If Objects Could Tell Stories WWI Artifact Edition for FPS | Page 27

WWI DOG TAG STORY

I started out as a oval shaped piece of metal . I don ’ t remember much of this , even though it was only a five years ago . The most painful thing any dog tag has to go through is having letters hammered into you . You just have to grit your teeth through the first couple bangs , and then you get used to it . You can ’ t read the name of your soldier , but the day you meet him , it ’ s so exciting ! Thousands of men recruit , while women work in the factories . At least , that ’ s what all the soldiers talk about . The moment my chain was strung around my soldiers neck , the work started . We went straight into the trenches and waited . We sat down and looked around at the muddy , poorly built walls . Soldiers were all around , playing cards , sleeping , writing letters , and some just sitting and staring . I thought there would be more action , but we sat there for an hour before deciding to go to sleep to pass time . The soldier laid down on the wet dirt , and I slowly sank into the mud . I was fine , considering I don ’ t need to breathe , The next day we start working . Everything looks easy . The only bad thing is the noise . In the trenches you can hear the bombs hitting the ground , and gunfire
everywhere . Sometimes I wondered why I could hear so much screaming up there . The trenches aren ’ t so bad , are they ? I think it was a week later , that we received a command . Something about going over the top . It must mean something bad , because my soldier walked slower than ever . He grabbed a gun and positioned himself with three others at a ladder and waited . We were second in line out of the three . I heard gunfire and warcry getting louder and louder as people got closer and closer . I wondered who they were . Maybe they were friends ? But why would they be carrying guns ? I heard a whistle blow and my soldier yelled as he followed the others going over the top Trenches . My soldier was firing every which way . I looked around . It was complete chaos . I was scared . I wanted to go back to the trenches . I watched as soldiers dropped like
rain . I was so confused . I started to wonder , but then I heard a shell dropping towards us . It exploded a few inches away from us , and my soldier slammed to the ground with a thump . I lay there , waiting for something to happen , watching the chaos and destruction happen before me . What was wrong with my soldier ? Was he asleep ? This didn ’ t seem like the right time to sleep . I wished I could send him a message telling him to get up and get out of here ! A few minutes later someone urgently took me off of my soldier . I didn ’ t want to leave him . Why weren ’ t they taking him with me ? The next day I was shipped off to a house in a brown box . Was my soldier here ? A tall woman took my box inside and opened it up . She took me out and cried . What ’ s wrong ? After a while of sitting on the table , she took me and set me on mantle above a fireplace . I sit there today , being looked at by everyone , passed by , held , and sat in the same place on the mantle . I wonder the
same thing as hours fly by , where is my soldier ? 11