Joe Bonham

Joe Bonham is the protagonist of 's 1939 novel , his 1971 , and the 1989 song "".
In the film, he was played by as an adult, and Kerry MacLane as a ten-year-old.
==Biography==
Joe was an American soldier serving in until he is caught in the blast of an exploding artillery . Next thing he knows, he wakes up in a hospital bed with a mask on, before gradually realising that his arms and legs are all gone, as well as his facial features (eyes, ears, nose, teeth, and tongue).
However, his mind continues to function as normal, leaving him in his own body. After processing this grim realisation, he attempts to commit suicide by means of suffocation. However, he soon finds out that a had been performed on him, which he is unable to manipulate.
Joe initially wants to just die, but he later has the idea to be placed in a glass box and toured around the country in order to show others the true horrors of war. Through months of banging his head on his pillow in morse code, he is able to communicate his wish to military personnel. However, the military will not grant his wishes, as it is "against regulations".
When Joe is given this news, he repeats "kill me" over and over again as he pleads to be . He ultimately realises that neither wish can be granted for him, and he will be left in a state of living death. The sympathetic nurse that he had bonded with over his time in the hospital attempts to kill him by clamping his breathing tube, but she is stopped by her supervisor.
As Joe is soon left alone, he realises that he will probably never be released from his state of entrapment, and it is implied that Joe will live the rest of his natural life in his condition. As he drifts between reality and fantasy, he remembers his old life with his family and girlfriend, and reflects upon the myths and realities of war, weakly chanting, "S.O.S. Help me..."
Category:Male
Category:Damsels
Category:Book Heroes
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Suicidal
Category:War Heroes
Category:Military
Category:Tragic
Category:In Love
Category:Dark Fantasy Heroes
Category:Theatrical Heroes
Category:Unwanted
Category:Unseen
Category:Mentally Ill
Category:Dreaded