War times are always difficult, but when you have to be away from your loved ones it makes it even harder. Communication in today’s day in age is very easy with cell phones and other technology. Back before technology the best way and only way to communicate was through letters. The letters sent during wartime strengthened relationships because it helped those people appreciate each other that much more when they are together, shined light onto how much they missed one another while they were apart from each other, and in some cases it was the last way that they could express their love to their loved one.
During war, couples had to experience letting go from their loved ones and this is not easy. The only way to hang onto the person that you loved was to write them a little and ask them for an update. In a letter written Lt. Jack Emery, he writes to his Fiance about how much he misses her. He recalls seeing a rainbow at night. Jack explains how this makes him miss her. Lt. Emery writes in his letter, “That’s when I miss you the most darling — at night when everything is so still and quiet. Sometimes I pretend we are just sitting there with our arms about each other our hearts beating as one.” In this quote you can see his true passion for his fiance and you can feel the pain of their separation. This letter was the last time that he was ever to express his love to his fiance. The letter was the last impression that he had ever left on his fiance. In this way the letter strengthened the overall relationship in the way that it left an overlying last impression of his Fiance and the way that she will look at him for the rest of her life. Similarly to this letter, Major Sullivan Ballou wrote a letter to his wife. He wrote this letter with the feeling that he was not going to be able to make it back to see her. Sullivan leaves his last wishes to his wife and he is passionate about his love for her. He asks her not to mourn but just to wait for him because they will meet again. Just like Lt. Emery’s letter, Major Ballou was able to express his love one last time before he passed and leave an everlasting impression on the relationship with his wife and the way that she will forever think about him.
Letters help connect loved ones when they are apart. During war, couples adapt to being apart by writing letters to each other to express how much they miss each other. George Washington wrote a letter to his wife in 1775 before he went to a camp in Boston. With the war just freshly starting, Washington was going to be apart from his wife for a little while. In the letter he writes “As I am within a few Minutes of leaving this City, I could not think of departing from it without dropping you a line; especially as I do not know whether it may be in my power to write again till I get to the Camp at Boston—I go fully trusting in that Providence, which has been more bountiful to me than I deserve, & in full confidence of a happy meeting with you sometime in the Fall.” Washington explains that he would miss her dearly and he could not even think about leaving without writing to his wife. This brought them together in a time that they were apart. When reading this letter you can put yourself in the shoes of Martha and George and you can feel that they will make it through the time they are apart because they have the letters to communicate with each other. On the other hand, wives would write to their husbands at war all the time. In one letter written by a wife of a soldier from the Korean war, she expresses that she can not stand to be apart from him any longer. In this letter she asks him many times to just come home and not only just for her but for the kids as well. She misses him so much and you can feel the pain that she is in, in the letter. This letter helped shine light on how much she truly did miss her husband and how much she just wants him home to raise the kids and be there for her.
Building relationships happens through the form of pen pals all the time. There have been less pen pals in today’s day in age but, during World War II letters were still the main form of communication through distances. In a story in the epistolary format, you get to see the growth of a relationship and you can see it turn into marriage. As time goes on, they begin to fall in love with each other. Bessie and Chris eventually meet and have to split up again. During this time that they are split up, they use the letters to communicate that they appreciate the time that they had together so much. After meeting with Bessie, Chris writes a letter to Bessie and in that letter he states “I do not think we could have come any closer these last weeks, without making the parting unendurable. Regard, or try to regard, my visit as a link between the days of letters when we were finding each other, and these days when we know how great is our mutual dependence, how much we depend on each other for life itself.” This quote alone shows how much he missed being with her and he realizes that he appreciates the times that they had with each other so much more now that they are apart. In a very similar situation, Norma Clinton and Captain Harry Kipp built a relationship through letters during World War II. They got engaged over letters and when they finally meet they ended up getting married. Before meeting Norma, Harry writes “We’ve waited nearly two years now, and if we do find ourselves a bit embarrassed when we meet, it will be no more than it is natural to expect and the awkwardness will disappear in a moment, because deep in our hearts we understand each other, and we know that our two individual lives are bound to each other inseparably and nothing under the sun can ever change that.” Harry explains how their being apart and their ability to grow through the letters and build that emotional connection is so strong that no matter how they feel when they first meet, they will get over it because of their great connection. They realize that being apart was the best thing for them and it strengthened the overall bond between Norma and Harry.
Taking everything into account, you can see the impact that the letters that were written during war times were so great and helped grow and strengthen the relationships of those who wrote them. Having your last ever letter be to your partner shows them how much you truly loved them and it leaves an everlasting feeling about that person. Being apart from one another made them realize that they wanted to be together and the letter showed just how much these people missed each other. Appreciation for one another was grown in the letters because they got to know each other on a deeper level and got to appreciate how much they loved being with that person. Letters during times of war help strengthen relationships and left everlasting impacts on people’s thoughts on their loved ones.
Sources:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16xtkawQQUt_Pc26P-3Kp7Sz4NNMEnr_K/view
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media/pdf/transcript/War_letters_transcript_2011.pdf
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-09-ca-1933-story.html
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