A Soldier's Wish

Feb. 12, 1917

The world will settle down to peace and harmony and let us hope with the firm knowledge that there will never be such a holocaust of murder as this has been."

The year is 1915 and the world is in chaos. Ernest Diss was a successful entrepreneur running a car repair business in Los Angeles. He saw it as his duty to return to Canada and join the fighting, persuading his brother, Frank, to enlist with him.

He finished his training in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he met Amy Graham at a dance. They corresponded at least weekly and often more frequently. Through his 187 letters, they fell in love, became engaged and planned their future together. Through those letters we are able to experience what life was for an ordinary soldier in England, Belgium, France and finally Germany. Ernest's descriptions of everyday life afford us a glance back in time.

Ernest was not a hero. In fact, because of his mechanical ability, except for a short time on the frontline constructing trenches he spent a large part of the war behind the lines building armaments. What he was was a musician, an explorer, an organizer and a romantic. He had three wishes: first that the war would end with the allies victorious and there would never be another war; secondly, that his brothers and he would come through the war unscathed; and thirdly, that he would return to Canada and start a family with Amy.

How different our world is today with instant communications, machines that provide us with our entertainment and the ability to get anywhere in the world within 48 hours. How similar in that we still value family over everything and we still possess a duty to the welfare of others and a loyalty to our country.