Soft-Boiled Sergeant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soft-Boiled Sergeant is a short story by J. D. Salinger. Written before he had actually seen combat during World War II, "Soft-Boiled Sergeant" chronicles a young soldier's entry into the military.

The title refers to the good-natured Staff Sergeant whom the young soldier meets.

Despite its military setting and condemnation of "phoniness," this is primarily a story about love written at a difficult stage Salinger's personal life. It was originally titled "Death of a Dogface."