Entry for
's contest [link] based upon Half Life 2, inspired by the song Hero of War as listed in the contest rules. I hope it fits, even if I actually listened to the Half-Life soundtrack writing it instead 
One man dreams of being a soldier all his life. He lives with it as a goal, serving the government to get into the military.
He thinks he will become a hero.
I'd tried to make numerous entries but the ideas just died off. This one came to me recently and it lived long enough to get this far. My first Half-Life fic, so hopefully it's no Full Life Consequences.