Synopsis "Dearest Little Sweetheart from Somewhere in WWII"
Read the stories about events that happened in WWII from my daddy's viewpoint, as well as my Uncle Vernon's and Uncle Gene's. None of the brother's ever talked about the war, ever, once they made it home. There are very few of Mother's letters to Daddy, as it was difficult for the soldiers to carry anything more than necessities as they moved from camp to camp. Here are 3 young men whose parent's grew up on dirt floors in Oxford, Alabama and several years later one's in Africa with Patton (36 yrs old), one's in France (30 yrs old), one's in Japan (24 yrs old), and they all made it home!! Wow, what my grandparents-especially my grandmother did to survive her only 3 children all being in that awful war at the same time! Mother saved approximately 500 letters from Daddy's initial Army training, as well as the War. She would only give these letters to my son, Sig Copple, and that was not until she was almost 100 years old. She didn't think I should read them because they were "Romantic" in some cases. Sig agreed to share the letters so that this book could describe a love story from the war. Daddy wrote a letter describing D-Day-he was in England on that day. Sometime between June 17th and June 26th, 1944, he was in France. I believe he was in Le Harve, France just around the coast from Normandy, most of the time he was in France. Many of the army guys lived in the French family's homes. I know daddy did, but I don't know for how long. When I traveled to France, I took a train from Paris and spent the day in Le Harve. I walked around this very small town and pretended where I thought Daddy lived while he was there. Daddy was able to see General DeGaulle in person while he was doing an inspection of a town in France. If you can only read a couple of these, look at July 16, 1945 where Daddy describes a Beauty Contest held in a Castle built by Louis XIII, and July 27, 1945 where he talks about what the Prisoners of War did when they found out he was leaving France. Brett Elliott, owner of Histories Unlimited, stated: "I always revel in finding letters from relatives. It makes me wonder what future generations will think of me if they read my love letters from my twenties and other very personal thoughts. In your case, the love letters from your father are priceless. As an American I was moved to tears by your father's letter dated June 5, 1944. Today while reading some of your father's letters, I began to read the one dated June 5, 1944. It was unbelievable. It is not so much what he says 'I want to get in the action and get this mess over'. His attention to details like 'how to get rust out of the engine and what to use are remarkable'. Unfortunately, the horrors of WWII will always be with me and you. Yes, my grandfather made it back serving as a medical doctor in England, and yes, my Uncle Tom made it back after being wounded in action and taking a few years to convalesce, but our gain having these dear people back could not be shared with the 50 million dead and countless other millions dispossessed, broken, suffering from what we call PTSD and ultimately suicidal. My heart breaks for humanity when I study and think about the Great War number 1 and the Great War number 2. Love is the most powerful force on earth and your father LOVED your mother. The letters are priceless and reveal so much about the war years and about him." Every time I transcribed his letters, I felt as if I were talking with him. One time my friend Craig and I asked Mother if she wanted to watch the movie "Saving Private Ryan" and she said absolutely NOT. She said that she had lived thru that, and why would she want to watch it again!! My parents were married 56 1/2 years. Their marriage was truly a love story! I hope you enjoy the book.
