Beside us lies a fair-headed recruit in utter terror. He has buried his face in his hands, his helmet has fallen off. I fish hold of it and try to put it back on his head. He looks up, pushes the helmet off and like a child creeps under my arm, his head close to my breast. The little shoulders heave. Shoulders just like Kemmerich's. I let him be. Erich Maria Remarque
About This Quote

Kemmerich is a ten-year-old boy who was killed during World War I. His mother and grandfather both died, and his father was wounded so badly that he is now in an insane asylum. This is Kemmerich's first day of combat and he is terrified, especially with the dead body of a child just like him next to him. How must it feel to be a child who just lost his parents and now has to join the rest of the men on the front lines? It must be terrifying.

Source: All Quiet On The Western Front

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