Day is done...

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(Edited)

My fingers traced the neat lines of his dress whites, laid out on the bed, steam pressed for the last time, not a crease out of place. Then, bending over, I pinned the Medal of Honour over the left breast pocket and stepped back momentarily to admire it.

Minerva stood strong and defiant in the middle of the five-pointed red brass star.

The medal was the highest mark of personal valour that military personnel could receive, and so it was fitting that it now lay across his heart.


Tim always looked dashing in his uniform and I was determined that today would be no different! He was going to spend his last moments with his platoon in style.

The day had been planned meticulously, right down to the last detail. They say that every good soldier deserves a little R&R from time to time, and Tim was no different. It was the end of an era.


As the sun cast long shadows, broken, we bid our final farewells. My thoughts drifted, as trembling hands gripped the tightly folded tear-stained cloth, its white stars pointing upwards to the Heavens. The honour guard retreated gracefully, the heaviness in my heart matched only by that of his casket being lowered into the ground. I managed a weak smile. At least he was properly dressed for the occasion.

A lone bugler cut a solemn figure on the hill and in that moment I was reminded of our raison d'etre. I offered up a silent prayer as the sounding of Taps rang out; the bugle, melancholic and full, its hauntingly beautiful notes destined to stir my heart forever.

While the light fades from sight,
And the stars' gleaming rays softly send,
To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.
From the Taps lyrical accompaniment by Horace Lorenzo Trim

Click to listen now Taps

This 5-minute freewrite is in response to the prompt medal issued on Tuesday, 1st August 2023. You can find the post here

I set the timer for 5 minutes and wrote. At the end of the 5 minutes, I used my thought flow created during those 5 minutes as the basis for a short story.

My wonderful partner for the August Dreemport challenge is @fredaa. She is a new Hiver. Please support her by taking a read here of her personal 5 Minutes Freewrite: Medal

Resources

Day is done title is from the first line of the lyrical accompaniment to Taps.

Header image created in Canva Pro using:

Abstract flag of the USA by Pratchaya on Canva Pro, and
Naval ceremony by Pixhook on Canva Pro

Infinity divider created using Canva Pro library.

Taps instrumental from Wikimedia Commons

This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.

The twenty-four notes of the Taps instrumental is a revision by General Daniel Butterfield of an earlier bugle call. source

Medal of Honour

Military Funerals in the United States

Raison d'etre definition

Dreemport banner used with permission of @dreemsteem and @dreemport and designed by @jimramones

hive-161155 freewrite dailyprompt vyb proofofbrain teamuk thealliance ecency fiction scholarandscribe
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54 comments
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Interesting read @samsmith1971 yiu must have developed a story writing skills. Just passing by decided to stop with your title.

Thanks

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Thanks so much, @josedam. I appreciate you stopping by... !PIZZA

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Hehe 🤗, thanks seems you just got a time to reply your comment

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I have been playing catch-up for the past few weeks... I am almost up to date! These things happen occasionally !LOLZ Apologies for the delayed response.😊

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Ohh, I totally understand. Thanks it feels good Meeting with you 😊

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Wow, what a nice approach @samsmith1971 . I was wondering how you could stay within the context of the time , hehe 😀 still reads nicely.

People who finds true success doesn't achieve it by accident.

Thanks.

#dreemport #dreemerforlife

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hi @seunruth Yeah I like to use 5 minute freewrites as a the starting point for short stories. So I will have an idea of where I want to go with something and then just freewrite for 5 minutes and let thoughts flow... then I pull it all together afterward into a short story. Thank you for popping in to read it! !LUV

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sounds nice. Thanks for the reply

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Beautiful heartfelt prose with delicate flourishes 🙂

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When military personnels are laid to rest, it's always a moment of great honor. This was an absolutely amazing read.

I came in through #dreemport.

#dreemerforlife.

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Thank you for popping in and enjoying it, Wongi !Alive

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Interesting read @samsmith1971, you did a great job with the prompt. Thanks for the opportunity given me to work with you on this challenge 😊

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Your stories always stir emotion and this one is no different.

!DHEDGE

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aw thank you Melinda, I appreciate your kindness. I just enjoy the whole process of writing. If other people enjoy it then that makes me happy too 💗 !LUV !Hug

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This post has been selected for upvote from our token accounts by @melinda010100! Based on your tags you received upvotes from the following account(s):

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Undoubtedly a talented writer. Another great read! Thanks for sharing.

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That is some really good five minutes here!! Always in awe of your work!!!

#Dreemerforlife

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Um... a little more than 5 minutes, hahaha but 5 minutes started it all! !PIZZA

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Very touching, a proper sendoff for a real hero...

Well done as always ♥️

!PIZZA !ALIVE !LOL

This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project

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@samsmith1971! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @wrestlingdesires. (2/10)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want, plus you can win Hive Power and Alive Power delegations and Ecency Points in our chat every day.

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(Edited)

PIZZA!

$PIZZA slices delivered:
samsmith1971 tipped ma3str0
samsmith1971 tipped deraaa
@samsmith1971(13/15) tipped @wrestlingdesires
wrestlingdesires tipped samsmith1971
samsmith1971 tipped josedam
samsmith1971 tipped coinjoe

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steam pressed for the last time, not a crease out of place

That is beautiful writing Sam

Had to read that couples times:) It you do that in '5 minutes', I cannot imagine, what can happen if you will have whole day on your hands :)

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haha... I did the basis of it in a 5 minute free write and then spent a couple of hours editing, cleaning up, researching for accuracy etc... but thank you💗 !LUV

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I never knew there were more words to Taps!

I love your take on medal. It's such a beautiful reminder of the dedication and sacrifice by so many of our men and women who defend their countries.

I long for the day when they are no longer needed to give up their lives for us all!!

I waited to comment until I could comment nicely hehehehe. I wasn't even incapacitated in any way when I wrote my post yesterday....except with anxiety....and it was riddled with errors...hehehe they've been fixed I think!!! but thankfully my phone stayed far away from me yesterday re:hive 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I think I'm good now though hahahahahaha

love you my Sammy girl. Thank you for being you always. I'm blessed beyond measure every day for having you in my life💕

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I didn't even know that Taps had any words! And they are quite beautiful. They were written afterward by H.L. Trim as an accompaniment to the score.

I really enjoyed this long short write 💗😂 - given the context of the piece, probably a good thing you waited to comment hehe but there is a part of me that thinks... I would have loved to have seen your comment if it had been last night... haha adfjk... jakkhd 🤣...

Thank you for this beautiful one that you left this morning 💗

I love you too. Always the beginning... 💞

!LUV !Hug

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