Plot Bunny #1: Book Blurb

I guess that I've become too practiced in the art of chasing away plot bunnies, because as soon as I signed up for the Plot Bunny Challenge, all inspiration left me till today.
But in any case, I have a bunny now.  I was thinking about characters who place their patriotism above all else, and about how in general those characters have friends who are either on their side or don't care.
Then I thought--what if there was a person who'd taken duty to country too far or had been driven mad by it?  And what if that person had a friend who hated what he'd become?
Without further ado, here's the back blurb for what I'm temporarily calling Love From A Dying Friend:
James and Edward have been best friends since they were both five and discovered they shared a birthday.  When America joins the Great War, they are both determined to do their best for the country they love.
But just before Edward turns eighteen, he is told he is dying of consumption.  Forced to stay behind when James goes to war, his life is shattered, with no prospect of hope.
James, disillusioned on the battlefield, funnels all his rage and suffering into patriotic fervor that slowly destroys his conscience and his heart.
Life has lost all joy for these two boys, men before their time--but there's a God watching over them, and He has other things in mind for the sick and the soldier than despair.

It's going to be in epistolary form--I thought it might fit the plot and I've always wanted to try one. ;)  I'll be back with the first scene tomorrow!