.

The two-weeks passed quickly and before anyone realized it – the time had come for her to board the bus for the long journey to her new duty site. Her mother and father, grandparents and even her younger brother came to the station to see her off.

They continued to wave, cry and watch as the brakes on the bus released and it began to move. It had gone about a thousand yards when it suddenly pulled to the side of the road and stopped.

Everyone gazed in wonder as the vehicle slowly backed up, returning to the station. It seemed like an eternity until the doors opened and Jen stepped out.

She looked over the crowd she’d jus’ left, “Damned my rotten luck! The war’s over.”

Jennifer Griffin still had four-years to fulfill to the Corps before she could again call herself a “civilian.”