Contents (45)
- DULCE ET DECORUM EST
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- CONTENTS
After several seconds of silence, George shifted nervously in his place beside him.
“You did this?” Thomas asked.
“Well, yeah,” George said, wary of his friend’s reaction to his surprise. “I’ve been working on it for a while.”
When Thomas remained silent, staring at the memorial, George glanced over at Charlie, who shrugged.
“I won some money playing cards with a group of miners in town,” George continued. “Made enough to buy the marble. The chap who carves the gravestones for St. Paul’s cemetery agreed to carve and inscribe the memorial if I helped around his shop for a few months. I wanted it done before we launched King George. It’s quite heavy. Thankfully, Mr. Bartlett let me borrow a cart and pony from the mine to haul it up here. I got it in place just as Eton arrived.”
Without taking his eyes off the memorial, Thomas nodded.
“I just thought maybe you needed a place to visit your brother. You know, a place where James can watch over you as Sullivan Brothers Shipping sails the Channel.” He glanced over at Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan and the twins. “Where he can watch over all of you.”
His eyes glistening with grief and gratitude, Mr. Sullivan nodded, but when Thomas still didn’t respond, George stepped closer to his friend and whispered. “I can take it down if you don’t like it.”
Thomas’s eyes welled with tears. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
A relieved smile spread across George’s face. “You’re welcome.” He then turned to Frederick. “Eton, didn’t you bring a surprise for the Sullivans too?”
“Yes.” Frederick stepped before Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. “My mother had hoped to join my father and me here today, but unfortunately she was called away to London. She did, however, ask me to extend her condolences for your loss and her appreciation for your family’s sacrifice.”
“Thank you, Frederick,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We are grateful for everything you and your family have done to try to find our James.”
Frederick pulled a thick envelope from his coat pocket. “Although the army was unable to recover your son, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, my father was able to learn what happened to him.”
Frederick’s words tore Thomas’s attention away from his brother’s memorial. “You know what happened to James?”
Frederick nodded and handed Mrs. Sullivan the envelope. “This contains the sworn testimonies of twelve Allied soldiers: six Brits, two Canadians, two Aussies, one Belgian, and one French, all of whom were held as prisoners of war with your son on the German front line.”
The envelope trembled in Mrs. Sullivan’s hand as silent sobs shook through her. Thomas reached out and took her other hand as Frederick continued.
“Each testimony states that your son’s actions early in the morning of June 7, 1917, saved the lives of all twelve prisoners of war.”
General Chamberlain stepped beside his son and addressed Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. “When Frederick told me of George’s plans to present you with this memorial, I asked if I might join him today to meet your family.” He took a small box from his coat pocket. “Over the last two years, I have had the privilege to meet the families of many of Britain’s most courageous soldiers. Men who, like your son James, gave everything on the fields of battle to protect crown and country.” He opened the box and took out a medal. A square bronze cross hung suspended from a wine-red ribbon and bronze bar. The cross bore the image of a crown and a lion, along with the words For Valor.