An old man looks back on his boyhood idolization of a soldier he sees in the parade - until his hero is forced off the pedestal after trying to steal a prized horse from the boy's father.

During WWII, a lieutenant's death prompts his father to plan an unnecessarily theatric funeral. The late lieutenant's brother is disgusted, knowing the dead man would have hated such an empty gesture.

In an attempt to impress his emotionally distant father, a boy ridicules his mother, who has loved him unconditionally even in his father's absence. Wracked with guilt, he yearns for her forgiveness - only to find that she does not hold it against him.