A soldier is portrayed as someone who became what others did not want to be, went where others feared to go, did what others failed to do, asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly accepted the possibility of eternal loneliness if he failed. He speaks of seeing terror, feeling fear, tasting a moment's love, crying, hurting, hoping, and living through times others would say were best forgotten, while taking pride in being a soldier. The account also lists military action deaths and wounded from the Revolutionary War through the Persian Gulf War, including figures for conflicts such as the Indian Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and later actions, with a grand total of 1,312,827 deaths and 1,541,278 wounded.