{"id":2886,"date":"2020-05-24T19:46:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T02:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2021-04-23T19:33:23","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T02:33:23","slug":"memorial-day-and-love-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/2020\/05\/24\/memorial-day-and-love-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day And Love Lost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>by Reinhard Kargl<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"567\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2887\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?attachment_id=2887\" class=\"wp-image-2887\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003.jpg 780w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003-400x291.jpg 400w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003-768x558.jpg 768w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-003-624x454.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"558\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2888\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?attachment_id=2888\" class=\"wp-image-2888\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001.jpg 780w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001-400x286.jpg 400w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001-768x549.jpg 768w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-001-624x446.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"558\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2889\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?attachment_id=2889\" class=\"wp-image-2889\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002.jpg 780w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002-400x286.jpg 400w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002-768x549.jpg 768w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/121114-F-AH552-002-624x446.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Peggy S. Harris and 1st Lt. Billie D. Harris were married for just six weeks before Harris deployed in World War II. His wife never saw him again. His plane was shot down and crashed into the woods near a small town in Normandy. It took Peggy 60 years to find his grave.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many of us, the coronavirus shutdowns mean being separated from loved ones, and most of us are longing for a return to the social activities we once enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But our inconveniences and hardships pale by comparison to the ordeals faced by those whose relationships were torn apart by war. Since 1775, the U.S. has lost 1.36 million of its people to warfare. And while the vast majority were young men, most of them left behind family, a lover, a fianc\u00e9, or a wife and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are a few snippets of wartime correspondence bearing testimony of the sacrifices made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the age of 23, Frank M. Elliott left Georgetown University to join the U.S. Army in 1943. From England, he writes to his wife:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>May 6, 1944<\/em><br><br><em>Dearest Darling,<\/em><\/p><p><em>All day I have been fighting the feeling which has been dominating me of late. I keep continually thinking of home and longing for home in the worst way. All your letters of how beautiful my daughter is becoming by the day. The realization that I am missing all these months and years of her formative growth is actually gnawing at my heart. .<\/em>\u2009<em>.<\/em>\u2009<em>.<\/em><br><br><em>I love you, Frank<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pauline \u201cPolly\u201d Elliott, 24, answers from the couple\u2019s home in New Castle, Pennsylvania. They had a little daughter, DeRonda \u201cDee\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>May 28, 1944<\/em><br><br><em>Darling\u2014<\/em><br><br><em>Here it is Sunday again \u2014 Sunday night. I think this is the most lonely time of the whole week for me. I am so darn lonesome for you, Frank darling. Oh I\u2019m not the only one and I know it \u2014 there are millions just like me, wishing with all the strength of their hearts and minds for the return of peace and loved ones. \u2014 Dee is sleeping on this Sunday night, and the radio is playing old and beautiful music \u2014 and I am thinking of the Sunday nights to come when you will be listening to such music with me. \u2014 Took Dad to a ball game today \u2014 Dee went along \u2014 maybe she\u2019ll learn to like baseball as well as her Daddy does \u2014 I\u2019ll bet that she will.<\/em><br><br><em>I adore you, Polly<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A week later, she writes to him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>June 5, 1944<br><br>Darling,<\/em><br><br><em>\u2009.\u2009. This is a beautiful summer evening, darling. I am sitting at the kitchen table (and not even noticing the noise of the refrigerator) from which place by merely lifting my head and looking out the window I can gaze upon a truly silvery, full moon. It\u2019s beautiful, dear \u2014 really beautiful, and it has succeeded in making me very sentimental. I had begun to think that I was becoming immune to the moon\u2019s enchantment \u2014 so often I have looked at it without you and to keep myself from going mad told myself \u201cIt\u2019s pretty, yes \u2014 but, so what?\u201d.\u2009.\u2009. That\u2019s not the way it really is though, darling \u2014 the sight of that shining moon up there \u2014 the moon that shines on you, too \u2014 fills me with romance \u2014 ; and even though it\u2019s just a dream now, it\u2019s a promise of a glorious future with one I love more than life. The darned old moon keeps shining for us, darling \u2014 and even as it now increases that inescapable loneliness, it also increases my confidence in the future. I truly love you .\u2009.\u2009.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Frank M. Elliott was killed the next day, June 6, 1944 (D-Day).&nbsp;<br><br>Here&#8217;s a letter written by a girl from Boston:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"709\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/love_letter.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2899\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/love_letter.jpg 709w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/love_letter-277x400.jpg 277w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/love_letter-624x901.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A letter from Barth, Germany, dated May 10, 1945:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>Sweetheart,<\/em><\/p><p><em>At last I can write you and say just what I please.&nbsp; I don\u2019t know whether this will reach you before I get home, but it\u2019s worth taking the chance.&nbsp; You cannot realize the joy I have experienced at being liberated, and the prospects of being with you soon.&nbsp; The Germans pulled out of here on April 30th, and we took over.&nbsp; The Russians arrived on May 2.&nbsp; Since then we have been impatiently waiting to get out of here\u2026<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u2026It has been a long time and you have not been out of my thoughts for one minute.&nbsp; I\u2019ll close now, sweetheart, hoping and praying that we will be together very soon for all time.&nbsp; I love you with all my heart.<\/em><\/p><p><em>Your loving husband,<\/em><\/p><p><em>Arnold<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"493\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Lieutenant-Arnold-L.-Gray-and-Hazel-J.-Gray-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2895 size-full\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Lieutenant-Arnold-L.-Gray-and-Hazel-J.-Gray-copy.jpg 300w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Lieutenant-Arnold-L.-Gray-and-Hazel-J.-Gray-copy-243x400.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lieutenant Arnold L. Gray and Hazel J. Gray were reunited and lived a happy life after the war.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s an excerpt from a letter written by 23-year-old Lt. Richard G. Fowler, a U.S. Army Air Forces navigator from Minnesota, to his wife Cornelia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>May 25, 1944<\/em><\/p><p><em>My darling Cornie \u2014<\/em><\/p><p><em>This is my first letter to you in almost five weeks! And I\u2019m writing it not knowing when I\u2019ll be able to mail it, since believe it or not, I\u2019m behind enemy lines.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fowler&#8217;s B-24 bomber had been shot down over the Balkans. 8 crewmen where killed, but Fowler and another man were able to bail out on parachutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>When I was certain the chute was open, I looked up and saw the white silk billowing and swaying in the wind. It was very quiet and you have no sensation of falling until you near the ground\u2014just floating in space. My face and right hand had been burned quite badly and hurt like the very devil. A thousand thoughts ran through my head as I was falling. It took about ten minutes before I hit the ground so I did have time to think. First of all I wondered what you would think not hearing from me for a long time\u2014I was quite certain I would be captured by the Germans and taken to a prison camp in Germany.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Fowler survived the war and was eventually reunited with his wife. Many other families were not so lucky:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"735\" src=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Western_Union-1024x735-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2898\" srcset=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Western_Union-1024x735-1.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Western_Union-1024x735-1-400x287.jpg 400w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Western_Union-1024x735-1-768x551.jpg 768w, http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Western_Union-1024x735-1-624x448.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Memorial Day, let\u2019s also consider those whose hopes for love and happiness were crushed and destroyed when war took the love of their life, never to return, leaving behind a void never to be filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211; 30 &#8211;<\/p>\n<div id=\"apf_post_footer\"><h4>Related Articles:<\/h4>\n<ul><li class=\"apf_footer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=3442\">Cover of LIFE Magazine, 1941<\/a><\/li><li class=\"apf_footer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=3419\">Weren&#8217;t They Funny?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"apf_footer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=3372\">70 Years Ago<\/a><\/li><li class=\"apf_footer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=3265\">A Letter From Mrs. Rayburn<\/a><\/li><li class=\"apf_footer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=3257\">Cat On The Moon<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Memorial Day, let\u2019s also consider those whose hopes for love and happiness were crushed and destroyed when war took the love of their life.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few snippets of heart-wrenching wartime correspondence bearing testimony of the sacrifices made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,31,37,72,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-history","category-letters","category-military","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2886"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2980,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2886\/revisions\/2980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}