June 5, 1944
To anyone reading this letter, please forgive the shaky handwriting but I am scared to the very core of my being. We have been informed that tomorrow we will be part of a massive effort to liberate France from the Nazi invasion. All my fellow soldiers are probably feeling the same way, but we put on a face of confidence and bravado that I know is simply a device to deflect the terror of what will happen. After months of training and drills, the reality of real bullets and deaths is here. Most of us will not survive!
I keep asking myself why I am here and is this sacrifice worth it or an exercise of futility and nonsense. Thinking about the idea of freedom and liberty is fine for those gifted in oratory, but for me, the right to live free of fear and oppression is persona I am not the brave and courageous person people see on recruitment posters but with the support of those around me, I will do my part to protect and defend our way of life. The promise of a free, democratic society that values everyone, even guys like me a fair chance for a comfortable life.
I don’t know the details of what will happen tomorrow, but I sense that this battle will be a turning point of the war. I do know that we face a determined and well-organized enemy who will show no mercy if we fail. With that in mind, there is only one direction open to us and it is, I fear, filled with death and destruction. Can I do it? I hope so. All I ask of you, dear reader, is if I end up as a grave marker among thousands of my comrades, please remember and honor our sacrifice and the legacy we fought and died for in the face of staggering opposition. A free society without dictators and fascist ideology is worth fighting for. Although I do not consider myself a hero, the combined efforts of all of us is nothing short of heroic.
As I finish this letter, my hope and prayer is to survive, go home with honorable service and give my descendants a world free of fear, violence and armed conflict. No one else should have to face what waits for me tomorrow. Let this war teach us about the consequences of bigotry, hate and fanaticism. If so, it will be the last. If not, sadly, others will have to learn these lessons again at what may be even greater cost.
