Reading List: Love Letters of Soldiers

So far, I've found comfort and some inspiration in the letters between soldiers and their significant others, regardless of which war they were written through. A few of my favorites...

Dearest Virginia: Love Letters from a Cavalry Officer

by Gayle Hunnicutt (Ed.)

More coming soon!

Christmas Letters

Rather than sending more candy, which I know there was a ton of around the holidays, I decided to reach out to my local community (including friends, family members, the sisters of a sorority from the undergraduates at my current graduate school, and anyone who was interested in sharing their love and support for the soldiers). Initially I planned to craft a box or a giant stocking to send these in once collected, but I found at Michaels, the Arts & Crafts store for $2.99 this amazing Christmas Gift Bag, already bearing the perfect message: Don't Open 'Til December 25th!

What a great deal (as is everything at that store, which has come to be like a second home to me throughout this deployment... you'd be surprised how many good ideas come to you while wandering up and down the aisles... more to come!)

Anyway, here is how it turned out:

Writer's Block

If you're ever searching for a cute new idea...

• Cut out words from magazines and make a collage letter 
• Find famous love letters and copy one down for him
• Write a full page of "I Love You"s to send
• Plan a future trip. You can write one day of the vacation and mail it to him. He can pick up where you left off and write another day and mail it back to you.
  

It's the little things...

When he waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home, make sure they call his name.

 When he holds his letter close, make sure your words are something to hold on to.

When you say your prayers at night, you don't have to pray that he misses you. He does, so pray for his courage and safety instead.

"...the letters were precious"

A soldier explains how much the hand-written letters he received meant to him. He explains that this is even more important in Afghanistan, because email and phone communication is far less accessible than it is in Iraq. Full Article

Best Line: "handwriting and perfume-- you can't get through the phone or e-mail"

More photos of Soldiers With Letters

Motivation

This week, during my second visit to the Waltham Post Office, a postal worker smiled at me, and I politely smiled back and went back to filling out-- yet again-- the 2976A Customs Form. I had that feeling.. you know, when you can tell someone is debating whether to ask a question (usually for directions, or if you've met before). When I looked up, he simply said "God bless you, and tell that lucky solider that we thank him and stand behind him."

I stayed a few more minutes as he told me stories about serving in Vietnam, and he quickly and completely reassured me that I shouldn't worry so much about the little things-- like whether my letters are silly (what I burned in the kitchen) or uninteresting (what I'm learning in grad school), or if my packages ever get boring or repetitive. He told me something that put a smile on my face, kept it there all day, and was quickly sent right through the phoneline to my wonderful friend "R" as well!

He said: "To a soldier, hearing your name at mail-call is like hearing I Love You for the first time. It can make-or-break your spirit, especially on tough days. If your name is called, you feel like a God".

I started into a "but what if..." but before I could get another word out, he jumped in and said "It doesn't matter what you send. If you sent cookies and they arrived as a bag of crumbs, they taste like home-made cookies on a snowday. You can send a letter with nothing more than 'Hi!' written on it, and it will make his day."

So, while I have my bases covered on those last two scenarios (see Cookies and Writers Block), these words were so comforting, a welcome surprise, and are an incredible first-hand source of motivation.

Bottom Line: Find 5 minutes in your day or week and write a letter to your soldier! XO