Hail the Conquering Hero

The story

Having been discharged from the Marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith delays the return to his hometown, feeling that he is a failure. While in a moment of melancholy, he meets up with a group of Marines who befriend him and encourage him to return home to his mother by fabricating a story that he was wounded in battle with honorable discharge.

• #allergies
• #honorable
• #taken under wing
• #reluctant hero
• #military discharge
• #truth
• #false pretenses
• #hero
• #hero's fall
• #satire
• #lie
• #hero worship