Exceptional A letter from a World War II soldier A v-mail letter by Mary Vigasin

June, 1944 my dearest Rose "I hope to see you soon." I wrote that in a letter to you. However, it was censured and blocked from being mailed. The reason was because we were on alert to invade France. It does not make sense to me, except nerves must have been a little frayed from not knowing when we would get the go ahead to invade. So, I am writing you in my thoughts, things I want to say or tell you that I am not allowed to put on paper. We hit the beaches of Normandy on June 6th. I was lucky in that I was in the 2nd wave when we hit Omaha Beach. The guys in the first wave got hit harder, but with the 2nd wave, there were so many of us the chance of getting hit by gunfire was lessened. We are moving very slowly into Normandy now. There is a rumor that tanks will be coming to help speed up our advancement. Maybe when I reach Paris, I can meet up with my brother Joe for a few drinks, and maybe we can find the Canadian cemetery to find our brother Bert's grave. Listen to me, darling. I sound like I am a tourist on tour around France. Some tour! I am sitting in a muddy foxhole, soaking wet from the recent rain. You do not have to worry, my darling. My lieutenant is all about safety = his own. He has guys dig his foxhole twice, sometime three times so deep, we must help him out of the hole when we move on. Omaha Beach must have frightened the bejesus out of him. He is not the kind of officer to play charging up San Juan Hill. He seems reluctant to seek out the enemy. On patrol, we have come across civilians. Some greet us clapping and cheering, and others seem to be in a daze like life has beaten the crap out of them. Seeing the adults is one thing but seeing kids not much older than our own little angels breaks my heart. They have old faces and tired eyes, and some are hungry, so we give them some of our rations. Well, in this letter, now I can say I hope to see you soon. I miss you, my darling. I love you with all my heart. Don't worry about me, darling. I am doing ok. I cannot wait to hold you and see Rose and Johnnie again. Take care of yourself, my darling, and keep praying for me. Kiss the little angels for me and tell them Daddy loves them and misses them. God bless you. Daddy Recognized Author Notes The picture is a v-mail letter my dad sent my mom. I wrote this letter based on what my dad told me about his being overseas during the war. Some of the grammar and vocabulary, I used to try and mirror dad's original letter. I rewrote most of dad's letter here: Dad's letter: February 12, 1945 (a day before his 26th birthday.) my dearest Rose, Haven't received any mail today. Don't worry about me. I am in the best of health and getting along ok. I love you my darling with all my heart. Its been so long since I've seen you. I hope you haven't changed any. Have you my darling? The only change in me is a few more grey hairs. Give Rose & John a kiss for me. The are sweet looking angels. I can hardly wait to get home to them. I miss them so very much. There is a remote chance of getting a furlough ....... Take care of yourself my darling. Give my love to the angels. Say a prayer for me. God bless you and keep you until I come home. I love you darling. Say Hello to Mabel. Daddy

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