"Last Day of the Last Furlough" is a short story written by American writer J. D. Salinger in 1944 and published in the July 15th issue of '' Saturday Evening Post''.J. D. Salinger: Seventy-Eight Bananas. William Wiegand. ''Chicago Review'', Vol. 11, No. 4 (Winter, 1958), pp. 3-19 It covers the last days of furlough for Babe Gladwaller before he is shipped off to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Babe spends most of the time with his little sister, Mattie, until his fellow soldier Vincent Caulfield comes over to spend the evening with them before departing in the morning. In this story, Vincent announces his brother Holden has been reported

Missing in Action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

. Babe and Mattie's relationship mirrors the future relationship between Holden and Phoebe in ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...

''.

References

1944 short stories Short stories by J. D. Salinger Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post {{1940s-story-stub