Swede
Loc: Trail, BC Canada
FROM: SNOPES.com (rumor has it)
True or not true, it still the thought that counts.
I think the fact that this bit of writing has been
moved on for 50 years speaks volumes.
FROM: The Library of Congress, Veterans History Project
Service History Note.
Roy Popkin served as Director of Public Relations at
the Brooklyn chapter of the American Red Cross throughout
World War II. During the Korean War, Popkin was the
Assistant Executive Director of the Brooklyn Red Cross Chapter.
In both capacities he was involved in such efforts as the
blood program and the Home Service.
Thank you Roy Popkin.
This particular account is not a true story, however, but rather a work of short fiction authored by Roy Popkin in 1964. It was published under the title "Night Watch" in the September 1965 edition of Reader's Digest and has subsequently been reprinted in a number of Chicken Soup for the ... Soul collections of inspirational pieces.
The mention of a "Mr. William Grey" and the plot point about the young Marine's having come to the hospital to inform Mr. Grey that his son had been killed in Iraq are more recent additions to this piece, tacked on by someone other than the original author to make the tale seem more topical and poignant. The original version concludes with the sentence "When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me."
I've read variations of this story - TV plots, too.
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