Now that I am finally “on a roll” working on content for my “V-Mail . . . ” book, I have decided that I will use this blog as a posting place for Dad’s letters. My book is not so much the letters themselves as it is the inspiration to look at life–in his generation, mine own generation, my children’s generation–and to challenge readers to look at their own lives in a memoir’ish, social commentary’ish kind of way.
The book will be a multi-generational study of different themes expressed in Dad’s letters; each chapter will start with excerpts from the letters which provide the impressions, beliefs, and challenges of a 19 (then 20 and 21) year old young man, and will progress through the following two generations. Ultimately, I hope to provide some insight for future generations.
Since I focused considerable effort on transcribing each letter, I would like to make them available to anyone who might want to read each in its entirety. I will begin uploading letters as they correspond with the current dates of the year . . . the first letter will be posted on March 1st, as that is the date on the first letter Dad sent home in 1943. I will welcome questions, comments, and anything you might be moved to share!
My goal is to complete the first two chapters of the book by the time I post the first letter … wish me luck!