1. Journal entry 9
June 23
On June 23, 1944, Scott Collins wrote “Sometimes, I’d swear that war is a living think, huge and ugly, that eats up lives” (p. 29).
June 25
On June 25, 1944, Collins and others went to a badly damaged church and met three females with the estimated ages of 8, 45, and 70. He wrote “We sat around for a while and then Bobby Joe said he didn’t think they had anything to eat. They invited me to dinner and said I could bring my friends” (p. 32). “The little girl was younger than Ellen, but she reminded me of my sister. Ellen is older in years, but this little girl was older in a different way. The fighting is taking away the little girl in her and making her old before her time. We soldiers are fighting for our lives. The French, already beaten down by the Germans, are fighting for their souls” (p. 32).
Prompt: What does Collins mean by these two journal entries? Review your character values handout. What character traits would you give all those mentioned? Reread the diary entries from the diary, discuss these questions with your group, and then write one paragraph about the June 23rd diary entry, one paragraph about the June 25th diary entry, and one paragraph about how you feel empathetic towards these people.