Aware of the fraud but not of the true identify, the army buried "Heart" as an unknown hero.
A few of his fellow solders had this to say about immediately after his death:
That guy saved my life. I had armed a mine, and it was his quick thinking that saved my legs. As I stood there on that bomb I sweat, but he was calm; told me some story he said he herd of about some guy who had figured out how to walk a mine field with out an explosion. Told me we would see the people we loved once again. I thought he had made it up as he went along. I thought he was all talk, just to make me feel better. Used all kinda metaphors [if that's what you call it], I didn't believe him. We should have died trying, but he saved my life.
James W. Daniels
I didn't trust the kid, he never had too much to say about his past. I figured he was some kinda fugitive or something. Anyone who has no family to talk about, no friends, no broads... Well that's someone who you just don't trust.Denis H. Bradshaw
That kid was a fucking child, and that screwed us all. I don't get with that artsy shit.Louis Michaels
I thought we'd have died a long time ago. He was my sanity, and the fact that he could listen made me trust him. I never knew exactly what he was about., He would tell me that there were deeper meanings to the things he said. Even though he was a bit internal, I didn't push it. I always knew he was thinking about each word. I understood why he was over there, he was a patriot. Despite what everyone said I don't think he had a death wish like the rest of us. He had a goal, a reason to come home.Trent James Walker
Rhames family had giving up on late night vigils outside their 1 bedroom tailor.
Statement by his mother:
I just want my son to come home. We had a fight, and I thought I drove him away. we're moving on, but we just don't want.. [crying]
Sarah Rhames
Rhames disappearance remained unsolved for a year and several months until a young woman named Jessica Anna Whitman had confessed to knowing the mystery of his disappearance. She calmed to be his girlfriend, having known him for only 2 weeks after meeting while he attended recruitment camp.
Later Trent James Walker had come forward, admitting that Rhames had trusted him with his secret life.
He asked me to promise to write to her. I didn't know much about him, but when he was bleeding out he gave me a name. Jessie and I exchanged letters throughout the end of my tour, mostly talking about the guy we never knew. When I recovered from my injury, the first thing I did was take her out for coffee. She was a wreck; I knew this girl had promised her life to him and was determined to wait as long as it took for his return.Trent James Walker
Freeman declined a full interview, she simply stated:
He told me he would come back, I knew he was gonna leave me. He promised he wouldn't forget me, and when he returned I would be the first to know..Jessica Anna Whitman
Rhymes's body was resurrected, and identified by emotional family members. They denied any knowledge of Witman existence. The army awarded Timothy Vincent Rhames with the Purple Heart, and on the day his body returned to Reynoldsburg, Trent J. Walker had spend $0.40 on coffee for 2..
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