Chapter 8 Dear Mr.

Kilmer
Events Sequence
Richards father asks why he turned down his part of the 1
Doughboy. Richard explains that Hannah won the essay-writing
competition fairly to be Miss Liberty but everybody ganged-up
on her. He found that unfair and declined the role.
Someone has thrown a stone at Hannar or shot it from a 11
slingshot at her. Richard picks up the stone and sees the word
Hun written on it.
Richard shares Mr.Kilmers sad letter with the Schermers. He 5
finds it hard to spend Christmas away from his family, and he
misses the woods. Hannad bakes cookies with nuts and raisins
and Mrs. Schermer knits a scarf to cheer him up. Richard sends
them to him in his next letter. Mr. Kilmer writes back that he
likes the delicious cookies and the warm comforting scarf.
Suddenly, Hannah thinks about her brother and feels sad. 9
Richard too, is worried about Mr.Kilmer and his brother, who
wants to enlist in the Army.
Richards father advises him not to side with the Schermers 3
against the rest of the community as they are different. He
reminds Richard that their ancestors farmed on this land and
have been here longer than the Schermers.
In late May, the Allies are victorious after American troops 7
push back the Germans marching along the Marne River in
France. All the students cheer and sing.
Pa tells him that Abners father, Ike Lewis, complained about 2
him. According to Ike, Richard declined the role in school to
side with the Schermers, he is unpatriotic and he wants the
Germans to win the war. Richard tells Pa that the Schermers
are patriotic, they want the Allies to win and their son, Otto, is
an American soldier fighting in France with the Allies
Most of the students ignore Richard for declining the role of 4
the Doughboy. He does not care about it. Whenever he is
lonely, he visits the Schermers. They understand his dreams
and longings. He shares Mr.Kilmers letter with them too, and
he even reads his poetry to them.
In spring, Mr. Highby tells the class the bad news. The 6
Germans have bombarded Paris and forced a British retreat.
Mr. Kilmer writes that he and his comrades are living in
trenches which are like coffins. In another letter, Mr.Kilmer
says that he is now a sergeant. He also describes nature and
the gutter babies begging for handouts at the mess line.
On the last day of school, the students have a picnin on a 8
grassy meadow about a mile away. Hannah is Richards date.
They sit under a large tree and eat the food that her mother
prepared. Hannah describes the tall buildings and people in
New York as well as East Side to him.
Then Richard takes Hannah to a big oak tree on which many 10
couples carve their initials in its trunk. Richard carves a heart
and the letters R and H inside it with his pocket knife.
Suddenly, he hears Hannah groaning and sees that her ankle
is bleeding.