IT IS a distressing letter sent home by a traumatised Wagga Word War I soldier.
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“My best pal’s gone under and buried by my own hands without even a clergyman to read the last rites – only a rough wooden cross to betray his remains in the shell-torn red fields of France … I’ve never written this way but I can’t help thinking of those poor devils out there now,” wrote the soldier, known only as Jack.
Jack wrote the letter to Lake Albert girl, Jo Cox, in April, 1918.
Nothing else is known about the couple, including Jack’s last name.
Able Seaman Luke Menz, from Wagga, will have the privilege of reading out the letter at the Anzac Day dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux, France, this year and is desperate to know more about Jack and Jo.
“I know it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack given the little information we have,” Able Seaman Menz said.
“Jack could have been writing to his wife, a girlfriend or his sister.
“Since reading the letter, it has made me wonder how old Jack was, did he come from Lake Albert, what did he do before he joined up and what made him join up.
“And what became of Jack and Jo?”
Able Seaman Menz, 34, is the son of Wagga couple Di and Geoff Menz. The former Mount Austin High School student joined the Royal Australian Navy in 2008 and is currently serving with the Australian Defence Force’s Federation Guard.
“Reading out the letter will bring Jack back to life in a sense, and it has a lot of meaning for me because Jack was a Wagga boy who served his country, and so am I,” Able Seaman Menz said.
“It makes me proud to think I am continuing his legacy by being in the Australian Defence Force and protecting Australia in this day and age.”
Jack wrote: “One can’t go through this awful war without a feeling of disgust. I’ve killed boys in the ranks of the Hun – just like myself – and after it’s over I feel sorry. One can’t help it … one gets so awfully callous you know”.
Jack’s letter was provided to Able Seaman Menz by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Anyone who can help identify Jack and Jo can telephone 69383337 or email kgrimson@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
Jack’s letter
“I’ve … seen the times when I’ve gone without food for days and days and fighting furiously all the time. Those days will live in my memory forever … in the awfulness of that ‘living hell’ in France and Flanders, one can’t believe that there is a God in the world with us.
“My best pal’s gone under and buried by my own hands without even a clergyman to read the last rites – only a rough wooden cross to betray his remains in the shell-torn red fields of France … I’ve never written this way but I can’t help thinking of those poor devils out there now.
“One can’t go through this awful war without a feeling of disgust. I’ve killed boys in the ranks of the Hun – just like myself – and after it’s over I feel sorry. One can’t help it … one gets so awfully callous you know.
When I buried poor little Bluey Taylor at Ypres I cried for 2 hours on his grave … it broke me up as nothing has done so before. He was my best pal and now he’s gone – what’s it all for … as I sit here … and look at the photo of his grave – a cold bleak grave in Flanders – I feel that wretched I could almost kill my miserable self, and to think it’s all for nothing.”