3

3.

was a second lieutenant in the 11th - killed at
Romagne.

I am very much afraid you misunder-
stood what I took to be a very delicate bit
of sarcasm in my last letter. My "veteran" stuff
was meant merely to show how those of us
who haven't borne the labor and the heat,
step in at the last moment and assume
the honors. It hurts my sense of balance and
my intelligence also, to hear our near-duds
talk about the war. You - all of you - who
were farther-sighted than we, you selfless
folk who came over before we got into the
war as a nation (God knows we should have
been in when Belgium was violated, should
have risen as one man at the Lusitania -
we see that now) you are the ones I honor
and stand in awe of. Our contribution was
so meager, our sacrifice so little, our eyes
so blind, our hearts so centered in our own
affairs, we were so content - and Heaven
forgive us, "content" is the word - to stay at home,
that now we can only be a little shame faced
at your superb record. It was so damned
decent - and unassuming. My hat is off
to you, lad, but I didn't think I needed