Rest Easy, Private Giacobbe

On his daily summer treks to Lac des Cloches, young Malinconico would often take a shortcut on foot through woods and brush off the Gant Town road. Right off the roadway, he would notice some sort of arched sign that was rusted and slowly being encroached by the growing foliage.
  Upon inspection, it mentioned a man’s name — a self-professed memorial of sorts.
  As he further pawed his way through the thicket, he noticed a rusting swing set, apparently forgotten through the decades.
  Even as a nine-year-old, it troubled him — this was something built in memory of someone, yet it was obviously becoming forgotten.
  And yet in reality, the context was not that of ‘decades’ past, but of a mere five or six years most recent. Remember — these were the years when the louche mores of shifting times took precedence over tradition and observance.
  And as the miles distanced themselves from young Malinconico through the years, this disrespectful image remained a stone in his shoe.
  With the advent of the Internet Crystal Ball, Malinconico dug deep enough to uncover the actual story:

  Local boy gets drafted to go to war, only to be killed by Friendly Fire within three months.

  Poor devil.
  Jeez, [local] folks, how much effort does it take to maintain a remembrance of a fallen son?

  Fortunately, years later, with the help of said Internet Crystal Ball, news came forth that some township folks made the endeavour to clean up, spruce up, enhance and maintain the young soldier’s memorial.
  It gives one hope.

  Rest easy, Private Giacobbe.