My dear Pal…….
Tonight the beginning of the end. The war shall soon cease. The occasional proof of the large guns mingled with the bark of the smaller ones are but the first to toll the knell of Mars….going to rest. It is dark. The gliding breeze softly twirls through the tree tops glad to hear the tidings near and afar that peace is coming. Two white roses outside my door are but living to see the day and having seen, die. The shell pitted earth, scarred almost beyond recognition has turned it’s weary cheek to be smitten again, but this time in gladness because it is to be the last. Mars shall die. Peace on earth, good will to men. But there is a tinge of sadness throughout for on the morrow………yea, even tonight, the price must be paid. Tonight the small stream of rich red blood shall begin to swell til a raging torrent makes it’s crevice in mother earth, which wrinkle neither tomorrow, sun, nor rain shall ere erase, tomorrow……..the day never to be forgotten. Afar off, a murmuring rumble, near………the chatter of a solitary machine gun. The earth shakes and the crash of a shell……..all……….for tomorrow. The old monster afar back again proves slim……..and a steel message grimly sails afar over, telling them that we are coming. The baby cannon is quiet, gone to rest, for it must be up early………for there is much work to be done on the morrow. Everything is ready. The aviator….tired with long days of picture taking rests together with his fighting partners. The bombers with laden machines await, but the coming hour tomorrow……….tomorrow. Nights jet black cloak covers all with it’s morning veil. She is sad, for tomorrow she lifts her veil only to cover once more her many dead. Tonight she clings to these who leave tomorrow. Just one night. How many she knows not, but there will be many. She shudders, she fears, her sons asleep…….awake……know, but do they fear? They are brave. The walls shake and the big gun mumbles and grumbles. The smaller one chuckles and grunting, heaves it’s whining missile. Echoes bring no answer. Tot-trot, tot, chuck, chuck, chuck. The machine gunner is at his post and watchfully waits to waken his sleeping chums. CRASH. An answer comes………….we expect you. We will make the men upon whom the duty falls to start the forward move. Snuggling quietly in their burrowed holes, some asleep………few awake……….some dreaming of home, some………all awaiting the tomorrow. This remarkable letter was unsigned. For all the countries involved in that war, the total of the dead was 8, 538, 315 men. The total number of wounded was 21, 219, 452 men. Prisoners of war and missing in action totaled 3, 629, 829. We can only begin to imagine the impact the war had on the families of the soldiers and the men themselves. Now we have evolved to far more terrible weapons, but have made advances in battlefield medical technology and armor, losing far fewer men. Now we lose not only men but have allowed women to join with us in battle and are losing them too. Dear God, please never let us do as some others have, and involve the children too. |
This is an anonymous letter that was found on a post-fight battlefield in France during World War One. The author of this letter was a member of the French army. The soldier wrote about preparing for the important fight that night, by saying “Tonight the beginning of the end.” Wars had evidently damaged the area greatly and vastly according to his description such as “The shell pitted earth, scarred almost beyond recognition” He then went on imagining and describing the soon coming battle as being full of bloodshed but successful and glorious in the end. The soldier also expressed his opinion on the war by dreaming of peaceful and cheerful life shared by people all around the world after this last combat. It was revealed that he sincerely hoped the war would end, so the mother earth and her children could live in peace forever after. He expresses his distaste for the aftermath of the war when he said, “For all the countries involved in that war, the total of the dead was 8, 538, 315 men. The total number of wounded was 21, 219, 452 men. Prisoners of war and missing in action totaled 3, 629, 829.” He also expresses his worries for the impact that war creates on the families involved. Even though he does not appreciate the ways of war, it can be safely assumed that he sees war as something to be done for the country and for a greater future. This can be seen when he said, “Peace on earth, good will to men.” It was also revealed that he sincerely hoped the war would end, so the mother earth and her children could live in peace forever after. This wish of his showed a strong sense of nationalism, which was presented by the soldier wanting to make his country a better place. At the end, he said “but do they fear? They are brave” and “We will make the men upon whom the duty falls to start the forward move”. The soldier presented bravery and dedication. This showed the soldier and his fellows were fearlessly devoted to their country, which deliberately indicated their patriotism and the feeling of belonging to the country in them. Furthermore, he says, “make it their duty-.” He speaks about the men’s duty to start the forward move meaning that he feels that it is a duty for the men of a country to show bravery and to fight for what is best for their country.
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