"In this world it's not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich." (Henry Ward Beecher)

One Last Memory

November 5, 2009 at 2:22 am (Uncategorized)

Currently, in my Literature of War and Peace class, I am reading several letters written by wives and children of  WWII soldiers.  It amazes me the power that a letter can hold.  Whether the letter is a simple recollection of the day, or is a documentation of love and passion, it contains symbolic meaning, personality, and truth.  Specifically, after searching through my google news feeds, I came across an NPR podcast that talks about the significance of a soldier’s last letter home.  The podcast goes on to interview a man named Bill Couturié.  Mr. Couturie created a film from a collection of letters written by soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.  Specifically, the film exposes viewers to these soldeirs’ final letters and the families’ reaction to them.  When asked to explain why he chose to create this film, Couturie states,

“I have a soft spot in my heart for letters and I feel the pain from this war is not being felt in this country.”

He goes on to explain that Americans distance themselves from the war, and unless they are directly connected, they don’t concern themselves with it.  Therefore, Bill attempts to portray this emotion from the last letters written by American soldiers.  He does not send a political message or preach to his audience, Couturie simply has family members read the letters, and lets the soldiers tell the story.

As I listened to this NPR podcast I was moved by the purpose and reality of the stories.  At the same time, I found myself comparing the letters read in the podcast with the letters from a book I am reading entitled, Since you Went Away.  Since you Went Away is a collection of letters written during WWII.  Particularly, I think that the letters written by Natalie Mirenda to her husband, compliments this NPR podcast.  Throughout Natalie’s letters there is a consistent tone of urgency and fear.  It is almost as if she knows that something is wrong and that her husband is in trouble.  With each letter that she writes him, her desperation increases.  In one of her final letters to her husband she writes,

“Oh, Frank take care of yourself.  You know you catch cold easily.  Take care of yourself also as we need you home so much……..”(247)

Frank never made it home. 

It as almost as if soldiers and their families have a nasty sense about when things are going bad.  This is illustrated through the desperate tones in letters from family members, or sometimes through ”open just in case” letters that soldiers send home.  To imagine having to write a final letter saying everything that I feel and think is sickening.  It’s almost as if these soldiers are summing up their lives, declaring their love, and helping their families face the future, in a two page letter.  On the flip side, family members, who try to keep negativity quieted, are faced with the challenge of writing a letter knowing that it might be the last time they communicate.  Still, a letter is all they have. 

The more I blog about military families, and the more stories that I read, the more emotional I become.  Before I took this class I was one of the millions of Americans who knew about the war but felt disconnected from it.  Now after reading blogs, keeping up on current events, and listening to these last letters, I am personally involved.  While I do not know the pain that these families feel, I know one thing is certain, it is not easy. To imagine reading that last letter, knowing that was the last memory, the last moment of communication, and the last feeling of hope, is enough to make me appreciate and salute the families of American soldiers.

“Families Share Soldiers ‘Last Letters Home’”

By:  Michele Morris

1, November, 2004

Full Article