[Text of J.C's letter - rewritten?]
Dear Mr & Mrs Butler:-
It is with a heavy heart & filled with sorrow that I write these few lines of sympathy to you & your family. Karl & I had been very close friends all the time we've been together in the army. One could not wish for a better pal. The memories of the happy & the hard times we shared with one another shall always remain with me. I feel lost without him.

His end came suddenly & quickly. He was making as he used to say himself a spot of tea with a few of the boys when suddenly the enemy fired a few mortar shells into our position. Karl & another Cape Breton boy Jack Kennedy were killed instantly, another was wounded. It was about 7 P.M. 2 Aug. 43. We buried his remains early the next morning beneath a tree in an orchard in a very quiet beautiful & peaceful spot.
His many friends in the plattoon & throughout the unit - join me in expressing our deep sympathy to you & your family. Karl was a great pal & an excellent soldier. Our loss is God's gain. May God bless you in your bereavement.
Sincerely
J.C.