Dearest Elsa,Life at the training camp is about what I had expected. There are plenty of men here, i

Dearest Elsa,

Life at the training camp is about what I had expected. There are plenty of men here, including some of my friends and relatives, both younger than me and about my age. Our camp leader is Sergeant Sebastian Garcon, a strict Frenchman newly arrived in the States. (The French have been fighting this war longer than we have.) Adjusting to military life is different, but I cannot help feeling that my father would be proud of me if he knew that I was training to be a soldier now. When I am not socializing with my brothers in arms, I spend the days writing in my journal or working out to build strength. I hope that you and Victor are well, along with his sweetheart Antonia.

Love, Manuel