menzel.html

Third Place Winner Level III - Daniel Menzel
Des Moines
"To the Last Man" by Jeff Shaara

                                                                               

            Mr. Shaara,

 

            Playing "war" is a favorite past time for young boys.  Whether it is imaginary battles or paintball, almost every boy has played war in his life.  I received a greater impression of what true combat, not make-believe, is really like upon reading To the Last Man.  You described vividly how ground fighting is, from the splintering of wood around the head to the exhaustion and heat that soldiers go through in battle.  You also described the feelings of fighter pilots, such as the constant worry and stress that plagues them in the back of their minds about how long they'll be able to stay in the air without getting shot down.  You wrote about the intense concentration and what a mindset must be like in a fighter plane up in the air.

            When children have mock battles they can fall over, laugh it off, and then get back up off the ground.  They can get into arguments about if they were really shot or if the "bullets" missed.  Those who play paintball can rub a sore welt on their chest without ever having to deal with a blown heart and bloody lungs.  In a real battle, people are being ripped apart before others' eyes.  The enemy on the other side isn't just a next door neighbor but a soldier who is doing everything he can to kill his enemies.  You made it vividly clear how the loss of a comrade can feel, including the regret, the shock, and the remorse.

            You showed me true war.  There is no going back, there are no "do-overs," and there is no time out.  The bullets that fly through the air are very real and are very deadly.  You also gave me a greater respect for all soldiers, no matter what branch of the military or in what time period they fought.  While I may never experience what true combat is really like, I now have at least a taste of what soldiers go through, their stress, and the life-and-death reality of a battlefield.

            This sunk in all the more when I found out my great uncle fought at Belleau Wood, a battle that you described with great detail and passion.  I can now only imagine what it must have been like for him in that forest as he pressed against the German army.  Perhaps some of the nameless characters in your book that were shot and wounded could have been him.  Perhaps my great uncle knew Pvt. Temple and befriended him.  My great uncle died at Belleau Wood; we found a letter that he wrote to his wife before heading into battle.  Reading your book made his experiences, his worries, and his shortened life come shattering out from the shell of historic fiction to real life and death experiences.

            Your book provided me with not only information, but appreciation.  You gave me appreciation for what true combat is really like.  You gave me appreciation for what soldiers past and present go through.  You gave me appreciation for what my great uncle went through.

            Thank you.

            Daniel Menzel