Inspired by the true story of what Eugene Sledge did after his time in the pacific theatre.

After the war, Eugene couldn't bring himself to hurt a fly. He and his father went out hunting the week after he returned from war- and he bawled his eyes out at the sight of a dead dove. Sweet. Innocent. Turned a bloody mess. He vowed to never make himself feel the pain of taking a life again. He wanted to leave death behind. Despite his lack of enjoyment for hunting, he still loved nature- the forest outside their lavish house, the pond where he fished as a child, the birds chirping each morning, the willow tree he sat under drinking iced tea. He started taking long walks through the forest, usually following the little stream. Sometimes he'd sit and watch the tadpoles swim, each day a step closer to frog. Sometimes he'd climb a tree to reax. Sometimes he'd wait until night and see if he could get the coyotes to howl back like when he was little. He quickly found he loved birds. His mama bought him a pair of binoculars and a little bird guide, and he went off and found all kinds almost daily. He loved it- He wrote down little notes and would follow them as if his friends. Today, he went out to the woods with his dog, a sweet barking beagle named Andy. He and Andy went out to sit by the muddy stream, opposite of a tree with a birds nest. He had the luck of seeing a mother bird tend to her eggs, which he found neat, and would try and go there daily to see the mama bird or watch the eggs inevitably hatch. He was happy.