Medical Treatment

May 17, 1917
Dear Susan,

My love, I cannot believe I am writing you this letter in a field hospital. Yes I am in a hospital, but please do not worry my dear. I was shot by a German, but luckily he missed and shot my shoulder. Do not worry, it is only a small wound, and the doctor says it will heal pretty fast. I am doing just fine. I am lying in this hospital, well not even a hospital. It is just a big tent filled with hundreds of wounded soldiers. There are so many men suffering from diseases like Trench Fever and poison gas. I was planning on getting my Trench feet seen by the doctors, but Trench foot is not considered a problem since every man here has it. Lice is another problem, but it is also nothing compared to other more serious illnesses. If you see me right now, you may not want to marry me. Lice are all over my body, and my feet are rotten. The thing that hurts me more than my wound does is the crying, and screaming of these young men. Every hour, hundreds of men are dying here. I really can’t stand the odor: the odor of blood and rotting bodies. There are not enough doctors to take care of the injured soldiers, but there are quite a number of nurses. The nurses remind me of you, but thankfully you are not of them. I see that the nurses are suffering from their disastrous job and the horrible work condition. They need to take care of thousands of men who are suffering from contagious diseases. Susan, I miss you so much. I feel like I have spent few hundred years at this war. Time flies when I am with you, but it stops when I’m not with you. I m so scared of dying, not being able to see your beautiful smile again.

Do not worry my love, I will go back safe. I will fight for my country and for you.

Yours truly,

Robert

Injured Soldiers

A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot

Citation

Wounded Soldier. Photographer. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 8 Dec 2010.

"Trench foot." Encyclopedia of the First World War. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2010.
     <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWfoot.htm>. Picture of Trench
     Foot

"Medical Aspects of Gas Warfare." WWI The Medical Front. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov.
     2010. <http://www.vlib.us/medical/gaswar/gas.htm>.