Quiet Shadows for String Quartet is my musical portrayal of four soldiers together on guard duty in Viet Nam.

Guard duty began while it was still daylight, late in the afternoon. One particular day I recall began as always, arriving at the bunker and inspecting the surroundings to try to become familiar with them before the fall of night. However, this bunker was situated near a very strangely-shaped tree, which I immediately sensed would fool me later into mistaking it for an enemy soldier. I tried to memorize its' shape, but, sure enough, when night fell, I knew that the tree trunk was a person. My apprehension overcame me and I shot up a flare. Rather than calming my fears, I continued to perceive other shapes as dangers in the darkness, which in the morning daylight proved only to be natural growths of nature in the jungle surroundings. I felt rather foolish until I shared my experience with the other soldiers on duty that night. They all confessed to having had the same thoughts and feelings about what was out there, in front of us.