This loop of digging is finally over. We were summoned into the back lines four days ago, where we had more decent belly timber and a more comfortable place to sleep. We also bathed for the first time in what felt like years. The entire time, we have been digging, sleeping (at least trying to), and repeating. A commander simply walked by once in a while and told us to dig into the direction he pointed in a zigzag before he left. Occasionally, we get wood to reinforce the trench and to make sure the dirt does not collapse onto us.

There was only one time when the Germans tried to rush us with their rifles and bayonets. It happened at night about a thousand feet away from me and my squad when the British pulled the trigger on their machine guns and made quick work of them.

Throughout the month, my squadmates sometimes write letters to their families using the writing cases the postal service provided. I thought about writing to my family too, but they apparently do not read my letters. In fact, I do not think that my letters even reached my family’s mail. Once, I was at home and wrote a letter to myself; I did not even receive it after months. Meanwhile, as I am writing in my journal, Dave is writing an absurdly long letter to his family.

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As with the squad, we were finally being transferred into the hot zones deeper into France. Maybe we will actually do some fighting then. We also learned from the experiences of the British soldiers that you should not smoke when the air is clear in the front lines; otherwise, the Germans will pinpoint your location using the rising smoke and throw a “potato masher” at you, which we learned, means a stick grenade. The only one who was relieved that we did not do any actual fighting was Matthew, what a weakling. He got a stern talk with Carl, who lectured about not deserting the glorious duty we were given. I cannot wait until we get some actual fighting two days later so we bring honor to the United States instead of ten feet of extra trench maneuver room in what felt like an endless stalemate.