In Memoriam

Ellwood is sent to Flanders in July of 1915, stationed with Gaunt. He meets Hayes, who comments that he shouldn’t expect Gaunt to be the same because they’re all “tired and…well, tired” (86). Over the first several days, Gaunt is distant with Ellwood, sending him off to do a task each time they are alone together.

Ellwood quickly realizes that the “ugliness” of the war is much worse than the actual violence. The men have little to eat except jam and bread, which are infested with bugs. The sandbags surrounding the trench have mostly been repacked with earth, which is riddled with human flesh, leading to a horrible smell. The men are constantly wet yet are unable to change their clothes or boots, leading to horrible wounds that don’t heal.

On their fifth night, after dinner, Hayes suggests a game of cards. Shocking everyone, Gaunt breaks down into tears. Ellwood thinks back to the letter that Gaunt wrote him about shooting Harkins in the trenches; he wrote that “[n]o one would play him at cards, because he always won” (94). Ellwood tries to comfort him, but when he reaches out to touch him, Gaunt becomes furious, yelling at Ellwood that he is his captain.