Dear Mother and Father,
I know that you have fretted over me ever since I decided to come here, but I am having a most wonderful time and learning to become a man at last. The lads like to tease me because I am so slight, just as they did back home, but with a rifle in my hands I am just as strong as any of them. Yesterday we stopped for a very pleasant afternoon in a small Belgian market square, sharing cigarettes under the sun, and this morning we marched alongside the Mons canal (Dad will be able to find it in our book of world maps, I'm sure). We're all ready and eager to face the Germans and put an end to this silly war. They've got to learn they can't bully the world like this, and we're going to teach them a lesson. I'll be back home in weeks and I can start work at the factory, just like you wanted. They won't turn a war hero away!
Love, Artie.
(Private Arthur Harris died in the first battle between British and German troops days later)
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