LETTERS - A DAD I NEVER KNEW

(Brief background: At the time dad was drafted, he had a wife, a son and a daughter. I am the ‘I-am-home-from-the-war’ baby and a few years later another daughter joined the family. November 11, 2010 blog was also about these letters and how my hubby’s name was in them.)

LETTERS

They had always been there in mom and dad’s closet, but we never looked at them. And dad never talked about the war. Dad died in 1972, mom died in 1998 and the letters just sat there - unread until the fall of 2010.

As I began to open and copy the letters, a strange thing happened. I received a glimpse into an enlisted man’s life and I found a man I never knew.

Dad was in basic training in Camp Wheeler, Georgia. Dad, prior to service, was a mechanic, truck driver and had bad feet. Guess where the army placed him. Yup, in the infantry. His letters told about walking. And walking. And walking. And very, very sore feet.

Dad tried to explain what basic training was like and told about new friends, skunks in their barracks and KP duty. When dad arrived in Germany, his letters contained fewer details, because he could not give specific information. Dad did tell about meeting children, being lucky enough to have a heating stove and having his buddies shot. Dad mainly asked about mom, Kenny and Jean. Dad’s letters used the word love. And that is the dad I never knew.

Worlds and worlds of love, dearest, love you millions and love written big and bold were in each letter. And yet, I have no memory of ever hearing my father tell me that he loved me. I always thought that was a generalization thing until I read these letters. He knew how to write that word! What happened between putting that word on letter after letter after letter and speaking it when he came home?

I have always wanted to hear my dad tell me that he loved me. In a way, the reading of these letters has accomplished that. How? Not sure. I just know that somewhere between unfolding the first letter and now, I found a dad I never knew. A dad that did love his family whether he could say it out loud or not. Somewhere, while putting a letter back into its envelope, I heard my father say, “And I love you too.”

Today, as I think about these letters, I want to thank and honor all VETERANS and THEIR FAMILIES.

SCRIPTURES

He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said. 2 CHRONICLES 32:6 - 8

Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. PSALM 144:1

What a world this would be if the word war was never heard again! What a world this would be if no son or daughter, no husband or father, no wife or mother, no sister, brother or friend was ever sent to battle again!

Until that happens, let us honor those that serve and appreciate the families that support them.

LET US PRAY (Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.)

Lord, today I offer prayers of thanksgiving for the men and women who are willing to defend and protect our freedoms and our country. I pray you give them strength, courage, safety and Your power as they face evil around the world. Lord, I ask that you give comfort to the families as they maintain a home. Lord, never let me take for granted the freedoms I have or ever forget those that protect and defend me. Amen

THE LETTER

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 139:13, 16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

THE LETTER

My father was drafted, into the Army, in 1944, had his basic training in Wheeler, Georgia and then went to Germany. He never talked about his service. Oh, there were times when this one Army buddy visited and he and dad would sit at the kitchen table and talk quietly. They would stare at the table, drink many cups of coffee, smoke too many cigarettes and remember. We were never allowed to sit and listen. Those memories were not meant for young ears.

The WAR was something that happened before I was born. The WAR was not something we talked about. The WAR and dad's service ended when he came home. The WAR was the past. Dad was ready to live in the present and begin the future.

A few weeks ago, I started a project. You see, there had always been those letters. Letters between mom and dad while he was in basic training and the ones from dad when he was in Germany. They had always been there in one closet or another. Moved from one home to another. Mother kept them after dad died in 1972 and one sister or another kept them after mom died in 1998. Yes, there had always been those letters, but they had always been in a box or the metal suitcase. Still stuck back in a closet or attic. Remembered but forgotten.

That is until my younger sister found them again and decided it was time for them to be read. What she discovered was a whole new side to our parents. Love. That was never a word used freely in our home, but the word 'love' and the phrase 'I miss you' were in every letter. In those letters, we were seeing a father who missed his son and daughter. A son who had memories of him and a daughter too young to remember anything other than his picture. In those letters, we were seeing a husband who missed his wife. In those letters, we were seeing a wife who learned to run a home on her own and who tried to put the lives of their children into words.

My sister is putting together a booklet with information on family and World War II. My job is to copy the letters. As I opened one letter, the tears began. I had to sit down. I realized God had a plan for me.

I have not copied all the letters, but the first letter I have found so far, was written from Georgia on March 3, 1944.

The letter that made chills go from my toes to the very top of my head was written by my mother in July 1944. This letter contained a news clipping about various soldiers from the Brazil, Indiana area.

Please remember: The amount of mail was tremendous, but this letter made its way to Georgia. Dad left the clipping in the letter. Dad brought the letters home after he finished basic training. Please remember: These letters have been unread since they were written during 1944, 1945 and 1946.

As I opened that letter, I saw the clipping and read: S/Sgt Thomas William Earle is home on leave to visit his wife and son William Francis.

The first letter dad wrote was dated, March 3, 1944. That is my husband's birth day.

I was born November 7, 1946

I met William Francis Earle in 1963. We had our first date August 17, 1963, were engaged June 1964 and were married June 4, 1965.

SCRIPTURE: JEREMIAH 29:11-12

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Before I was even a twinkle in my parent's eyes, God put the name of my husband into our home.

"For I know the plans I have for Mary," declares the Lord. "And his name is William."

AMEN AND AMEN