LETTERS FROM MEN AT THE FRONT

Pte. RICHARD MAY WRITES HIS MOTHER

France, May 12th, 1918

May 12th will he Mother's Day and we do not want to let it pass without sending our message home to mother. 'Home,' 'Mother, - how beautiful these words sound to us out here! What memories they recall! We see it all now, the daily grind of cooking, washing, and sewing with tired eyes at night, and the big basket of darning still to be done long after we were sound asleep and the few spankings we got in comparison with so many we so richly deserved; and all the self denial, worry and anxiety which we cause you. We could not see it then, - blind little beggars that we were, but we see it all now in all its sublime beauty and nobility, and needless to say we are longing for the time when we can return home to make amends, by giving you some of the love and devotion which you so ungrudgingly gave to us. This is one of our greatest desires, and one, which by God's help, we shall be able to fulfill when the war is won and we come back home.
When the war is won we would be ashamed to show our faces before that is achieved, and after all, it is really you, our mother and our homes, for which we are fighting. If you could see the hardships and suffering endured by the brave women and children of this unhappy land where so many homes have been ruined, you would not want us to return until victory has been won. When the gift of freedom is ours, then we will come home and lay it reverently at your feet, for it will be hallowed by the blood of many comrades. Then we shall devote our lives to the service of our country in the upbuilding of happy homes and a noble citizenship. Pray for us that this high and holy vision may never fade from our minds, and that we may be given courage and patience to finish our task.

Then what a glorious homecoming there will be.
Till then, therefore, we remain where we are, fighting for our Mothers and our Homes.

RICHARD MAY, Somewhere in France.