The book presents an edited collection of letters that Corporal George Browne, a soldier during the World War I wrote to his lover Martha Johnson or "Marty." Brown narrates his experience as a soldier during the training before, during and after theatre. The book provides a fascinating first-hand insight into the life of a soldier when the division came together to Camp Mills, during the travel to France, training during the 1917 and 1918 winter, and the continuous involvement in the line of duty against the Germany Army. The book ends with intriguing photographs of Marty and Brownie during the marriage. Despite the fact that the letters show the relationship of an American Soldier with his lover, it also sheds light on his day-to-day life related to training and preparation, combat, and his relationship with Marty at the European theater during the World War 1.
The stories of how the World War I affected the society has been told, but not in a manner that the today's audiences can translate the enormity of the transition and challenges that a nation and its citizens experienced. The author of this book has met such shortcoming of the World War I by giving an immense firsthand account of what it takes to be a soldier during that time. For instance, Brownie writes a series of letter that described a training and preparation process of becoming a soldier. According to Brownie, the United States was facing a logistical challenge of training and equipping a large number of soldiers. In addition, the army was facing a nightmare of meeting the need for the increasing number of the soldiers. For instance, Brownies expresses, "they haven't even given us our coats yet: only one pair of shoes and one shirt We have two pairs of trousers, two changes of underwear, three pairs of socks and a hat." This is a clear indication that the supply of basic items such as uniforms and clothing were inadequate. Another important problem during the training session was that the officers were not adequately trained.
The book reveals that the experience of the American soldiers in the war was not only hectic but also challenging because the American Military was massively unprepared for combat. For instance, in his commentary, the editor of the book described that other soldiers were experiencing the same challenge as Brownie and probably shared his assumption, "we can't shoot Germans from this island, can we?" as suggested by the letter. He continues to comment "However, little did they understand how ill-prepared they were for the ferocity of the fighting on the western front." The book reveals that despite the description of training as "to prepare the fit and weed out the unfit," the training was not conducted sufficiently to accomplish its goals. There were some of the "unfit" soldiers who were not prepared enough. However, despite their several weaknesses of preparedness, the involvement of American army was crucial in the war. For instance, General Pershing "had grown Concerns in the late June that French morale was declining precipitously, and only the presence of American troops could improve the situation." Therefore, General Pershing viewed American troops as better than the local troops.
American soldiers also underwent personal challenges such as sleepless nights because of the threat of gas during the war and communication barrier that strained their relationship. During the night, the soldiers were disturbed by the "'gas alarm' and lots of artillery activities." One of Brownie's letter explains that gas scares were occasionally experienced during the night that forced the soldier to wake up as late as three a.m. These are some of the experiences that can be well understood through the first person narration. It can be intellectually understood that the internal nightmares challenges such as gas alarms were giving the soldiers sleepless night despite other challenges. The book also reveals that Brownie's use of the letter, as a way to communicate with his lover was prone to many challenges. For instance, Brownie would write a letter and then encounter mailing challenges or even losing the letters.
The book has adequately integrated secondary and primary sources from Brownie's letter to enhance the reader's experience of the World War I. The combination of the firsthand account and the commentary of the World War I experience gives the reader a clear image of what would have been going on during the war. In summary, the book interestingly reveals the challenges faced by Brownie in training and preparation, combat, and his relationship with Marty.
Bibliography
Browne, George. An American Soldier in World War I. U of Nebraska Press, 2006.
