Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

It is a cold November day, and the year is 1919. Last night was one of the worst night’s sleep I have had in weeks. It is one year since I woke to hear the news–the news that would make a man’s blood boil. The leaders of my country abandoned our great cause, and they surrendered to the Allies.
I and my brothers in arms spent four years in the filthy trenches of France. These men had served their country well, served with honor and bravery. We kept the enemy from advancing into our beloved country, and came home to no rewards for our sacrifices. We endured some of the most horrific conditions in the trenches, conditions that would make weaker men run. When I close my eyes, I am back in the trenches. I see enormous rats eating away at my fallen brothers. I watch brave men stricken with injuries fight these aggressive, beastly rats while the rats try to gnaw at the rotting flesh of their injuries. I close my eyes and see frogs and beetles lined in the trenches filled with knee-high water. I can smell the pervasive stench of feces, body odor, and death. I see the maggots, and I feel the cold mud when I close my eyes. I still feel my body itching from the lice outbreak that never got under control because of our tight quarters and unsanitary conditions. I see men begging to have their feet removed, the flesh on their feet rotting away because of the chronic wet conditions in the trenches. I see the dozens of dead bodies of my fallen brethren accumulating in the trenches because it is too dangerous most times to give them a proper burial. I close my eyes today and still cannot escape the sounds of war–the constant gunfire, tank blasts, and the screams of men. I still see enemy soldiers overtaken by mustard gasses, blood streaming from their eyes and mouths and their desperate gasps for air. I remain inspired by my brothers, for we soldiers are able to keep our spirits high despite these conditions. We felt a sense of loyalty to our country, and a duty to...