Mom, Dad, Benny:

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I could not go today without a letter home.  Pardon the wetness and the smudges but it is so damp and muddy here in the trenches that it is almost impossible to write.

Well, the war has started for me.  Even after all those months of training I'm not sure I was fully prepared.  You have to experience it first hand.  For the most part we spend our time in dug out trenches.  The Germans too are in trenches just 400 yards away.  Think of it, Benny, the enemy is as far away as our back fence.

There is not much fighting were I am.  It's as if we are in a stalemate.  During the day we keep each other honest with the occasional shot back and forth.  Actually, it can get quite amusing at times.  Today we stuck the Irish flag and the Union Jack on the parapet.  The Germans then used them for target practice.  We countered by singing all kinds of songs (Wearing o' the Green for one).  On and on it goes.  A sense of humour certainly helps.

It's during the night that we actually get out and do something.  Last night I was on patrol in no-man's-land (the space between the trenches). Our job is to fix the barbed wire entanglements and repair any damage to the parapet.  It's funny, we can see the Germans doing the same thing.  There is an unwritten law to leave each other alone at this time.  Sometimes I think that if we could only sit down and talk with them we could make some sense out of this war.

We are feed well (you'll be happy to know Mom).  We get rations of bully beef every day.  We also get cigarettes and rum, but I trade them for more food (Arthur and George love me!).

Spring is early here.  Dad, plowing and harrowing are already done! It's strange how the farmers continue with all this stuff happening around them.  The smell of fresh manure is everywhere.  Everyone else can't stand it, but I love it; it reminds me of home.  Oh, I miss home. 

So this is my war.  There have been rumors that we'll be moving more to the core of the action soon, Ypres I believe.  I'll write when I know for sure.  Till then I'll just keep my head down.  Nothing to worry about.

Love

Alex