Personal Narrative: The Dinner Table Is Silent

The dinner table was silent. My father, silent. My mother, silent. My brother, silent. We all made glances at each other while controlled by it.
I was to ship away in 7 days. It was Christmas, 1944. Possibly the last time I was to ever see my family. I didn’t want to leave my family. Growing up with them on a farm, my small, silent family, they were some of the only people I truly knew. The same faces I saw every day at my school were not the people I truly bonded with. It was my brother, my father, and my mother. I could almost hear the slow wind outside. It reminded me I was to go away so soon. I looked at those around me. I realized they were not silent because of embarrassment or not knowing what to say, but rather because they knew exactly what to say. That became my favorite moment throughout the entirety of the war.
Suddenly, I was back. Back to new faces in the English transport. These faces slowly bumping up and down, swaying as well. I wondered about their stories compared to mine. Drafted straight out of high school, deployed on New Year's Day of 1945. The old …show more content…
We were still being lugged around, and every time I blinked it seemed like I was in a new place with new scenery with new people. However, the chaos was evident in those around me. Even in seemingly peaceful, gorgeous places, I saw [ ] in the faces of those we passed on the streets. Despaired, hopeful faces of mothers. The children we thought to be oblivious, desperate for salvation with their furrowed brows. I hoped everything that I could provide some sort of happy ending for these folks. They were just like any of us. The outlook before my deployment seemed hopeful as the Allies made great strides in our offensive across Europe towards Germany, but that was until the Germans saw a weakness causing a bulge offensive my Germany. I was assigned to the 83rd Infantry Division of the United States Army for this