Book Portfolio

Book: Once there was a war
In the book Once there was a War John Steinbeck describes the horror and experiences that the soldiers in World War II went through. In one part of the book he describes the soldiers daily routine and what they told their officers when they went into battle. Usually at night the soldiers would eat and then shower. Sometimes they would gather in the mess hall to play cards or sometimes they would go and get their things ready. They always slept in uniform that way they were ready in the middle of the night if a battle was to break out. Steinbeck said that the soldiers never made their bed because when they came back from battle they wanted their bed to be ready and they could just jump right in and go to sleep without having to fuss with the sheets and everything. Also every morning when they got up and got ready to go to battle they would tell their officer in charge that if they died in battle that their ring and pictures were under their pillow. That is where all the sacred things went. The soldiers did not wear their wedding ring into battle because they knew that if they died then they would never get the ring. So they left it under their pillow for their loved ones to have if they died.
This book also talks about the fun that the soldiers had when they had time to have fun. They had a mascot that was a goat. They would always make sure they patted the goat before a battle for good luck. They said that if they could take the goat with them in the plane that they would. Steinbeck talked about one time how they got the goat drunk. There are no pleasures of war but when you ca have a little bit of fun, it takes the edge off.
In this book there was an amazing connection between the soldiers and you when you were reading it. You felt like you knew what they were going through although you really couldn't imagine it. When I read this book I began to have a greater respect for those who fought in this war and selfishly gave themselves up for the protection of other people.