August 3, 1919
Dear Diary #2
Now that the war is almost a year in the past, I can say that being there was nothing like I expected. Truthfully, at first
it had been exciting because it was a completely different experience and the
feeling of closeness that we in a unit shared among ourselves was also comforting.
But time and time again, I witnessed too many horrific scenes involving blood,
hatred and deaths that heaven forbid Mary and Sammy should see in their lives.
On top of feeling a heavy burden on my heart from being away from them in a
lengthy period, I also miss many of the pals I made here. It brings me great
grief knowing that they did not make it through this war. War— it’s a word that
was taken much too lightly. None of us soldiers would have ever imagined our
experience to turn out like it did. Although I’ve tried my best to put on a
fearless front for everyone, honestly even I have wanted to break down a couple
of times. I just knew I had to stay strong and it’s a good thing I had my pride
to keep me going as well. Sure, we celebrated when we won battles but all of us
always felt that we had lost more than we gained considering all the sacrifices
that had to be made. Times of the war are still engraved in the back of my head
and during the nights when I’m all alone with my thoughts, often a wave of
depression uncontrollably takes over. As much as I try to forget and move on, I
don’t think I’ll ever see the day when that happens. I actually thought that as
soon as I’d get back home, suddenly I could feel refreshed and alright with
everything that has happened. That was naive of me though. After going through
such hard times, finally being reunited with my wife and son has still brought
me an immense amount of relief. I really appreciate being blessed with the
comfort of our own home and getting to eat delicious meals once again. Somehow
I was unbelievably lucky to have survived all the terrors of the war and live
to see the gradual but definite changes taking place in this country. During these
past few years, the Military Service Act was passed making conscription
mandatory for most 20- 25 year old males which I personally approve of. Despite
how other civilians feel about it, I think that it would be detrimental if our
soldiers lost a battle mainly due to a lack of volunteers available. Women were
also given the right to vote recently which is another big difference that has
been made since the war. After knowing all the hardships we Canadians had to
face and overcome in the Great War, I can only sincerely hope for the brighter future of our whole country.
— James Carter
(Source:
- http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/first-world-war-wwi)
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