This week was all about love letters from World War 2. The usual idea, sweet and romantic letters, may come to mind, but the Behind the Lines podcast discussed a variation of love letters.
Some of the letters read to listeners were very short and straight to the point. This letter from George Washington to his wife, Martha Washington, is a prime example of that. He quickly informed her of what was happening in his life and ended the letter with sweet words. There were a couple of letters like this one. I think it shows how some partners were okay with concise letters, as long as they continued to hear from each other. Longer letters, on the other hand, might’ve been from partners who had a lot to get off their chest or who had something very important to tell their partner, such as asking for their hand in marriage. Either way, these letters kept both the soldiers and loved ones waiting at home content with their relationship. It brought them comfort to know that their partner felt the same way.
Not all partners felt the same way about each other though. Many soldiers received “Dear John” or “Dear Jane” letters. These were breakup letters sent to men and women in the war. Some soldiers were heartbroken, as expected, but others sort of knew it was bound to happen and left it as it was. These different responses makes me wonder if some didn’t seem to care because their partner wasn’t a big part of their support system. Maybe the soldiers believed that they would be just fine with or without a romantic partner writing to them from home. How did this make the fighters on the other side feel though? Was is harder for them to do their job?
These are questions that I might want to answer in my paper and presentation.
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