MvR writes from Schelmce

Manfred wrote from Schelmce, on the other side of the border. The letter was dated 5 August, the day when the church service brought us together on the little parade ground and I was worried about him. While we stood and sang, he probably wrote this greeting to home in some forest clearing south-west of Kalisch, with the distant rumble of the cannons, still tired from the night patrol, which is now his third. Only six men still belong to the small troop of horsemen that has closed in on the enemy. None of them are wounded yet, thank goodness. But things will probably change soon. When I receive this letter, Manfred writes, he may already be on his way to the west. Lothar also wrote a card from Traben about the journey there. We have never been able to say goodbye to either of our sons. That's a little sad. But how many mothers will feel like that!