A Soldier's Life

645 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American involvement in World War I

A Soldier's Life

21st December 1915

It was cold this morning; frost lined the mud and filth surrounding my

'Dug Out'. Mud has seeped through my uniform the damp is causing me to

become feverish, I have been sleeping in everything I have got

recently and still shivering and today my great coat's so wet, I

cannot use it.

Oh well, a slight fever has got to be better than the dreaded trench

foot, poor Harry he was taken off on a stretcher yesterday. He just

couldn't continue his work here any longer. None of us can take our

boots off some feet swell and swell to an immeasurable amount of pain.

Then it goes gangrenous and unfortunately for Harry it is irreversible

so his foot will probably have to be amputated. He had only been

stationed here for ten days; it's a shame for him to miss all the fun.

The toughest part of this job is getting up morning after morning half

an hour before dawn, so we are on standby for dawn raids. Then, at 8am

we have the usual period of 'daily hate' where exchange verbal abuse

and gunfire. After this things always calm down. Breakfast rations

usually consist of Bully beef tea, hard biscuits and bread which are

nearly always stale by the time it reaches us.

The first task of the day was on sentry duty which meant I spent the

whole morning cleaning out the stinking Latrines and repairing the

wall of the trench which has been damaged due to the heavy rainfall. I

spend most of my time here carrying out boring routine tasks the daily

grind is driving me mad.

The weather here for some days has been wet and cold and the mud in

some places up to the knees, hundreds of rats are thriving on scraps

of food and rubbish thrown into the trenches. Some of them have grown

to the size of cats feeding off the plentiful supply of rotting

corpses. And at night I hear them swimming through the stagnant water

Show More
Related

  • Cameron Grigg Research Paper

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    The then got breakfast before he left for either PE or combat skills. He had lunch then continued on with what he was doing before until 4pm. Sometimes he would have a night duty where he had to guard the area.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Forgotten Soldier By Guy Sajer

    2456 Words  | 5 Pages

    Guy Sajer’s The Forgotten Soldier is a work notable not only for its vivid and uncompromising account of his experience as a member of the Wehrmacht in World War II, but also for its subtle and incisive commentary about the very nature of war itself. What is perhaps most intriguing about Sajer’s novel is his treatment of the supposedly “universal” virtues present within war such as professionalism, patriotism, camaraderie, and self-sacrifice. Sajer introduces a break between how war is thought about in the abstract and how it has actually been conducted historically.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.

    Read More

  • Life and Suffering in The Trenches

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...

    Read More

  • A Narrative of A Revolutionary Soldier

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Joseph Plumb Martin’s account of his experiences in the Revolutionary War he offers unique insight into the perspective of a regular soldier, which differs from the views of generals and leaders such as popular characters like George Washington. Martin’s narrative is an asset to historical scholarship as a primary source that gives an in-depth look at how life in the army was for many young men during the War for Independence. He described the tremendous suffering he experienced like starvation and privation. He did not shy away from describing his criticism of the government who he believes did not adequately care for the soldiers during and after the war. While he may be biased because of his personal involvement as a soldier, he seems to relate accounts that are plausible without embellishment or self-aggrandizement. Overall, “A Narrative of A Revolutionary Soldier” is a rich source of information providing an overview of military experience during the war.

    Read More

  • My Great Sacrifice When My Husband was Deployed

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    Deployment is a word that all military spouses and military families dread to hear. When my husband came home to our barely moved in house with news of his deployment to Afghanistan, I was devastated. Though we received terrible news, we also felt incredible joy that same week. I was pregnant with our first child. We were overjoyed by this news but it also meant that my husband would be away the first eight months of our son’s life.

    Read More

  • War That Saved My Life

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like in the middle of a war? If so, The War that Saved My Life is a historical fiction book that takes you on the journey of nine year old Ada Smith and her younger brother, Jamie. In my opinion, The War that Saved My Life, is one of the best books I have read and it shows that despite the obstacles in life, there is always a positive outcome. Ada was born with clubfoot, is in the middle of World War II, has a mom that is ashamed of her foot. However, Ada does not let these things get in the way, and solves these problems into a new life.

    Read More

  • Creative Writing: American Soldier in Iraq

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    "RUN!!" I heard a fellow soldier screaming as I looked around. "RUN!" I started to take off but I was too late. I am an American soldier and I just got my leg blown off by a grenade. As I lay here crying, yelling out in pain, I think about why I am even here. The president thought that Saddam Hussein MIGHT have had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), so he sent me here to die. After we searched and found that Hussein did not have any WMDs, what did President Bush decide to do? Send more troops (SIRS).

    Read More

  • Review of the Forgotten Soldier

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people question if Guy Sajer, author of The Forgotten Soldier, is an actual person or only a fictitious character. In fact, Guy Sajer in not a nom de plume. He was born as Guy Monminoux in Paris on 13 January 1927. At the ripe young age of 16, while living in Alsace, he joined the German army. Hoping to conceal his French descent, Guy enlisted under his mother's maiden name-Sajer. After the war Guy returned to France where he became a well known cartoonist, publishing comic books on World War II under the pen name Dimitri.

    Read More

  • Love Letters to My Husband

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although this is an expected part of military life, this deployment was different. My husband is a Navy Seal, and this deployment would be the first of its kind. I wasn’t able to know where he was going, what he would be doing or who he was with. All I knew was that he was leaving. I didn’t know how long he would be gone for and had no I had no idea where he’d be going.

    Read More

  • Forever in the Mind of a Soldier

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    The boom is what starts them in, and for some, is what takes them right out. The men that fight in the Vietnam war are some of the bravest people that will ever live and they are beautifully betrayed in Tim O’Brien’s Book The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien’s story is metafiction about his time that he spent in the war and about what it was truly like to spend time as a foot soldier in such a gruesome war. Whether they enlist or are drafted, they fight valiantly for whatever cause they are there for. These men carry their sanity and lives, and unfortunately, many of them will lose those things. O’Brien’s ultimate message about the things the men carried is that the tangible pleasures, the memories of home, and the ultimate trauma they endure will never leave them.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Life In The Army

    1789 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since time began there has always been conflict. Whether it be religious, race oriented, or conflict over land. Conflicts have lead countries and nations to amass armies. While some armies are small, others may be vast in size. No matter the size of the Army they all have one thing in common… their Soldiers. As Non-Commissioned Officers we would be without a profession if we did not take care of, and retain our Soldiers. Through their mishaps and mistakes it is our job to lead them as they will, hopefully, be taking over our position as they climb the ladder to becoming the next great leader we aspire them to become. However, as in life, there are always trials and tribulations that come with life in the Military. We have all had Soldiers with

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of An American Soldier

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this excerpt from an email written to friends and family, an American soldier describes what it is like to live in Iraq while serving his country. The Soldier describes his living conditions thoroughly and offers many examples. Through the usage of rhetorical strategies like imagery, chronology, and he puts the reader in his position, he tells of his experience and his attitude towards it.

    Read More

  • Trauma for Soldiers in "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Trauma can be defined as something that repeats itself. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, trauma recurs in soldiers for different reasons. However, although their reasons for trauma are different, the things they carried can symbolize all the emotions and pasts of these soldiers. One man may suffer trauma from looking through letters and photographs of an old lover, while another man could feel trauma just from memories of the past. The word “carried” is used repeatedly throughout The Things They Carried. Derived from the Latin word “quadrare,” meaning “suitable,” O’Brien uses the word “carried” not to simply state what the men were carrying, but to give us insight into each soldiers’ emotions and character, his past, and his present.

    Read More

  • Prisoners of War

    2985 Words  | 6 Pages

    What has our society classified as a prisoner of war? A prisoner of war is someone who is a member of regular or irregular armed forces of a nation at war held by the enemy. After two years of war with the Middle East our society wonders what happens to the prisoners in jail. The other conflicts of prisoners of war is how they are treated in jail, also what did they do to be detained as a prisoner of war? In most situations, there is a legitimate reason why these people are taken captive. So many might ask what is happening to the Iraqis detained under Coalition forces custody, and do the prisons comply with standards set fourth in the Geneva Conventions? This subject is very controversial to the U.S and other nations. The controversial part of this subject is the alleged abuse of prisoners in jail in custody of U.S soldiers. There are many cases of prisoners dying in prison but is it because of abuse by American soldiers. This subject of abuse upon prisoners of war has reach all over the world especially to the United States. Our president George W. Bush, along with Congress, has arranged investigations on the events that happen inside the prisons. He has addressed to the nation that such things have not occurred, but what a U.S soldier knows may be a little different. This kind of action toward prisoners of war is illegal according to US law, which is dictated by the Geneva Conventions. If a soldier is found guilty of abuse, or other forms of mistreatment, that soldier will be recommended for court-martial. The other issue about this subject is that there are so many different opinions on this matter. One opinion is that U.S personnel really did cause the death of many prisoners of war. The other question i...

    Read More

More about A Soldier's Life

Open Document