An envelope arrived today from my sister

[Saint_Ann]

It's full of letters that my dad wrote to mom while stationed overseas during WWII. I don't know. What if there's sex talk? I wonder if I will/would hear my dad's voice as I read them, if I read them? Do I even remember what he sounds like? He was a very articulate man, that is when he chose to communicate.

Maybe I'll let them sit there awhile.

Christmas is hard enough.

 

[thør]

Just be fucking glad you have a bit of your family history.

Make sure those letters are passed down.

 

[Saint_Ann]

He did give me life. I passed that down. It's been past down again. Boiled down...I don't know what else there is to do, of any real importance.

 

[Tigersman]

The letters might give you insight as to how your mother was coping with your father's absence and how your father was coping with the war.

 

[Champakian]

They could be highly edited, just like memories.

 

[rockcasbah]

“ my friend Ted showed me his foxhole again last night”

 

[Saint_Ann]

Apparently, this is installment 1. She has gone thru them and typed them up. Who knew she could type. She included a pic of the shoebox full of letters. There must be around 80.

Well, Pandora's box has been opened.

 

[PokieMon]

It's full of letters that my dad wrote to mom while stationed overseas during WWII. I don't know. What if there's sex talk?

Not impossible, but not likely since people weren't as outspoken about such subjects back then. Besides, wouldn't your sister have warned you if she thought there was anything in there that might scar your sensibilities?

 

[Saint_Ann]

Not impossible, but not likely since people weren't as outspoken about such subjects back then. Besides, wouldn't your sister have warned you if she thought there was anything in there that might scar your sensibilities?

My dad was still doing it in his 90s.

 

[anitafantasia]

What exciting reading intimate family letters from ancestors. It can give you directions about your thoughts and who you are. A nice Christmas gift.

 

[Saint_Ann]

What exciting reading intimate family letters from ancestors. It can give you directions about your thoughts and who you are. A nice Christmas gift.

I wasnt thinking of it as a gift. It could be I suppose. I knew the man for 55 years but didnt really "know him".

 

[FL30]

It's full of letters that my dad wrote to mom while stationed overseas during WWII. I don't know. What if there's sex talk? I wonder if I will/would hear my dad's voice as I read them, if I read them? Do I even remember what he sounds like? He was a very articulate man, that is when he chose to communicate.

Maybe I'll let them sit there awhile.

Christmas is hard enough.

WWII letters were censored to make sure that nothing was passed on about where any soldiers were or where they might be going to and for lots of other reasons, too.

In addition, I doubt that any sex talk was written about during that time between adults. Maybe in speaking, but at that time in history, SEX, was still considered a taboo subject and was not talked about or written about unless you were from the seedy part of town. Intimacy, was not common subject matter with anyone during the 40's.

More than likely it's just like the thousands of other letters that were exchanged between separated couples of that time period. i.e., love you, miss you, what's happening at home, how's the family, what the weather was like, can't wait to see you again, etc.

You really should read them, maybe you'll learn more about your father and what he was really like and it just might surprise you.

 

[mackiemack]

who cares, mann?

 

[Saint_Ann]

June 9, 1939

Dad and his buddy are off to training in Baltimore. He speaks of the ride, the countryside. I don't know how he is traveling. Bus? Rail? Auto? He mentions a 3rd traveler. The driver perhaps? I can see this is going to be frustrating. The gaps are huge and there is no one alive to fill them in.

I can tell he is pumped to be away from the farm. His words are sparse but completely on point. The words of an educated man, having just graduated from a private college.

God. I miss him.