Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
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50<br />
On the Home Front<br />
One of the remarkable things of<br />
note at veterans’ gatherings is<br />
the fact that many of them are not<br />
alone. They are accompanied by<br />
wives, sons, daughters…the very<br />
people for whom they fought in wars<br />
waged thousands of miles from<br />
home. These warriors were separated<br />
from their friends and relatives<br />
for long periods of time, often wondering<br />
what the folks were doing<br />
back home in their absence.<br />
Sure, there were occasional letters<br />
and packages to ease the boredom<br />
and provide the news they coveted.<br />
But, these missives did not<br />
always compensate for the isolation<br />
and loneliness that filled the warriors’<br />
hearts and minds as they<br />
fought valiantly to protect their<br />
country—and the freedom of people<br />
in other countries whose names they<br />
did not know. Some of the warriors<br />
came home; others, sadly, did not.<br />
Those who did come back picked<br />
up the pieces of their lives and<br />
moved on. They renewed marriage<br />
vows and friendships as best they<br />
could, and cherished the people with<br />
whom they shared love and mutual<br />
affection. For many of them, their<br />
bonds grew stronger as they recognized<br />
the importance of having other<br />
people in their lives. That realization<br />
is reflected in their attendance at<br />
veterans’ functions. They appreciate<br />
the folks at their sides more than<br />
they will ever know (and frequently<br />
more than the warriors are willing to<br />
admit).There is a certain bit of irony<br />
here, though.<br />
Often, we do not get any insights<br />
from the wives, sons, daughters,<br />
friends et al who waited as their<br />
loved ones fought thousands of<br />
miles from home. Hopefully, we can<br />
rectify that somewhat. We begin<br />
here a series (hopefully) in which<br />
correspondents tell us what it was<br />
like to wait—and hope.<br />
Let the series begin.<br />
Just a Pen-Pal<br />
By Edna Holmes<br />
The turning-point of my life came<br />
very early, when my cousin<br />
joined the army in February of<br />
1948. When he was sworn in at Love<br />
Field in Dallas, TX, Charles Holt stood<br />
with another seventeen-year-old lad,<br />
named Holmes. The two became<br />
friends, always standing together in<br />
every line or formation in alphabetical<br />
order.<br />
After basic training at Fort Ord, CA,<br />
they were shipped out to Japan, still<br />
together and a long way from home and<br />
all that was familiar. One day, Charles<br />
suggested that his friend write to his<br />
cousin in Texas. “She will write and that<br />
way you will get some mail,” he said.<br />
So it was in the fall of 1948, at age fourteen,<br />
I received the first letter from<br />
Louis Holmes-a polite, correct, and very<br />
neat letter.<br />
In the years following, I was to<br />
receive hundreds, but this first one is the<br />
only one I remember well. I was<br />
impressed and wrote back wondering if<br />
I’d get another. That started the pen-pal<br />
correspondence which changed my life.<br />
I liked writing letters, and my parents<br />
were not concerned that I was writing to<br />
a soldier in Japan. He was thousands of<br />
miles away, and it was “safe.” In fact,<br />
Louis soon became a familiar person to<br />
the family, and a hero to my six brothers<br />
younger than me, because he was a soldier.<br />
I read his letters aloud and we<br />
became more interested in news from<br />
that part of the world. Though we had<br />
never seen him, he soon became important<br />
to us.<br />
Within a year, the letters were coming<br />
and going at a rate of at least one a<br />
day. By then, Louis had decided we<br />
were going to be more than pen-pals. He<br />
sent nice pictures of himself and sheets<br />
of airmail stamps to cover postage<br />
expense. He also began talking about<br />
“our” future! I was thrilled that this<br />
smart, handsome soldier was so interested<br />
in me-a fifteen year old country girl.<br />
And there were favorable signs!<br />
My girlfriend and I had heard that if<br />
you sleep with a piece of wedding cake<br />
under your pillow, you will dream of the<br />
man you will marry. We could hardly<br />
wait to get that valuable information!<br />
When her older sister got married, we<br />
kept our pieces of wedding cake and<br />
tucked them under our pillows that<br />
night at my house. Sure enough, I<br />
dreamed about Louis! That is, I<br />
dreamed about his picture, which was<br />
my only frame of reference.<br />
My friend didn’t dream at all. We<br />
decided that the only thing we proved is<br />
that if you sleep on a piece of wedding<br />
cake, the next morning it will be flat as<br />
a pancake.<br />
In 1950, the news of Korea and a<br />
possible war became a troubling factor.<br />
Louis and Edna Holmes, June 10, 1951<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember - <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2005</strong><br />
The Graybeards