Trench and camp., 1919-02-13
THE HABIT OF
SELF-SACRIFICE

Fhe habit of self-sacrifice becomes
Just as natural in the Army as salut-
ing, according to the author of the fol-
1SW1ng letter, member of the A. E.
F.;
Having given you a slight idea of
"nere ! have been and what l have
peen doing, | want to try and give you
an equally rough sketch of what it
1.-THE warl has done to me.
=. primarily it has opened our eyes
"a regard to the adaptability of the
human body and its almost unlimited
endurance in the face of strain and
naroshlps. For example, one night
our outfit in heavy marching order,
carrying ammunition which brought
tne total of each mans burden close to
Ivy pounds, had to cover twenty-eight
mlies, steady marching, feat which
Qexore the war we all would have
ciassed as beyond physical endurance.
however, we all staggered in at the
finish, walking like men in their sleep,
Weaving from one side of the road to
the other, and with the totally ex-
aausted being supported by those
more able.
Moreover, it has made many men
more religious, though that is not Just
the word l want to use there. What I
mean is that this life has given many
opportunities for little acts of kind
ness and self-sacrifce (that is the
word l should have used, self-sacri-
fiee). 1t has been interesting to see
now at first many men were rather
ashamed to be caught doing something
kind, or giving up something in return
Tor the happiness of generosity. Lat
Ns however, the principle of sharing
everything with the other fellow be-
came as habitual and binding as the
custom of saluting officers; really be-
came instructive. AS for religion in
itself, all can say is that no man can
30 through one battle, with its ever
occurring miracles of courage and
self -abnegation, where one iuggles
with death at every step, without COM
1ng back with an iron-bound faith In
Divine Guidance.
"Lastly every man Jack Of us has
given more time to serious thought
than we ever did before in our lives.
For a little instance, let me tell you
that last night listened to two men
in hunks near mine, one of them an
uneducated Russian from the Ukraine,
and the other an illiterate coal-wagon
driver from Philadelphia, discussing
the underlying principles of this war,
and trying to see why it was necessary
for so-called civilized nations to take
up arms against one another. AL
though could have improved upon
their diction and grammar, was
ashamed to admit that they were 60
ing deeper into many questions than /
had ever done, and were showing that
they had worked out PHILOSOPHERS of
life to a much finer point than had
ever attempted.
"Many of us have had an opportu-
nifty to focus our mental lens, newly
clarified by our experiences over here,
on our lives 'befo' the war; and have
been rendered capable of seeing that
some of our ideas and ideals were
wrong, and feel safe in saying that
more good resolutions have been
formed by Americans in France since
the war started than were made on all
the New Years Days of the past ten
years. There is one salient difference,
though, and that is that the proportion
Of these resolutions which is carried
out is going to be far greater than the
proverbial New Years ones. There
fore, taking it all in all, feel safe in
saying that l expect you will find me
greatly changed when you next see
me. Not physically, for outside Of a
couple of scars and a pair of frosted
ears / bear no physical signs Of my
trip, but mentally, for I believe / will
have shed a little of the queerness
with which I did most of my thinking
and feeling, and have become just q
normal, ordinary creature, giving o.
little more thought to things worth
while, and pitching into life with lit
tie more definite aim.
"Take care of yourself, Dad, and
don't be surprised to see me walk in
most any day, for we are living for
the time when our particular unit viii
start home. 1t may be only q month,
OF it may be six months or a year, but
in any case it will be time well spent.
"Yours, S."