Battle for Souls

"Hey! What the heck is that?"

We were looking at the contents of an old cedar chest we picked up at a garage sale. Inside were a few bundles of letters, some yellowed now with age. And we could also see a few pictures and an assortment of what looked like medals.

My buddy looked at the stationery box I had in my hand and said,

"Looks like some sort of writing box. Why don't you take it apart and see what's in there."

The stationery box was made from solid oak and had ivory inlays in the top. When you opened the box, a sort of writing surface covered with faded red fabric folded out. Under the writing surface there was storage on each side. In these storage pockets I found 4 things: a couple of pictures, a map with drawn arrows and notes, a 3-page typed letter, and a longer story or narrative of sorts.

“What did you find?” my buddy asked.

“Well as near as I can tell it looks like a letter written in the mid-40s. It starts out “Dear Mom and Dad” and has a date of June 1943.”

“Hey maybe it’s some kind of war story. You know World War II was in full swing about that time.” My buddy was always up for a good war story and loved to hear about the courage and service of our troops.

“Let me read a little, but look at this map! Looks like you were right.” I said as I handed him the map to look over. We reproduced the map for you with our latest editing tools so you can see the picture too.

As I read the letter – all 3 pages – it appeared to be a description of what was on the map. There was more detail in the letter, of course, but that letter pretty much described what you see on the map. You can see what the letters looked like below.

Yellowed with age they’d been stored in this cedar chest for the last 80 years, or at least it seemed like it as I carefully read through each page.

“You know, this guy was something else. One of the things he said in his letter was that his unit ran into other Army units holding German prisoners in North Africa. And get this, he actually went over to the prison camps to look around and see how the prisoners were doing.” I said as I folded the letter back up into its creased folds.

"And he also said the censors might have taken out some of what he wrote, like specific locations, troop movements and where he actually was."

“Now here’s the real interesting part. These last papers have a story or narrative about this guys unit, which according to the map was part of the 815th Engineering Battalion, US Army.”

“Let me read it to you.”

"Ship from England still at sea

Crossing now past Gibraltar

Amazing things to see

Were it not for dangers"

"Dangers in the water

Dangers on the land

And yet we fight

For His Almighty Hand"

"Days and days of only water

Now land both north and south

Spain and Africa as close as eyes can see

We know who might be there"

"And yet we travel on

Full field packs and rifles at the ready

Not knowing where we’ll land

Only certain"

"Certain that we’ll be

In the middle of it

Trusting in each other

And the One who shows His might"

"Landing soon they say

In the middle of the night

Be at the ready

There might just be a fight"

"Ready to charge the beach

Like wild Indians we all expect

Running through ankle deep water

To keep the Devil at bay"

"Calmly landing in Arzew

Stepping from the ship to shore

Like walking onto the porch

Of our homes so far away"

"My soul knows

I will be okay

Do not worry

For God has me now"

"He has my friend now too

Who used to be beside me

That life gone to heaven

In this war for souls"

"Company of men

Our land legs back again

Marching miles

In foreign lands"

"Always at the ready

To battle for souls

Of our country and yours

God willing we will prevail"

"Walking further still

At the crossroads to where

We need to go

To where the fight is"

"Some of our company went missing

Not sure how or where

Picking me to stay

At this corner to give directions"

"Somewhere in North Africa

Hearing the big guns at night

Waiting for my comrades

So we can rejoin the right"

"Hours pass and no men come

Alone but resolute

My feet take me down the road

The road to battle and my company"

"Finding now the camp

I wonder where they went

Checking with the man in charge

Found them paused for lunch"

"Strange it seems to be

In this land of bravery

Warfare top of mind

Then having lunch served"

"Dug in now not far from where

The Allied sides converge

On Darlan’s assassination

Christmas Day no less"

"Barely 14 clicks from there

Entrenched in rain and mud

We’re told to really prepare

The Devil’s on the loose"

"Again no action

But ready we were

Knowing God and His Armies

Were close behind"

"Marching now across more lands

Known to none of us

Except to protect

The people and the freedoms there"

"Strange and lovely sight

Upon the nearer hill

That lone pear tree

Reminder that all will be won"

"The taste of home again

Ripe pears from off the ground

Never a more welcome friend

To share with"

"God’s grace and abundance

Seen even here

Pears and home

Fills the belly and the soul"

"Eating only C-rations until then

They were really good we agreed

But fresh fruit ripened on the tree

Brings picnics and jelly into memory"

"The things I miss from home

Seem simpler today

Shoe shine and sewing kits

Clean water for my way"

"Further to the east now

More than 700 miles

From where we first stepped on shore

Two years past"

"Following key battle footsteps

We hear and see more guns

Weary of our campaign

Yet steel of souls remain"

"The fall of Tunis

In late May of ‘43

Ecstatic reverie of victory

Staging more souls to battle"

"Launching from those distant shores

Italy bound are we

Aboard the ships again

Knowing now the dangers"

"To land once more

At Anzio they say

We have been victorious

But take no pleasure"

"For surely the Enemy knows

And will mount that certain Death

That only God can beat

Through His Divine breath"

"Breathe on me now my Spirit

Instill in me no fear

Bring the courage that You have for me

Souls in battle on the line"

"He is here beside me

Mighty sword at the ready

His commanding voice

Telling us, no fear"

"We battle on day after day

Months of heavy fighting

With shelling and loud fray

Spent from bloody comrades"

"This company of men

Who served this battle crown

Winning souls for God in combat

Putting the Devil down"

"Months it took to move

No courage from those in charge

Left the door open for the Enemy

So we fight harder now"

"Slow slogging progress toward Rome

Could have been much easier

If not for doubts and questions

The Devil’s favorite play"

"So do not hesitate

To know our God

He will triumph

Over all"

"And battle for your soul and mine

Take up the cry and hold the line

Even death we do not fear

For He and His Army are always near"

I looked at my buddy after finishing the story. With misty eyes he was holding up 6 medals in his hands. Looking at me he said,

“These are Army medals… 2 Silver Stars, and 4 Bronze Stars. They didn’t give these away for nothing back in the day. Must have been some kind of fights this guy was in!”

“I can only imagine.” I said.

“But you know what gets me the most? I think it’s the pear tree. Being so far from home, and having that taste in the middle of this kind of conflict!”

“Makes you think, doesn’t it?” my buddy said.

We quietly folded up the last narrative, put the pictures, letter, map and story back into the writing box, closed it, and just sat there quietly for a while.