Missing his big sister

My youngest brother sent me a letter that still makes me all teary when I read it.

He was just eight at the time. He talks about his fish – a gold fish he won at the county fair in a carnival game.

And he mentions his foot – we grew up on a farm and he steeped on a rusty nail or something so he had to get tetanus shots. Which was a big deal because he got out of doing his farm chores, thus the "running around when he wasn’t supposed to."

The pennies and Scotch tape were the finishing touch that have made me treasure this letter for three decades!

-- Yvonne

My favorite letter

I still have the one letter that my dad sent me while I was in basic training for the Air Force. It was one of the few things he ever wrote -- Mom took care of most the correspondence in the family. Until then, I really didn't even know what his handwriting looked like.

But when I was in my darkest days, with training instructors looking for me to fail and every self-doubt in full bloom, this short letter from my dad wrote me sustained me. It kept me. It boosted my flagging spirits.

"Dear David. I am thinking of you and praying for you. I know it's very difficult but you are up to the challenge. You will be a great member of the U.S. Air Force and will serve our family name well. I am proud of you. Love, Dad."

That was it. But the envelope that that he sealed and the 21 cent stamp he stuck it have stayed with me all those years.

He cared.

World War I letters shared

World War One soldier, Lloyd Maywood Staley wrote letters to his sweetheart Mary Beatrice Gray.

They are found here:

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rstaley/wwlettr1.htm

They are heartbreaking, and yet hopeful.

Have you had letters sent to you from a war zone?

World War II letters

A wonderful site that shares letters from home and from the front lines can be found at Private Art.

There are some gems at this site.

Art saved every letter he recieved. Some are quite humorous.

"Dear Arthur,
Just a few lines to let you know I received your letter, but I think it will take me a few weeks to get over the shock. I thought you had forgotten how to write, or maybe as you said you were too lazy. But I think you had too many other girls to write to, and of course you didn't think about me..."

and then this one to his mother:

"Mom, I had about $60.00 dollars when I got down here and it's all gone. Send me $30.00 as soon as you can. The P.X. is getting watches in and I want one. They'll be in this weeks so send it right away.
As Always,
Pfc. Art "