World War 1 Letter

Dear mom
    
           I miss you so much. The war is nothing like what I thought it would be and the amount of killed soldiers are uncountable. I happened to make a friend in the bunks a couple days ago; his name was William and he was from Virginia. I'm not sure if you saw that i put "was"... He died today, out of nowhere from this horrible sickness spreading around the camps. Many men are continuously dying from this small but deadly ailment. There are no symptoms though which is the scariest part about this sickness. People are walking around with no idea if they will fall ill or stay healthy enough to fight. It seems to be spreading through the air but other times it seems like its the germs on our filthy hands. Please pray for me mom I really need at least some hope.

        The weather sucks these days. Its rainy, cold and most of the times our tents flood and we end up sleeping on hard wet ground. We have set bed times by the commander which aren't very helpful because if he really thinks we can sleep after all the bloodshed, then he's straight up crazy. We aren't treated very nicely here either. Our food tastes of mold and mouse droppings (perhaps that's where the disease is coming from). The commanding officer pushes us for hours during our training and a bunch of men collapse in agony and exhaustion. Cuts and broken bones are taken care of in a horrid manner. A couple days ago I saw one of the runners come in with a mild fracture in his tibia and I guess they thought the only way to make it better was to completely saw off his leg with a rusty old saw while he lost a great amount of blood.
      I guess not all is bad though. We sit around the fire sometimes and share stories about our families and childhood experiences. I meet new people everyday and learn about new cultures I never  knew even existed. The people here push each other along and bring hope to the minds of everyone around us. I know I'm strong enough to make it through this. I will make you proud and I will come home to our family safe and sound.

Red Baron

       A man by the name Baron Manfred von Richthofen, became a legend in the air during World War 1. He was known for flying a bright red airplane into battle, shooting down plane after plane and because of all of his 80 victories he was named the amazing "Red Baron." Manfred was the 2nd child of his father, Major Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, who had many more children to come. As a young boy, he was raised in a small town villa in the town Schweidnitz. He didnt follow in his fathers footsteps like Albrecht wanted, but instead joined the Wahlstatt cadet school in Berlin Germany. At the school he excelled in gymnastics and athletics, then went on to graduating and joined the cavalry.
       He became commissioned as a
lutenant  in Poland when World War 1 began in the summer of 1914. In May 1915, Richthofen decided to travel to Cologne to observe the training program at the No. 7 Air Replacement Station because he became increasingly interested in planes. He was taught how to do many things such as read a map, drop bombs, locate enemy troops, and draw pictures while still in the air. After a while of just observation and regular flying, Manfred was told to report to the "Mail Pigeon Detachment" which was a undercover scheme to bomb England. He went on his first real flight on September 1, 1915, but failed to bring down the enemy aircraft. He tried again and was eventually successful but what he did didn't qualify because kills on enemy lines didn't count. He continued his training and eventually passed all three exams and on December 25, 1915, was awarded his pilot's certificate.
     On September 17, Richthofen got his first chance to fly in combat. He shot down planes and was finally credited for his victories. He decided to do something very special for each kill he got; he would land near the wreckage and take the serial number off the airplane to be sent back home and hung in his room. People began to notice, but not as much as he wanted so in turn he painted the nose of his airplane a bright red color. By painting his airplane red, it caused fear and respect from others around him. Enemies began calling him "The Red Battle Flier." Baron shot down so many planes that he broke the record for 52 kills and became the hero and legend of pilots during World War 1, until he was shot in the chest and instantly died( only 25 years old)

Citation:  Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Red Baron." About.com . N.P, n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/redbaron.htm>.