Battle of the Somme, 1916


Francis “Frank” Mack – World War I


Wilfred Owen, 1918 Dulce Et DecorumEst


Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags,we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep.Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod.All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.


GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!--An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And floundering like a man in fire or lime.-- Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.


In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie:Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.


“Dulce et decorumest pro patriamori” is a


Latin phrase froman ode by Horacemeaning “it is sweet and itting to die for your country.”


See Bibliography for Letter and Diary Citations


February 1, 1918 Imagine this trip, 1000 yds off the line, pitch dark no regular track & ground torn up by shells. We wore thigh high gum boots & as there is so much traffic at night that for half way it is a sea ofmud – a party of 10men getting through this knee deep mud when out rattles Fritz’s machine gun – down we all go –mud is far nicer than lead. Every time a Star shell goes up & lights the whole place up you have to stand – not budge an inch. Tis grand this 1000 yds – takes an hour & a half – 3 hours for the whole trip.


Soldiers under ire in Vietnam First Lieutenant Dean Allen - Vietnam


July 10, 1969 DearestWife,


I amout on ambush with elevenmen and a medic -- after everything is set up in position I have nothing to do but think about why I am here.Why do I have to be the one to tell someone to do something thatmay get himblown away?


Being a good platoon leader is a lonely job. I don't want to really get to know anybody over here be- cause it would be bad enough to lose aman -- I damn sure don't want to lose a friend. But as hard as I try not to get involved withmymen I still can't help liking them, and getting close to a few. They come up and say "hey do you want to see picture ofmy wife or girl?"


Like I said it gets lonely trying to stay separate.


Maybe sometime I'll try to tell you how scared I amnow. There is nothing I can do about it, but wait for another day to start + finish.


Allmy love always, Dean


20


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