From the Streets - The Battle of Somme

It all started on July 1st, 1916. It was a war in which men were getting killed all of the time and symbolized the gruesome tactics in the war; and I sat in the middle of it. The horror of sitting, waiting. Not knowing when my next meal would come, not knowing if I would make it to my next meal. Constant terror. 20,000 British troops were killed on the first day and nearly another 40,000 were taken prisoner or so badly wounded that they were unfit for service the next day. We were scared. Gun shots, bullets soaring over my head, huddling together with the rats and sickness, living in the unlivable shelter of a trench. Both the French and the British cowered together, for the Germans were watching. A French and British victory gaining land and momentum, the Battle of Somme.

Letter to Editor

Dear Editor,

You do not understand. You think you can imagine and empathize with what I have gone through, but you can't; you have no idea. I spent years worrying about my dad when he faught at war. I spent sleepless nights, churning in my bed imagining him lying with the disease and the rats in his cold dreary trench. I spent years with nothing but a picture of my own father, praying that he would return home. And when he didn't, when I found out he valiantly died in the war, I was crushed. You do not understand. So do not pretend like you do. You live in a dream, not reality.

Reality stands. The reality is that the majority of children are spending days home alone because their father is away at war or dead and their mother is working in the factories. The reality is that the propaganda is still everywhere. The reality is that over 21 million people were killed or injured in World War I; in many cases, all of the men in one family were killed. The reality is that I am not alone. But every story is different, so don't pretend like you understand.

Caroline B. Anton

Video of the Lusitania

The Lusitania sunk. I'm still in shock, and my prayers go out to the families and friends of those who were victims of this horrible happening.
This is a prime example of why we should not be in the war.