After ten hours of walking we could see the town from the top of a hill. The once quaint French town lay in ruins the buildings had either collapsed or had been ripped apart.

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War

The air was thick, the most unbearable smell was carried by the wind. Corpses were strewn across the barren unearthy place. The blood soaked earth was crying out for the deceased unsettled souls. There was no time in this place, the fog shielded it from the outside world. Barbed wire penetrated through the flesh of those who were unlucky enough to get caught in it. My mind was lost in the chaos that surrounded me, I felt as if I had also died with those that accompanied me, I felt no remorse in this time of pain and suffering. I felt as if had been sucked into a wormhole of eternal darkness where light did not exist. All my life experiences paled in comparison of this that I had felt. All my life I had lived a protected life, shielded from the cruel and unreal world that existed beyond mine I never would have believed this would have become of me. This how I earned this fate . . . . .

January 15th 1940 I had been sent to the shores of France to fight for my country, I was very enthusiastic at the time. I had very little military experience. I had made a few friends during training we were split up most of them were sent to Germany.Myself and three hundred other men had the awful job of clearing all the disembodied corpses off the beach this was an eye opener for me the realties of war began to haunt me in my subconscious mind only to surface months later. After five days of laborious work the beach was clear, my uniform was stained with blood that could not be removed. It was a reminder of all the repulsive things I saw on that beach. Luckily I got to sleep in the main building on a cliff overlooking the beach. The view from up there stirred my soul, I felt proud just being there. We had turns to do night patrol I always enjoyed it. Having the pleasure of watching the sunrise on the horizon as the sea gently rolled back and forth it was almost mesmerizing, this what helped me get through the first days.

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Myself and two other men  a grenadier and reconnaissance soldier were assigned to deliver an important letter to Major J Freeman who was trying to take control over a small town called Bourgoune further inland .The picturesque countryside we travelled through reminded me of home. The fresh air, the green and lush rolling hills and the almost immortal clumps of majestic trees it was all to similar, then I began to think what was it that I was feeling? Was it that I was afraid? When I began to question myself after I had been so sure of something ...

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