Kateland Thao wrote a letter to his family describing the horrors of war he has witnessed. He has seen dead bodies and men being shot. He has heard cries of pain from injured soldiers. While hiding in trenches, soldiers risk developing trench foot, a disease caused by lack of circulation that turns the skin black. Though the experiences are extreme, Kateland feels proud to serve his country but misses his family greatly.

1. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Name: Kateland Thao
You have just read personal experiences from soldiers in World War One. Take a few minutes
and annotate this soldier. What did he see, hear, smell, feel, and think?
With his nose, he
smelt the burning due
to fire.
With his eyes, he saw dead corpses on the
ground and people being shot and bombed
while falling to the ground.
With his ears, he heard people crying out in
agony and pain as they fell to the ground. He
also heard the commands of the officers and
lieutenant. Bombs and gunshots were being
heard as well.
With these hands he may have dragged a fellow soldier
from the trenches to an ambulance.
Kateland Thao Tuesday, May 8, 2012 4:14:50 ET 04:0c:ce:d2:15:b2

2. May 7, 2012
Thao Family
234 East Ave.
Mooresville, NC 28115
Dear family,
I miss you all a lot. I have just reached another one of my destinations and found some time to
be able to write you all this letter about my experience so far. At first I was extremely excited to
be a part of the army and to be considered a hero, but now I realize how tough war actually is.
Iʼve seen and heard things that keep me awake at night. The cries for help and cries of pain
play in my mind and keep repeating over and over again. Iʼve seen men drop down to their
knees as they are struck with a gunshot or other weapon. Iʼve seen blood and dead corpses
just lying around as Iʼve tried to maneuver my way to safety.
There were often times when I would hide out in a trench to keep myself safe. I would hide out
with a few others, and we would wait until the enemies werenʼt looking before weʼd shoot and
strike at them. Although these trenches help defend us, it can give us soldiers a disease. This
disease is called “trench foot.” I have not gotten it yet, thankfully, but some of my fellow
comrades have gotten trench foot, and it is not a pleasuring sight. The skin on a personʼs foot
is no longer nourished and so it turns black and ends up dying. Trench foot happens because
of how often we hide out in trenches.
I know that trench foot might sound scary and horrifying, and I donʼt mean to scare you all, but
I feel like I should keep you all updated on what I am experiencing here. I know that you are all
hoping Iʼm okay, and I am doing fine although my experiences are a bit extreme. Iʼm doing the
best I can to protect our country and myself, and although it is quite scary out here, I feel proud
to do something big for once, not only for me, but for others as well.
I miss you all so much, and I hope that I will be able to visit you all soon. I will try my best to
continue sending you all letters.
Sincerely yours,
Kateland Thao
Kateland Thao Tuesday, May 8, 2012 4:14:50 ET 04:0c:ce:d2:15:b2