Slaughterhouse Five- Roland Weary’s Letter Home

Dear Father,

I first wanted to thank you for helping me get prepared to enter this war. I know you would be very proud of me because I am doing what you have told me and taught me. I am using the Derringer pistol and the government issued trench knife you gave me. I met this guy named Billy Pilgrim and I honestly do not know how I feel about him. Sometimes he is ok and other times I swear I could just scream at him. “I told him about the Iron Maiden, about the drain in her bottom- and what that was for.” (45) I also told Billy about your “collection of guns and swords and torture insturments and leg irons and so on.” (45) I am really proud of all the weapons and torture equipment you have shown me, it makes me feel so much more prepared for this war. I know a lot of people doubt me since I am only eighteen and have never had experience with war. Thanks to you though, I know some things about weapons and torture devices. Billy always tries to tell me I don’t know anything but I proved him wrong. I bet him he didn’t know what a blood gutter was and you will not believe what he guessed. He said “it was a drain in the bottom of the Iron Maiden.” (46) He looks so dumb for saying that, he is supposed to know all this stuff about war but couldn’t even get that right. I explained to him that “it is a shallow groove in the side of the blade of a sword or bayonet.” (46)

I met two other scouts and we really get along. We call ourselves the three musketeers. I also saved Billy Pilgrim and he is so much older than me. I was in a ditch with the two other musketeers and I saw Billy standing in the road, I yelled up to him “get out of the road, you dumb motherfucker.” (42) He got out of the road and I bragged a little by saying “saved your life again, you dumb bastard.” (43) That isn’t even the first time I saved him either, I think he might be stupid or something because I just keep saving him. For the past couple days I’ve been “saving Billy’s life for days, cursing him, kicking him, slapping him, making him move. It was absolutely necessary that cruelty be used, because Billy wouldn’t do anything to save himself.” (43) I think Billy might want to quit or something but I don’t know. He keeps telling us to go on without him but we aren’t, that is not what soldiers do.

Something really bad happened to me though. It was time to move from the trench, I thought I was very prepared for whatever was about to come because “I had my helmet, helmet liner, wool cap, scarf, gloves, cotton undershirt, woolen undershirt, wool shirt, sweater, blouse, jacket, overcoat, cotton underpants, woolen underpants, woolen trousers, cotton socks, woolen socks, combat boots, gas mask, canteen, mess kit, first aid kit, trench knife, blanket, shelter half, raincoat, bulletproof bible, a pamphlet entitled “Know Your Enemy”, another pamphlet entitled “Why We Fight”, and another pamphlet of German phrases rendered in English phonetics, which should enable me to ask Germans questions such as “Where is your headquarters?” and “How many howitzers have you?” or tell them, “Surrender. Your situation is hopeless,” and so on.” (50) We were walking and walking and than we came across five German soldiers and dogs. I was taking control over the situation since Billy didn’t want to live and I was the leader of the three musketeers. So the soldiers saw me push Billy around because if I didn’t he would have died.

Anyway, the soldiers noticed my boots, took them from me and gave them to a boy. In return, I got these boys clogs. The clogs were so uncomfortable and I had to walk for miles in them. We finally made it to a stone cottage with twenty other Americans in there. Germans found us in there and took pictures of my feet. They made us come with them. We were all marching with our hands on top of our heads, I was crying because the horrible pains in my feet. The clogs were turning my feet into blood puddings. (81) We have been here for awhile just trying to survive, we are starving and cold. I have just been told that I have gangrene because of my mangled feet. I hope I won’t let you down but if this is the last time you hear from me than you know why.

I just want you to tell the story of the three musketeers and I keep telling everyone here that I am aware I may not make it but there is so much for my family back home in Pittsburgh to know. I above all just want to be avenged so just know that the person who killed me was Billy Pilgrim. Thank you for everything you have taught me about war, weapons, and torture dad. I hope I have made you proud. If you ever see that dumbass Billy Pilgrim, make sure he knows he was the one that killed me though.

From,

Roland Weary