 Why does Terry's mom not want them to bring back his remains?
She stood motionless in the garden, one hand pressed against her heart, watching him rise above the fields where he had played as a boy, where he had worked as a young man; and she wondered whether he was thinking of those fields now, whether he was thinking of her standing alone in the April night with her memories; whether he was thinking of the verandahed house behind her, with its empty rooms and silent halls, that once upon a time had been his birthplace. What could she say when the suave young man came up to her and said, "We want you to know that we're all very proud of your boy up there, ma'am, and we hope you'll do us the honor of answering a few questions." A few of the questions concerned herself: Was Terry her only child? What did she think of the new law granting star mothers top priority on any and all information relating to their sons? It's too bad they couldn't have shown similar humanity toward the war mothers of World War II.") It was late in the afternoon by the time the TV crew got everything repacked into their cars and trucks and made their departure. Martha fixed herself a light supper, then donned an old suede jacket of Terry's and went out into the garden to wait for the sun to go down. According to the time table the general had outlined in his first telegram, Terry's first Tuesday night passage wasn't due to occur till 9:05.
 She wishes to continue the ritual of greeting him every night when she looks to the sky
 She knows that her son would not find it practical to return to Earth  She knows that it will not be physically possible for them to return him to Earth  She cannot bear to see the tainted carcass of her beloved son  She wishes to continue the ritual of greeting him every night when she looks to the sky