Life on the Western Front

Dear family,

I could try to tell you that everything is fine, but truthfully it is not. I have been suffering here on the western front. Life in the trenches is harder than they talk about. I’m currently operating a machine gun, and I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep these past couple of days since many soldiers are injured and can’t take on their shifts. I miss you all so much. I have forgotten how it feels to have family around you since here all that surrounds me is constant death. My closest friend out here had become blind by poison gas that was sent by the Germans. When we were under attack, there was no one to help him find his way since everyone was busy with their posts. He was shot, and, after the attack, I tried to help him but he was too weak. I was very upset for weeks and it showed me the reality of my situation and that I could be close to death too. There is no space for those thoughts or feelings here, though. We’re constantly fighting for our lives.
I also haven’t been eating well lately with all the rats around. They poison our food. All the efforts back home to try to get us enough food are sometimes useless. They spread very quickly and are everywhere. Every now and then a stray dog may pass by, and we would capture it so that we can give it some of the food to check if it’s poisoned. A couple of my fellow soldiers had their feet amputated because they had trench foot. It’s very common in the trenches, but, thankfully, I haven’t had it. During my many years of training for this war, I could have never imagined how difficult it is. One of the smallest but most irritating issues is the lice. I have never been so itchy my entire life. And they spread so fast! Half of the soldiers in my trench got them within one week. The influenza has just reached us and many soldiers are catching it. Some only live for a couple of days once they have it. We have had to lock some soldiers up in the shelters so they don’t contaminate others. Our lives are among the last that have survived. I am afraid that I will be scarred for life after all the terrors that I have seen. I miss you all so much, you have not idea. If I could only be home for Christmas and celebrate with Aunt Sally’s delicious apple pie. The fighting has eased up a bit. There have been rumors going around the trenches that the war is close to an end. I pray for it to be true, and I am longing for the day we will be reunited.

Love,
your Thomas