Phillip Brooks Letters

On the first day of battle, many soldiers were sent in to the area between our land and our enemy’s land, what we call “no man’s land”. It was muddy and the tanks were unable to make it through, leaving our men vulnerable. So many men died that I began to lose hope that I could ever return back home alive.

The skins on my toes are turning black. The doctor says if I stay in this trench for more than 2 days I will have to cut off my feet. It scares me that I might have to have my feet amputated but I will stay strong, as I am proud to be serving my country. The other day my best friend Johnny was sleeping in the dug out while the enemy was firing and a missile hit right behind us. The dug out collapsed and Johnny was stuck in the pile of mud. We spent 30 minutes digging him out and we were able to pull him out just before it was too late.

I do hope that you are keeping reasonably well Lucia. I know that you have health problems that sometimes

You have no idea how much I have missed you these past few days. It has been almost unbearable, sleeping in a different bed. I miss your warmth, comfort, and reliability and I hate having to be away from you for so long. I can not wait to see you again!

My dear sweetheart, oh how I have missed you. My love for you is indescribable. Judy, I have loved you since you were “The little girl who… [was] eleven” (414). I still love you even throughout the rough years of you not being here with me. I have tried so hard to move on but I cannot. You know how I feel for you; I want to be with you for the rest of my life.

It is March first, I miss you so much it is unbearable. Sleeping can be awful out here in the trenches only because I want to be home in a comfy bed again safe and sound where war isn’t the only thing on my mind. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t breathe because I dream someone has invaded our trenches and shot me. It isn’t easy being out here but if it means fighting for you then it is what I will do.

I have received another letter from you and I was glad to hear from you. I am well and I hope these few lines will find you the same. I have been out on picket 3 days and we have to go out on picket again tomorrow and stay 3 days longer. We have got to stay here this winter to guard this place here. If we do, I shall have a good time, I think. It is cold here and the rain is cold There ain't much news here -- only to say the army [is] a moving. They have all gone out of the valley here. They are moving toward Richmond. They will have a big battle in a few days. They think that will close up the fighting. I hope so.

I’m sorry. I just miss you and want you to know that I love you very much.

After days of hell, 6350 soldiers were dead, wounded, or taken prisoner of war. Yet, we had destroyed the bigger German army, holding our ground through chlorine gas and fire. My hand is shaking writing this letter. I don't remember how long ago it was but it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime

Yesterday I was at work from sunrise till it was pitch black dark. Today I am completely wrecked and can’t be bothered doing anything but tomorrow and for however long the war goes for I will be at it again and again day after day. The days that follow after the battle are a thousand times worse than the days of the battle and it’s not the physical pain that hurts the most it is the mental pain that leaves the mark. The dead people look sickening but they don’t suffer any pain, But the poor wounded soldiers that still have their life are suffering both physical and mental pain and are living through what some people would call hell. I pray to God that this ferial event will stop. Our Regiment started this morning for Harpers Ferry. I am told with a few others and the nurses to remain here until the wounded have been removed then to join up with the Regiment again. I am expecting there will be another massive fight at Harpers Ferry again soon. My Dear Wife I dream of the day I pass the Hibbards house and see you and Amy waiting outside our house welcoming me with open arms, I also dream of the day I am lying next to you in front of our open fire with our beautiful daughter. You

I made it through the first wave I am alive, The sights are not so great as you can imagine it is a war after all. I am currently in a trench writing this letter. There is a fat rat right in front of me. I hope I don’t get trench foot because if I do you’ll never see me walk again. All my friends I made are dead I miss them they were the only ones I had left going for me in the war.

I am Ella Karcewski reporting to you on this gloomy Spring evening, hoping that this war may soon be over. I am currently experiencing a day that I will never forget. The images that I am seeing, and the heartbreaking pain that I am feeling will never be erased from my naive mind. I feel nearly speechless and am saddened for those drastically affected by this war. I am encountering a tragedy as soldiers and horses alike are collapsing to the ground, screams of pain coming from their courageous bodies. Pouring rain is drenching horses and soldiers, and darkness is curtained over the gloomy sky. Ominous clouds fill the atmosphere above, and it seems that the sun wouldn’t dare peek out on this bellicose April day in 1915. All of this French territory

We all sleep and rest and eat in the trenches, but it’s not paradise. One night, the sound of loud booms woke us up. We were being attacked by some very dangerous artillery. We could feel every boom and every crack in the dirt above us. Many soldiers were not prepared for this and got sick. The attack come out of nowhere and frightened all of us.

I know it has been a long time since I´ve wrote to you. I have been quite busy, hence the time difference of the letters I write. But more importantly, I wrote to say that I miss you , Mary, and Mama very dearly, where the time apart has left me quite homesick. Otherwise, if you haven't already known, my squad and I are headed in to Sicily, Italy. I know! How exciting! I will have to see if I can visit our Aunt Sally up in Rome.

Thanks for writing to me and my brothers some time back. I hope Chester is O.K. I just wanted you to know what’s happened to us since we joined the army. This is an awfully bloody war, and we have been in the thick of it. I have never seen so many dead and wounded soldiers. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. I had one of my legs hurt so bad they had to cut it off below my knee. I had a good doctor and my nurse is just wonderful. They are going to send me to a larger hospital in a couple of days that is further behind the lines. Freddie was with me during the battles and was stabbed in the back by a rebel soldier. I was able to save him by getting a medic on the battle field to get him to a field hospital. I think he will be O.K., but his right