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Show 25-4 "Dishonest? In what way?" "I happen to know a little about the kind of wounds men received in the Civil War and a great deal about the kind they received in the last one. A monument that shows men standing, whole and strong, with all their limbs, does little to remember men who died in any condition but that. Have you been out to St. John's lately, Reverend Bingham?" "Yes, I was there last week. I have several men there I visit regularly." The minister spoke sharply. Then he got up and walked around the chairs and back to the piano where John still stood. He turned and faced my parents. The tidy group around the fire was shattered now, only my father and Mr. Glade still sitting. I was tired of crouching on the steps but didn't dare move. I slowly pulled my legs out from under me and tried to get more comfortable. "What you want then is some horrible depiction of wounded and dying? Is that it? How would that comfort the families of those who died?" "You seem to want to wallow in the suffering that was endured, instead of the heroism? Isn't the latter what we want to remember?" Reverend Bingham turned to John who stood in the shadows at the window. "How about it, John? You told me this evening that you didn't agree with your sister. That you were in favor of the monument to Paul." "I don't know." He hesitated. I could barely see him at the end of the dim room but I could hear his voice. "Maybe a monument would be nice, Katherine. You know, for Mom and Dad. With Paul's name on it. I'm proud of Paul, and all the others. They were heroes, like Reverend Bingham says." John stepped forward, into the light from the fire. I could see him now and hear him more plainly. "And he was just carrying on a family tradition, you know, Grandpa Wayne in the GAR . . . at Shiloh." |