Not to Keep follows the lives of five young friends as they grow from their shared childhood in the woods and swamps of North Central Florida through their experiences in WW1 and their return home from war. Their story weaves through the history of America’s reception of returning WWI vets as they experience the Bonus Army in Washington D.C. and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Due to the lack of care and concern shown to WWI veterans, we now have the Veterans Administration. There has been progress made in the last one hundred years, but there is room for more progress. While we as a nation, as individuals, and as churches, send young men and women off to fight our battles overseas, we do not receive them for who they become through this experience. My hope is that in these pages readers will connect with this group of young men. In that connection, may they go back to their communities and show patience and compassion for veterans and Goldstar families.