On this Valentine’s Day I wanted to share a few of the letters that my long –time Valentine sent to me while he was in Vietnam in the Army.
This was our wedding reception. We were married at Fort Hood, Texas when we heard the news that he was going to be sent to Vietnam. Our hearts were broken. When we came back to Connecticut, my mother gave us a reception. This is us at our reception. Wow! Was I young! Lol
Thinking of Valentine's Day, made me think of all the letters I had stashed away upstairs in a closet. A few years ago I took them down from the attic and got a big kick out of how mushy some of them are. This is the perfect day to share some mushiness, right?
Here he is in Vietnam:
So I took out the box of letters that I have kept all these years, most of that time in the attic. I started to go through the letters (and there are a LOT of them – we wrote each other almost every day). It was a sad time in my life because we had just gotten married and he was shipped overseas to a war zone. In those days, there was the draft which means you have to go into the service whether you wanted to or not.
I was working at a bank at the time and there was a girl there whose husband was in Vietnam and I remember saying, “How does she do it.” Then my husband got the news that he was being shipped overseas also. I lived with my parents until he came back one year later. My husband was gone from January 1967 to January 1968. It was a long year but we made it and we’ve been together ever since.
Here are a few love letters from my Valentine that he wrote to me from Vietnam so many years ago.
Bob Hope always gave a Christmas Show to the soldiers in Vietnam every year and Richard was thrilled to see his show, too. It was a real highlight for the boys. I think Raquel Welch was one of the stars that went that year. I didn't find the letter that described Bob Hope's show but here is a snippet of the upcoming event.
Mon petite chou means my little cabbage in French. That made me giggle when we were going together.
Happy Valentine's Day to all!! Much love,
Hi there and WELCOME! So happy that you came by to visit.
I'm Linda. My sister, Carol, and I have a super creative family (my nephew even makes cabin furniture) and I try to log it all right here on Two Succulent Sisters/Crafts a la Mode.
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You're both lucky and blessed to have one another's love. Thanks for sharing these treasured letters. ♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
ReplyDeleteGloria, thanks for the kind words. I know. Linda
Deleteso sweet,Happy Valentines to you both!!!
ReplyDeleteI to have kept notes and cards from my hubby,love to grab a cup of coffee curl up on the sofa and go through them, and remember back and how far we have come!!!
Paula
So sweet! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletePretty scarey time for you and your honey. You two made a really cute couple.
ReplyDeleteI too have letters, and some pictures. We had to find them to prove that my husband had been in Viet Nam, Danang for VA hospital here in Grand Junction, CO. They said they had no record of him being in Viet Nam. He was in the Jolly Greens, helicopter rescue and recovery.
Our wedding was small with no reception. We got married in Tucson, Az (Davis Monthan AFB) 11/30/68, and he left for Nam 12/26/68. Our first date was 10/18/68. We've been married over 44 yrs., still hanging in there. Glad to see you two are also. If it's meant to be it will last. Happy Valentines day.
Oh Linda, what an absolute dear you are to have shared your treasured letters. What a wonderful love story you have! I am so glad that it is a story still being written. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of it. :)
ReplyDeleteyour story and letters are so touching. thank you for sharing them with all of us.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post its perfection, thanks for sharing with us...
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your letters and pictures from your Valentine. We have some letters written by family in World War II -- so hard being separated as newlyweds!
ReplyDeleteahhh, what a wonderful post ♥ Sorry I'm late getting here...thank you for adding your wonderful blog to the Thursday Favorite Things hop. xo
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous sentimental things to have - you should make a book or a memory album with them maybe :)
ReplyDeleteI love both of your linkups this week.
Thanks for linking up :)
Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity
Linda, What wonderful sweet memories you have in the letters.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this at the Open House party and check this week's party for your feature.
xx, Sherry
Linda, I add my thanks for your letter sharing.
ReplyDeleteHere's a little story about the value of love letters:
I had a friend who was married to a fellow who was a POW in WWII.
When they were much older and married many many years she could sense him pulling away.
So she pulled out the love letters and each day, during their sherry break in the afternoon, they read one letter and talked about it.
This went on for some time, and she could feel he was moving back closer to her, re-cementing the bond she felt was failing. I was so pleased for her. And I learned that there is a good reason for saving those old letters. May other women remember those letters when the bonds loosen.
Thanks again for a sentimental moment in this world of trouble and strife.
How sweet! Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteSherry
What special keepsakes! A lost art! No one writes letters anymore!
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful. What a true treasure. Thank you for linking up in our Crafty Showcase last week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
xoxo Susie @Bowdabra
New Linky
http://bowdabrablog.com/2013/02/23/crafty-showcase-link-up-anything-fun-in-the-craft-project-linky-2/
Love it! I have real love letters too. I think I will dig some out and post. Thanks for the idea. Please visit me.
ReplyDelete