I’ve Never Been To War - Blog Posts

I think the reason why Eugene Roe is my favorite character is because I relate to his faith in God, to his prayers that go unanswered. That he has a particular saint he recites things from (Francis, like I personally have with Matthew), and he holds onto it. That his faith is shaking as bad things continue to happen but he clings to it with his fingers because it’s what his family has taught him. That eventually when everything has fallen around him, when Bastogne gets blown up, Renee dies, and he realizes he cannot save everyone, he makes his own faith. He sits next to Babe and fixes his hand and looks out onto the line where the Germans are waiting to kill them, and he decides to laugh. To smile. Because one day God will answer and show him His plan, but right now he needs to survive. And then in Austria, in Zell am See, and bad things still happen but Eugene saves Chuck. Or he sees someone else save him. The mountains are beautiful, he’s playing baseball, and the war is over. I like to think that at the end of it all, Eugene saw His plan, and he found peace in that.