It was almost June when the call came. The call saying my brother, Danny, was being deployed to Afghanistan I was hiding in my room as my brother made his way on down the hall. I didn’t want to say goodbye, and I was trying to deny there was a war and that he got the call. I watched him from my window, walking down the driveway. Then I ran down the stairway through the front door and I cried, “I’ll do anything you want, clean your room or wash your car. I’ll do anything so long as you don’t go!”  Danny turned around and saw the tears rolling down my face, he put his bag down and held his arms open. I ran and hugged him tight. As we pulled away he smile at me and said, “This is what brothers are for.”

I wrote him every night telling him about my days and how much I miss him. Life’s not the same without Danny here. We used to do everything together, we would go hunting and play baseball. But our favorite thing to do was to go fishing. Every Saturday morning Danny and I would get our fishing poles and walk down to the creek. We would spend hours out there fishing and joking around until mom called us in for dinner. He always included me in everything he did, even though I am seven years younger than him. We were the best of friends. But on September 11, 2001 the world stopped turning. It was the day there had been a terrorist attack on America. It was also the day my brother decided he needed to help out in any way he could. The very next day, Danny decided to become a navy seal.

It has been five months since Danny left, but it feels like it’s been a lifetime. Every day I sit in the same spot hoping for a letter but a few weeks ago they stopped coming. Mom tells me not to worry, and that the mail probably got mixed up but it’s hard not to. Later that night we got a call that changed everything…. Danny had been labeled missing in action.
We hoped and prayed but month after month went by and we didn’t hear anything. Eventually two years had passed and it seemed like everyone had given up home, except for me. I just knew that deep down he was out there somewhere. Finally, our prayers were answered. November 9, 2004 we got a call saying they found Danny and he was on a plane back home. The next day my mom and I went to go pick Danny up and finally bring him back home. As we pulled up I had to hold back my tears, when I saw him in a wheelchair on the shore. I jumped out of the car and ran and held him tight. Danny looked me in the eye and said, “I’m sorry that you have to push me home.” Tears filled my eyes and I said, “Hey, this is what brothers are for.”