Volume 6, No. 21 ©SS 2014
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Andrew Carroll holds a letter, written by a U.S. servicemember on April 21, 1945, that helped inspire his effort to start collecting war letters.
SAVING THE WAR LETTERS
PHOTOS
BY
C.J. LIN /Stars and Stripes
An enduring legacy Historian aims to honor veterans by preserving their letters BY CHRIS CARROLL Stars and Stripes
I
WASHINGTON n his spare Washington apartment,
author and popular historian Andrew Carroll stood over a dining room table, delicately sifting through stacks of letters written by the troops who fought every American war. They range from Revolutionary War epistles in exacting penmanship to hastily banged-out Iraq War emails, and everything in between. At least one has a bullet hole in it, some are splashed with battlefield mud and blood and others were finished hours before the writers died in combat. Spurred by a hunger for an unvarnished
ONLINE Get the full multimedia experience, including photos, video and more at stripes.com/ go/warletters
history of American warfare written by those who lived it, Carroll has been tracking down, writing about and storing those messages since 1998. They’ve been the basis of two best-selling books from which he’s donated all profits to veterans charities. He says he plans to continue working with them for the rest of his life as part of his Legacy Project, designed to honor veterans by preserving their correspondence. What he hasn’t always been able to do is take care of the letters the way he believes they deserve. SEE PAGE 3
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From thousands of contributors who have read about his letters project or seen him on television, Carroll has amassed what he calls a “small hill” of war letters. His conservative estimate is 100,000 letters; he’s never fully accounted for them all as they’ve poured in over the years, filling storage lockers and safe deposit boxes and bins on the floor of his apartment. That’s partly why, despite his passion for the collection, he gave it all away last year to Chapman University, a liberal arts college near Anaheim, Calif. Chapman is eager to take on the tasks Carroll admits he’s never had time, expertise or resources for — professionally preserving the letters, and scanning and archiving them in a database so they’ll be available for teachers, students and history buffs. He had been collaborating with John Benitz, a Chapman associate professor of theater and playwright, on two productions based on the letters. He was increasingly wooed by the atmosphere of the campus, and decided to approach administrators about setting up a center to preserve and make them accessible. The answer was an enthusiastic yes. “For years I’ve wanted to find an institution to give these letters,” he said. “I just had the feeling the letters would be locked up in storage and never see the light of day.” Reassured that would not be the case at Chapman, he hired Two Marines Moving, a veteran-owned moving company, to haul the trove to the university last fall. He’s holding on to only a handful of letters that were key parts of his books “War Letters” and “Behind the Lines.” He plans to spend much of this
“Its siren call for extremists and criminals has only increased steadily … If there is another city in the world that contains more terrorists, I would be surprised. For the last two years, I just don’t see a way we can succeed in Iraq without reducing this threat.” — Marine officer David Bellon, from Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 spring and summer on a new phase of his project, in which he’ll visit all 50 states to speak at veterans halls, history museums and military bases about the value of historical letters — hoping to collecting some along the way. The tour will kick off at a May 20 event on Capitol Hill sponsored by Chapman alum Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif. Current plans call for Chapman’s Center for American War Letters to open Nov. 5, the week before Veterans Day, Carroll said. He will divide his time between Washington and the university, where he will work as a chancellor fellow overseeing the collection, and helping to study and expand it. “It’s a huge relief, because I always wondered — what if something happens to me, or there’s a flood or a fire in the building?” he said. “It got so scattered that it came to the point that a real historian would have had a heart attack if they’d walked in and seen it.” Not that he’s struggling with feelings of guilt. Carroll says his part was to save the letters from oblivion, and now it’s time to hand them off to professional archivists.
Lost history Carroll seems tormented by the fact that the often beautifully descriptive, passionately written
letters from the front lines are just languishing unread in boxes, or even worse, about to be stacked out on the curb for recycling. He wants all of it. “The history that’s being lost every day is just incalculable,” he said. “So saving that is my priority right now.” Given the choice of reading a dry, magisterial analysis from a scholar or a general, or of reading a pile of letters from troops in the field, he’ll opt for the latter every day. It’s more enjoyable, and you might just learn more, he said. “I genuinely believe nobody can tell these stories better than the men and women who’ve been there and experienced these episodes first-hand,” he said. “What we get from their experience is not just eyewitness first-person accounts, but their distinct personalities and voices. “That makes the wartime experience more human than reading a dry history book.” At home in Washington earlier this year, he showed off a few letters he’s holding onto for just a little while longer. He delicately cradled a beautifully handwritten letter he said was the first he’d obtained from Revolutionary days. On it, Continental Army officer Alexander Scammel thunders to a
college friend about the necessity of freedom from British tyranny, something he predicted would require the shedding of blood. “But every man of true honor & virtue will rather contend for the honor of first spilling his blood in so glorious a cause,” Scammell wrote in 1774 — seven years before his death in the climactic siege of Yorktown proved his words weren’t just bravado. Fast-forward 230 years, and Carroll picked up a printout of a lengthy email home in 2004 from a Marine officer, David Bellon, who was revolted by the violence gripping the city of Fallujah and sensing an inevitable showdown coming. “Its siren call for extremists and criminals has only increased steadily … If there is another city in the world that contains more terrorists, I would be surprised,” he said. “For the last two years, I just don’t see a way we can succeed in Iraq without reducing this threat.” And then a note to family from a conquering American G.I. written on Hitler’s own stationery. On it, the soldier had helpfully crossed out the dictator’s name and filled in his own: “S/Sgt. Evers.” The letter itself is haunted more than it is celebratory, describing what Staff Sgt. Horace Evers had recently seen in a train car at the Dachau concentration camp: “All were just bone with a layer of skin over them. Most of the eyes were open and had an indescribable look about them.” Taken as a whole, American war letters comprise a massive, rich historical tapestry, and Carroll says he doesn’t want a single irreplaceable thread to be lost. SEE PAGE 4
These letters from the Legacy Project were written by U.S. troops in World War II. Left: Sgt. Horace Evers penned this letter on Adolf Hitler’s private, personal stationery. Center: The last letter written by an airman who was set to become a cartoonist for Disney after the war contained this drawing. Right: A letter written by a U.S. soldier in Anzio, Italy, was stored in writer’s pack and bears a bullet hole from when he was shot. The soldier survived.
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SAVING THE WAR LETTERS
This letter, found in a dumpster, was written by a U.S. servicemember in the Vietnam War who was going “a little stir crazy,” according to Andrew Carroll. FROM PAGE 3
Connecting to the past The seed of the impulse to amass the old letters, he said, was planted by a great loss — a fire that consumed his family’s home when Carroll was a sophomore in college, leaving the family grasping for elements of the past. “It wiped out everything,” he said. “Photos, old letters, family history.” In a sense cast adrift by the fire, Carroll was mesmerized by a World War II letter shared by a distant cousin who had witnessed some key moments of the conflict in Europe, including the liberation of a concentration camp. It provided inspiration for Carroll’s first book several years later, “Letters of a Nation,” a collection of letters from different eras about a variety of themes. Although he had never served in the military, Carroll realized war letters in particular were infused with a sense of history and drama that few others possess, and he decided to focus on them. In 1998, he persuaded Jeanne Philips, who writes the Dear Abby advice column and is active in support of military and veterans groups, to put out a call for families to submit war letters they were willing to share. “At first we were only asking for photocopies, but people sent us originals,” he said. “They said, ‘Hey, we’re going to throw these out otherwise.’ ” One of the people who responded to that Dear Abby column was Joyce Hallenbeck. Nearly 20 years earlier, she had received a letter from her husband, Dean Allen, in which the Army first lieutenant, writing from the field during an operation in Vietnam, poured out his doubts and fears about leading men into battle. “Being a good platoon leader is a lonely job,” Allen wrote. “I don’t want to really get to know anybody over here because it would be bad enough to lose a man — I damn sure
PHOTOS
BY
C.J. LIN /Stars and Stripes
These photos are of a Japanese-American man who was imprisoned in an internment camp during World War II and later joined the U.S. Army’s 442nd Infantry Regiment, the unit composed of mostly Japanese-American soldiers. A letter the soldier wrote is part of the Legacy Project, an effort to collect letters written by U.S. troops during the nation’s wars. don’t want to lose a friend. I haven’t even had one of my men wounded yet let alone killed but that is to much to even hope for to go like that. But as hard as I try not to get involved with my men I still can’t help liking them and getting close to a few.” It was Allen’s final letter home. Within days, he was dead from wounds suffered when he stepped on a land mine. Hallenbeck, widowed at 25, after
a while moved on with her life. When she remarried several years later, she packed away the medals and the flag that draped her dead husband’s casket. Except for his final message, she threw away the letters Allen had sent her from Vietnam. Years later, now divorced, she saw the Dear Abby column, and something prompted her to take out the letter she had packed away long before. What had once been
“Being a good platoon leader is a lonely job. I don’t want to really get to know anybody over here because it would be bad enough to lose a man — I damn sure don’t want to lose a friend. I haven’t even had one of my men wounded yet let alone killed but that is to much to even hope for to go like that. But as hard as I try not to get involved with my men I still can’t help liking them and getting close to a few.” — Army 1st Lt. Dean Allen, days before he was killed by a land mine in Vietnam
simply a souvenir of loss and grief now provided moving insight from the husband taken from her in Vietnam. “I think I was just plain too young to even appreciate it at the time I received it,” she said. “But then after reading about Andy’s project and pulling it out and reading it again, when I was in my 50s, it struck me as, ‘Hey, this is moving. Here’s a guy who’s got to decide who’s going to go out and possibly get killed, and he’s really struggling with it.” She sent the letter to Carroll, who included it in its entirety in “War Letters,” and then she did something else — she took out her dead husband’s military honors and put them on display in her house. “It would have stayed in my chest until I died,” she said. But because of Carroll’s war letters project, “Those things are now back out for all the world to see.” The reporter, Chris Carroll, is no relation. Contact him at: carroll.chris@stripes.com Twitter:@ChrisCarroll_
President A. Lincoln - Gettysburg Address: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
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SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY
DOD to seek outside help with alcohol abuse BY JON H ARPER Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is targeting alcohol consumption in its battle to curb sexual assaults in the military. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced a departmentwide review of the services’ alcohol policies the same day that the Pentagon released its latest report on sexual assault within the ranks. The Defense Department revealed there were more than 5,000 reports of sexual assault by servicemembers in fiscal 2013, a 50 percent increase over the previous year. More than two-thirds of the sexual assault reports involved alcohol use by either the victim, the assailant or both, according to the Pentagon. Officials have said the actual number of sexual assaults is much higher because many troops are reluctant to report such attacks. “[The alcohol policies] will be revised, where necessary, to address risks that alcohol poses to others, including the risk that alcohol is used as a weapon against victims in a predatory way,” Hagel said during a news conference with reporters May 1. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, the director of DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said the services will share the findings of their reviews with Hagel, but wouldn’t say what specific measures are being considered. He did say the services will look outside the military for help in tackling the problem. Encouraging responsible sales practices, as well as training bartenders and other alcohol providers in communities around military installations, will be a key part of the effort, he told reporters. Nate Galbreath, a senior adviser to SAPRO, said two state-level initiatives were “promising” models that DOD could follow. One is California’s Responsible Beverage Service program, which aims to prevent bar and restaurant patrons from getting dangerously drunk.
2 state initiatives “This is training providers to understand how people consume alcohol, what its effects are on the body and how to maybe serve people in a way that diminishes those impacts, those effects on the body so that they don’t get intoxicated as quickly,” Galbreath said. Providing a food menu to someone who orders a drink and encouraging them to eat something to slow the
‘
[The alcohol policies] will be revised, where necessary, to address risks that alcohol poses to others, including the risk that alcohol is used as a weapon against victims in a predatory way.
’
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
absorption of alcohol into the system is one method that is used, according to Galbreath. “You [also] look at times associated with when you sell things. Do you really need to sell someone five fifths of bourbon at 2 in the morning? Probably not,” he said. Galbreath also pointed to Arizona’s Safer Bars Alliance, which established practices that bar owners and staff can adopt to mitigate the risk of sexual assault in their establishments through interventions and other safety measures. Citing data obtained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said communities that use those kinds of approaches have seen a decrease in violent crimes.
Troops react Soldiers interviewed May 2 at Kleber Kaserne, a small Army post in Kaiserslautern, Germany, were skeptical that additional policies limiting alcohol use would do anything to curb sexual assault. More needs to be done, they said, to encourage personal responsibility, because servicemembers will always find ways to get alcohol. “I don’t think there’s much more that they can do,” said Army Spc. Darius Lesane, 21, of Jacksonville, N.C. “When it comes down to alcohol consumption, it comes down to the particular person. You know, everybody in the military, we’re all adults here. You should be able to have that self-control that comes with the responsibility of drinking alcohol. “The government, they’re going to keep trying to come up with more restrictions and more rules, but in the end it all just comes down to the individual
person,” he said. “There ain’t no way they can ban alcohol for soldiers,” said Pvt. Lloyd Brown, of Casselberry, Fla. “Soldiers will always find a way to get alcohol, whether they go out and buy it or find someone else to buy it for them.” “Making the barracks dry or having pubs and bars stop serving after 2 (a.m.), that’s not going to necessarily do anything,” said Army Spc. Tequon McFadden, 30, of the Bronx, N.Y. “Who’s to say that these guys won’t find it somewhere else or go somewhere else and possibly get themselves into more trouble in pursuit of that? It just comes down to being responsible.” Army Pfc. Vanessa Miranda, 21, of Eureka, Calif., said alcohol can be a problem for some individuals but doesn’t know what the military can do to fix it. “Some people have problems in their lives before they get drunk, so when they get drunk, they go out and they fight or they go out and get really slammered, and they get, like, taken over by other people. That’s when things happen, I guess,” she said. Restricting alcohol sales after 2 a.m., like some bars in the States do, doesn’t seem to her to be a good solution. “That’s not going to do anything,” she said. “By 2 o’clock, everybody’s drunk already.”
Restrictions Overseas, the U.S. military has repeatedly taken steps to curb alcohol use, particularly in South Korea and Japan. In 2011, two rape cases within two weeks — both committed by soldiers
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who had been drinking — led U.S. Forces Korea commanders to place troops under an off-post nighttime curfew that remains in effect. Military leaders in Japan enacted a similar curfew in 2012 after two sailors who had been drinking raped an Okinawan woman. In addition, servicemembers assigned to Japan are required to complete sexual assault prevention and response training within 12 months of their arrival or they are barred from off-base liberty altogether. The U.S. also routinely sends military police patrols to bar districts outside bases to ensure troops aren’t misbehaving. It’s not uncommon to see uniformed personnel walking among people partying in the streets of Seoul or Tokyo. The same is true in Kaiserslautern, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base. Other steps include limiting alcohol sales on base. The Navy announced new limits to alcohol sales last July as part of a package of initiatives aimed at preventing sexual assaults. Alcohol sales are now restricted to the hours between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and Navy Exchange minimarts are required to limit alcohol products to no more than 10 percent of their retail floor space. Exchanges are also required under the rules to stock single-use alcohol detection devices. The Marine Corps followed suit in September, restricting alcohol sales at exchanges to between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. and picking up the 10 percent rule. Corps leaders also promised to limit alcohol promotion and marketing on bases. Eighth Army leaders in Korea issued an order in November 2012 that stopped alcohol sales at on-base shoppettes and liquor stores at 10 p.m. and limited the amount of alcohol soldiers can keep in their barracks room. The commander of the 86th Airlift Wing issued a similar ban in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, restricting alcohol sales between 1 and 6 a.m. at AAFES facilities. Similar bans are also in effect elsewhere in Germany, including Grafenwöehr and Spangdahlem Air Base. In Korea, officials also mandated that on-post clubs take steps to identify underage patrons, such as issuing wristbands and prohibiting the sale of pitchers of beer that could easily be distributed to underage drinkers. Stars and Stripes reporters Steven Beardsley, Jennifer Svan, Erik Slavin and Ashley Rowland contributed to this report. harper.jon@stripes.com Twitter: @JHarperStripes
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NAVY
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Sudoku Solution - Medium
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Coastal patrol ships becoming integral to the forward presence in Persian Gulf BY H ENDRICK SIMOES Stars and Stripes
ABOARD THE USS TYPHOON, Persian Gulf — One can walk from the bow of the ship to the stern in under a minute. Unlike most U.S. Navy warships, coastal patrol boats are so small they don’t even have a helicopter pad — although crewmembers jokingly say landing a helicopter might be possible, but just once. The Navy has 13 of these vessels, the legacy of which dates to World War II-era motor torpedo boats. The fact they are called coastal patrol ships means just that — they are not of much use in the open ocean where heavy sea swells would make them difficult to operate. In a Navy dominated by massive warships, it’s difficult to imagine a ship with about 25 sailors having a place in the Navy’s forward presence
strategy. Over the past 15 years, the PCs were gradually falling into obscurity — that is, until 5th Fleet came calling. Now the PC platform has re-emerged as the workhorse of the Navy’s forward presence. Last year three PCs were sent to Bahrain to augment the five already based near the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters. Two more are expected to arrive in the coming months, and by the end of the summer, 10 of the Navy’s 13 PC ship fleets will be forwarddeployed to Bahrain. www.sudoku-puzzles.net Navy officials describe the PC mission in the Persian Gulf as necessary enhance theater Sudokuto Solution - Medium security and to build partnerships with other Gulf nations. Officials said the ships are routinely tasked to escort other ships, provide maritime security and protect infrastructure and frequently participate in exercises with regional allies. “The PCs are the perfect craft for that because
of our size and our look,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Crosby, commander of the USS Typhoon. “You can bring a DDG (guided missile destroyer) out here to do these sort of things, but a DDG is a much bigger platform and highly intimidating to some of the smaller countries.” Crewmembers say the operational tempo is very high. “Definitely a high demand for PCs out here,” Crosby said, adding that the ship is underway about 60 percent of the time on a mission. www.sudoku-puzzles.net “On a PC, your mission changes daily, keeps you on your toes,” said Chief Petty Officer Herb Sudoku Solution - Medium Kresge, who’s been in the Navy 20 years and served on five other ships. While crewmembers speak with incredible pride about serving on a PC, they say it can be a rough life. Although PCs in the Persian Gulf don’t SEE NAVY ON10 PAGE 14 see page
U.S. Navy coastal patrol ships on a formation and maneuvers exercise April 8, in the Persian Gulf. Of the 13 coastal patrol ships the U.S. Navy has, eight are forward deployed to Bahrain to operate in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. HENDRICK SIMOES/Stars and Stripes
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deploy in seven-month stints like many other ships in the Navy, crewmembers say the days spent in port are few and leave is difficult to take. “We are highly operational, in high demand and always on the go,” Crosby said.
Making a difference Despite the Navy recently allowing PC sailors to bring their families to Bahrain, few have done so, and some say they are hesitant to because of the high operational tempo. “PC sailors are on the front lines of making a difference,” said Cmdr. John Howard, commodore of Patrol Coastal Squadron One. “If that kind of thing excites you, we want you to know about PCs.” He touted several benefits for sailors serving on PCs that include operating in a foreign country, obtaining qualifications not possible on larger ships, and going to sea with a purpose. “When they get underway to go to sea, they’re going out to actually do a mission,” Howard said. In the Persian Gulf, with Iran a mere 110 nautical miles from the ships’ Bahrain homeport, run-ins with Iranian vessels do occur. Crewmembers speak of such incidents with heightened excitement. However, higher-ranking Navy officials stress that such encounters are always professional. “We see them, they see us, and we are all out here in the Gulf together,” Crosby said. “They have every right to be in international waters as we do.” While political disputes between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program create a sense of naval tension in the Gulf, the main threat to PC sailors is posed by terrorists and insurgents. A decade ago, two sailors and a Coast Guardsman from the USS Firebolt were killed by a suicide bombing while they were clearing fishing dhows from an area around an Iraqi oil terminal in the Gulf.
Packing a punch Regardless of the threat, PCs pack a formidable punch despite their small size. Half of the PCs here, including the Typhoon, were recently outfitted with the lightweight Griffin Missile System to complement the existing 25 mm autocannon and .50-caliber machine guns, thus significantly increasing their firepower. The upgrades are a clear sign that the PCs are
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here to stay despite all being about 20 years old, officials said. “The Navy has made a commitment that these ships are going to remain the workhorse of 5th Fleet for the foreseeable future,” Howard said. The Navy plans to upgrade each PC during its next yard period to extend the life of the ships, officials said. However, there are no plans yet to restructure the ship’s berthing spaces to accommodate women. All PC crewmembers must be male, with the exception of the commander — who has a separate stateroom aboard. Flexibility is a buzzword on a PC. Even the most experienced crewmembers describe PC life as being outside the Navy’s norm. “It’s different than any other ship, that’s for sure,” Kresge said. The last time the ship’s only culinary specialist went on leave, the crew was left with a boatswain’s mate chief petty officer in charge of the cooking — a move that apparently worked out pretty well, although it’s doubtful anyone would openly criticize a fellow sailor’s cooking on a vessel with such a small crew. In such tight quarters aboard the coastal patrol boats, crewmembers tend to know everything about each other, Petty Officer 1st Class Jose Leon said. “Every single thing about them,” he said, adding that this allows the crew to trust and depend on one another. Navy ratings, which identify a sailor’s job description, seem to be only a formality onboard. “Not only do you have to be qualified in your rate, you have to be able to step out of your rate and get qualified in other aspects you wouldn’t see those rates do on a [larger warship],” Crosby said. On a typical day, Petty Officer 1st Class Keevan Haynes, the ship’s culinary specialist, started the morning topside handling lines to get the ship underway, came below decks to cook lunch and went back up topside after lunch to help drop the anchor. He’s also sometimes the conning officer on the bridge at night and has other shipboard roles as the command fitness leader and financial specialist. “You do get to see every other job in the Navy coming to a platform like this,” Haynes said. simoes.hendrick@stripes.com Twitter: @hendricksimoes
This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military community. The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Defense Department or the military services. The U.S. Edition of Stars and Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the DOD or Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. Products or services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.
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Friday, May 9, 2014
A mother’s love can never be lost
I
could write a lot about my So the treasures and the letmother: That her phone ter were gone — and forgotten calls, letters and emails — and after the dissolution have provided me advice of my family, the certainty and encouragement on evthat Mom’s decisions were erything from middle-school made out of love for me was research papers and prom gone too. Our relationship was dress decisions to missing my changed, tread-marked by the college-aged children. She was long procession of circumeven present at the birth of all stances that follow a divorce three of our babies, even the like slow-moving cars follow a one born in Guam. hearse. For love, a mom can endure Years went by before I knew 15 hours on a plane — one exactly what I had lost. way, not including layovers, In fact, I was a mother of without complaint — to welthree young children when come a new grandchild. My one day — I SPOUSE CALLS can’t explain mom did. She also traveled to visit us at nearly every aswhy — I signment in our 20-plus-year suddenly military career, including remembered Germany and Japan. the jewelry But there are more arduous box and its journeys for love to endure, as hidden well we know. contents. When I was 9 or 10, my With bitter mother wrote me a letter. I clarity, I don’t remember when she also realized Terri Barnes gave it to me. I just remember when it was having it when lost and how. Join the conversation with Terri at I was a little I couldn’t stripes.com/go/spousecalls girl. It was believe I had short, only a forgotten it few sentences, for so long. telling me she loved me, was How I wished then that I could proud of me and encouraged read the letter again. me to hold on to my faith. Now I’m the mother of For a long time I kept the children in their teens and letter in a secret compartment 20s. My mother has written in the bottom of an old jewelry me many letters in the years box. As a child, I had a habit of since that difficult chapter of creating a hideout, under my my family’s history. She tells bed or in a corner of the attic, me often that she loves me, in depending on where we lived. words, deeds and transoceanic The jewelry box, my favorite flights. books and a flashlight were I gave up the letter for lost, usually among the treasures but rediscovered the certainty found there. of my mother’s love for me. I would take the letter out Our relationship has been occasionally and — with the restored — not instantly, nor aid of the flashlight when easily — but still miraculously. necessary — read it and even Last year I was looking shed tears over it, especially through my old journals. Bewhen one of us was angry. I hind the very last page of the knew that whatever punishvery oldest volume — my life ment was meted out, whatever as a 13-year-old — I found the words passed between us, letter, yellowed by years and Mom loved me. Her words on creased from many readings. I the page reminded me. don’t know how it got there or When I was in high school, how the old pink diary kept its my parents’ divorce precipisecret for so long. But it did. tated a move to another house. Like the assurance of my I’ve made nearly 20 moves in mother’s love, the letter was my life as a military child and not truly lost, only misplaced, wife, but none as painful as waiting to be found, read and that one. believed again. Hurt and angry, I refused Terri Barnes writes Spouse Calls to help pack up my life for a weekly for Stars and Stripes. This column originally appeared May 9, move I bitterly resented. The 2010, and is excerpted here from treasure box was neglected, the book “Spouse Calls: Messages perhaps left behind in the From a Military Life” (Elva Resa Publishing, 2014). attic, perhaps thrown away.
Veteran Owned Businesses Windy City LLC
1410 Rudakof Cir Anchorage, AK 99508 (907) 222-0844 adaktu.net
Historical Urban Wear
PO Box 141402 Anchorage, AK 99524 (907) 351-8834 classyurbanwear.com
Denali Graphics and Frame
5001 Arctic Blvd Ste 3 Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4456 denaligraphics.com
Mat-Su Tactial
4900 E Palmer-Wasilla Hwy Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 357-3381 matsutactical.com/index.html
M-W Drilling Inc
12200 Avion St Anchorage, AK 99516 (907) 345-4000 mwdrillinginc.com
Orion Construction Inc
4701 E Shaws Dr Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 631-3550
orionconstructioninc.net
Revl Inc
650 W 58th Ste J Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 563-8302 revlinc.net/Contact.aspx
World-wide Movers Inc
7120 Hart St Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 349-2581 world-widemovers.com
Federal Resource Solutions
PO Box 244911 Anchorage, AK 99524 (760) 473-2982 www.4frs.com
A-Two Septic
8460 E Gold Bullion Blvd Palmer, AK 99645 (907) 841-8632 www.a2septic.com
Alaska Commercial Carpenting and Services 8530 Gordon Cir Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 830-9878 www.accs1.com
Alaska Construction Surveys LLC
4141 B St Ste 203 Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 344-5505 www.akconstsurveys.com
Alaska Veteran’s Business Alliance 3705 Arctic Blvd #1335 Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 279-4779 www.akvba.org
Computer Matrix Court Reporter
135 Christensen Dr Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 243-0668 www.computermatrixcourtreporters.com
Container Specialties of Alaska
8150 Petersburg St Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 349-2300 www.containerspecialtiesak.com
Custom Truck Inc
Ace Delivery and Moving Inc
4748 Old Seward Hwy Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 563-5490 www.customtruckak.com
Brown’s Electrical Supply
8240 Petersburg St Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 562-2312 www.denalidrilling.com
7920 Schoon St Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 522-6684 www.alaskanace.com
365 Industrial Way Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 272-2259 www.brownselectric.com
Central Environmental
311 N Sitka St Anchorage AK 99501 (907) 561-0125 www.cei-alaska.com/contactus.html
Denali Drilling
J&S Auto Repair
21065 Bill Stevens Dr Chugiak, AK 99567 (907) 688-1191 www.jsautoak.com
Lemay Engineering and Consulting
4272 Chelsea Way Anchorage, AK 99504 (907) 250-9038 www.lemayengineering.com/Contact.html
LMC Management Services
2440 E Tudor Rd 1123 Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 242-6069 www.lmcmanagementservices.com
Lugo’s Upholstery
648 E Dowling Rd Ste 101 Anchorage AK 99518 (907) 562-5846 www.lugosupholstery.com
Microbyte Computers
PO Box 90057 Anchorage, AK 99509 (907) 382-8397 www.mbcak.com/contact/
Mckinley Fence Co of Alaska, Inc
5901 Lake Otis Pkwy, Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 563-3731 www.mckinleyfence.com
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Veteran Owned Businesses New Horizons Telecom Inc
901 Cope Industrial Way Palmer, AK 99456 (907) 761-6124 www.nhtiusa.com/contact.html
Nite Shift Janitorial Service
1305 W Ridgeview Dr Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 373-7905 www.niteshiftjanitorial.com
Northwestern Surgical Repair
8460 E 20th Ave Anchorage, AK 99504 (907) 338-9099 www.nwsurgicalrepair.com
Pioneer GI Clinic
4048 Laurel St Ste 301 Anchorage, AK 99508 (907) 440-7816 www.pioneergiclinic.com/Pioneer_GI_Clinic/Home.html
Pollux Aviation Ltd
6205 E Beechcraft Circ Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 746-0673 www.polluxaviation.net
Scheduleze
12110 Business Blvd Ste 6 PMB 335, Eagle River AK 99577 (907) 223-4958 www.scheduleze.com
Sequestered Solutions Alaska LLC
801 B St Ste 102 Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 868-8678 www.sequesteredsolutions.com
The Printer
2415 Spenard Rd Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 258-5700 www.theprinterak.com
Veteran Environmental Consulting
2410 W 29th Ave Apt 3 Anchorage, AK 99517 (907) 727-7797 www.vetenviron.com/
AAA Billiards Sales & Service
1040 E 5th Ave Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 278-7665 www.alaskabilliards.com
Alpine Septic Pumping Inc
700 Vine Rd Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 373-2120 www.alpineseptic.com
Alaska Quality Publishing Inc
2203 Sorbus Way Anchorage, AK 99508 (907) 277-3131 www.stasercg.com
Veteran’s Alaska Construction LLC
10613 Lafayette Cir Anchorage, AK 99515 (907) 339-9565 www.veteransalaska.com/
8537 Corbin Dr Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 562-9300 www.aqppublishing.com
Teeple Cabinets and Construction
A-1 Copy Systems LLC
1120 E 5th Ave Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 277-7555 www.arcticcontrols.com
Ads-b Technologies LLC
15908 E Helmaur Pl Palmer, AK 99654 (907) 746-5442 www.arcticskyexcavating.com
Staser Group LLC
4006 B W Tweed Ct Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 715-4090 www.teepleconstructionllc.com
Terrasat Inc
1413 W 31st Ave Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 344-9370 www.terrasatinc.com
600 W Northern Lights Blvd Ste A Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 349-3224 www.a1alaska.com
900 Merrill Field Dr Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 258-2372 www.ads-b.com
Arctic Controls Inc
Arctic Sky Excavating
Automated Laundry Systems and Supply Corp 5020 Fairbaks St Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 771-0103 www.autolaundrysystems.com
Bradshaw and Associates
2300 E 76th Ave Ste 1222 Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 522-7205 www.bardshawandassociates.com
Bering Global Logistics LLC
1800 W 48th Ave Anchorage, AK 99517 (907) 351-9943 www.beringglobal.com
All Pro Alaska
6627 Rosewood St Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 338-5438 www.bjlift.com
Blind Factory
10800 Northfleet Dr Anchorage, AK 99515 (907) 344-4600 www.blindfactoryak.hdspd.com
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Veteran Owned Businesses Britten & Associates
2616 Sorbus Cir Anchorage, AK 99508 (907) 440-8181 www.brittenassociates.com
Brr Concepts
17214 Meadow Creek Dr Eagle River, AK 99577 (907) 727-8438 www.brrconcepts.com
Coldfoot Environmental Services
6670 Wes Way Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 770-9936 www.coldfootenv.com
Currier’s Asphalt Maintenance
1605 Roosevelt Dr Anchorage, AK 99517 (907) 522-8687 www.curriers.com
Denali Bio-Diesel Inc
22443 Sambar Loop Chugiak, AK 99567 (743) 730-8665 www.denalibiodiesel.com
Environmental Compliance Consulting
1500 Post Rd Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 644-0428 www.eccalaska.com
Lasher Sport Inc
801 E 82nd Ave Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 529-8833 www.lashersport.com
Ljc Group Limited
Sustainable Design Group LLC
1785 East Raven Cir Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 720-3259 www.sdg-ak.com
Ltr Training Systems Inc.
Weston Productions 20845 Frosty Dr Chugiak, AK 99567 (907) 229-6116 www.westonproductions.tv
Yard Chief Yard Care Inc
Frank Flavin Photography
7045 Welmer Rd Apt 5 Anchorage, AK 99502 (907) 632-5597 www.ljconline.com
5761 Silverado Way Ste Q Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 563-4463 www.survivaltraining.com
MH Consulting
3431 Amber Bay Loop Anchorage, AK 99515 (907) 344-4521 www.mhcinc.net
Triphase Adventure Group
Frigid North G
1405 W 27th Ave Unit 306 Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 360-1989 www.tagalaska.com
2120 Casey Cusack Lp Anchorage, AK 99515 (907) 306-7052 www.zusam.spruz.com
Alaska Radiator Distributor LLC
Tenant Watch
Heavenly Sights
5401 Cordova St Ste 305 Anchorage, AK 99518 (907) 561-1606 www.flavinphotography.com
3309 Spenard Rd Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4633 www.frigidn.com
Globelink Telecom Inc
6706 Greenwood St Unit 2 PO Box 231256 Anchorage AK 99523 (907) 562-0384 www.radiator.com
JamesVelox & James
Really Creative Business Solutions
6911 Tanaina Dr Anchorage, AK 99502 (907) 243-0118 www.globelinktel.com
3000 C St Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 310-5785 www.jvjresearch.com
9138 Arlon St Ste A3 A3-88 Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 646-2005 www.rcbusinesssolutions.com/index/html
3201 C St Ste 202 Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 272-7336 www.tenantwatch.net
Trailboss Enterprises Inc 201 E 3rd Ave Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 338-8243 www.trailboss.biz
1425 N Spar Ave #2 Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 337-3355 www.yardchief.biz
Bandapart Productions
Charters & Campground Ninilchik, AK Deep Creek (907) 567-73671 www.heavenlysights.com