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War Letters

By Lynn Morfeld

In 2001, a PBS documentary called War Letters was televised to accompany a book by the same name.  War Letters (the book) contains over 150 letters from soldiers and their families from the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Desert Storm.  Editor Andrew Carroll compiled the book from over 50,000 letters that had been sent to him by families of soldiers.  The end result is a powerful read about Americans on the front lines and on the home front. 

The sophomores at Clarkson watched the hour-long documentary after a few lessons about the importance of letter writing (and writing some letters themselves).  The timing couldn’t have worked out better, as we watched War Letters about a week before Veterans Day.  In response to the video, students were to target a response to a veteran.  Here are some of their letters.        

Dear Veteran, 

            I am writing to you as a result of me learning about letters from our nonfiction unit, and the documentary my class watched on war letters and their significance. I want to first thank you for all of your service. I realized that it must be really hard for soldiers in war especially with the loneliness side of it. I also realized that soldiers may not want to make friends or get to know anyone because it is bad enough to lose a soldier, but a friend is even worse. I didn’t realize how lonely soldiers have to be and how wearing that must be on their mental state. Not only are there constant killings, constant stress, putrid smells, terrible sights, but you have to do it all alone in a sense, if you are not trying to meet anyone. This really helps me appreciate the perseverance and bravery that soldiers have to have. They have to keep going alone, and move past everything they experience and see, that would be enough to drive a person crazy. It also gave me a greater appreciation for soldiers with PTSD and other mental disorders from war. It is so amazing that they were able to get through war the way it is, so if they are struggling now, it means that they were able to keep it together through all of that adversity. So we need to honor them and help them get the help they need, because a lot of us will never have to experience what they went through, because of the sacrifices they have made. 

One part that I think should be watched is the part of the documentary when the soldiers talk about their combat training. It is very important to understand the combat training and how many soldiers can not explain the terrible combat they come to know. This is very important because although we know their combat is terrible, we don’t truly understand how it was to be put through that combat. For example we could have no idea of how many people were killed and the injustices that came from that. One sergeant describes how angered he is that, “Only 50% of the dead are actually reported to Americans.” I think that it is important for people to understand just how many people died that 50% of them didn’t even get reported. This will help them understand a little more just how messed up things were over there. If someone died, you just had to move on because it happened so often. Another thing that is important to know from the combat they experienced, was the feeling of the lieutenant who has to command the soldiers. This is very important to understand because I think something people don’t think about is the conscience of the people who make the decisions on what to do, and see people get killed as a result of that. I know that this was an eye opener for me because it made me realize how hard that would be to see someone die as a result of a call you made. For example Lieutenant Dean Allen asks, “Why do I have to be the one to tell someone to do something that may get him blown away?” This is such a challenging question and really makes you put yourself in their shoes and imagine if you were in that position, what would you do and how would you handle it? 

War Letters teaches us that writing is so valuable to so many people. It is a way to cherish your family beyond when you are with them and is a way to feel connected to your loved ones. It is so much more valuable than calls or texting because when you read this letter, you don’t just see words on the page, you see their handwriting and them writing their feelings to you, because they truly care. Especially when people are far away from their loved ones, letters can personally connect people around the world. It is not just something to look at, then is gone, it is something that you can keep as a memory and it personally connects you with your loved ones. It is something you can read back and remember what they mean to you and what you mean to them. For the soldiers, writing was everything. It was the only thing that gave them hope and the courage to keep fighting. The letters they got were cherished and it allowed them to have a reason for the fighting. It allowed them to have a connection with their loved ones and let them know they are ok.  

Overall War Letters showed me how difficult and hard it was to be a soldier, and even veteran now. Watching this video has instilled in me a greater appreciation for our soldiers, and I think everyone should watch and understand the specific part of the combat that soldiers go through, so they can appreciate our soldiers fully. I will also think of letters in a very different way now, just because of how much the letters meant to the soldiers, as it was able to connect them in a deeper way. Letters are a way of giving someone a small part of themselves to have and remember, and is a great gift of love.

Sincerely, Claire Holoubek

Dear Veteran,

After watching the documentary War Letters, I have a newfound respect for the sacrifices made by the men and women in our military. The documentary gave me something of an understanding of what being in combat is like, and it's not something I would want to do, which is why I am glad we have people like you. Fighting wars is hard, and it is really only something that I would do if I was forced to.

I would suggest people hear the part of the documentary where it speaks about basic training. Many of the men do things I couldn't see myself being able to do, such as kill a man by stomping on their head, or stabbing them with a bayonet. There are also other parts of basic training that I don't think I would survive, such as being subjected to chemical gas without a mask. Now of course times have changed, but still some of these things that our military trains to do are not something I believe I would have the guts or strength to do.

Finally, War Letters has taught me the importance of letter writing. Letter writing was important in times without technology, where you couldn't call or text someone. Letter writing made soldiers value their only connection and form of conversation to home. Letter writing also has value beyond soldiers and their families, it has value today. Writing letters is more sincere and more heartfelt than sending a text message, or even a call on the phone because you can keep letters and read them later. All in all, I've learned that even though there are modern ways of long distance communication, the good old fashioned ways of letter writing are more heartfelt and meaningful, even today.

                             Sincerely, Jeryn Struebing 

Dear Veteran,

            I am working in the nonfiction unit in English class and we are learning about writing letters and letters in the war. The world is so much different today because of all the new technology that has come out no one ever really thinks to sit down for a little bit and write a letter. I think that letters are a great thing and people should write them more often rather than just sending a text message. The documentary War Letters helped me appreciate everything that I have today. The fact that there is technology so that we can contact our loved ones faster than it taking weeks. It also helped me appreciate all the soldiers who helped in the wars because they left their families at home to save everyone else, and a lot of them weren’t happy when they were out fighting so their lives weren’t good at all. But they continued to fight in the war. I had a new realization about soldiers in the war is that they are really scared when they are out fighting. Another thing that I realized about soldiers in the war is that if they make it back home after the war they have to live with all of the PTSD from everything that had happened, and that has to be horrible. As a kid I always got told that they were super brave and not afraid of anything but after watching the documentary War Letters I saw that, that wasn’t true. 

If you ever get the chance to watch this documentary I suggest you watch the Comparison to Hell section because it talks about how bad the war really was and it is a thing people don’t imagine when they think about our soldiers. It talks about a soldier witnessing a bullet enter a human skull, a soldier starting to use opium, and how snowballs were usually grenades. This really shows how brutal the war was and how the soldiers had to witness it all and it had really changed some of them. Some soldiers started using opium because of how down he was because of the wars. 

This documentary taught me that writing a letter is very important because it is something someone can always look back at and read. It is also important especially in the war because it was often the last thing many soldiers wrote to their loved ones and they now have that to keep forever. I personally am very grateful for all the soldiers that fought for their lives for us and I got a better look at things that actually happened during the war like the soldier sending out the letter but being dead by the time his family got it. I am also glad that things don’t take as long to mail today as it did in the past because that could make it a lot easier for our soldiers today. Thank you, veteran.

                        Sincerely,

                                    Chelsy Matthies 

Dear Veteran,

In our English class in our nonfiction unit we watched a documentary called War Letters. Watching this documentary helped me get a better understanding on war letters and what it must have been like during the war. There are several letters that I think everyone should read because of how moving they are. Also it helped me understand why letter writing is so important.

            War Letters helped me appreciate war-time soldiers because it allowed me to see the writer's true emotions and feelings, not just facts or stats in a history book. The letters also allowed me to connect with the person and learn who they are as a person. A few of the letters even moved me to tears because for the first time I got a glimpse into the real feelings and tragedies war-time soldiers face. I never realized until reading the letters that not all soldiers wanted to be in war the whole time they were. Some of them had second thoughts. In one letter a boy even begged his mom to tell the army his real age so he could go home.

            The letters in War Letters I would recommend that everyone read are the letter from 20-year old sgt. from Illinois to his parents, Pvt. Paul Curtis’s letter to his brother, and Warrant Officer, Frank J. Conwell’s letter to his aunt and uncle. I suggest people because it shows how at some point most soldiers regret their choice and feel despair. The line from the letter that stuck out to me most was “Don’t worry, I didn’t get another purple heart. My buddies are all dead.” This stuck out to me because most people think of a purple heart as a great honor but I think we often forget it takes a soldier almost dying to receive it. Also the fact you can hear the sadness he must be feeling I can’t imagine having to see all my friends die. Pvt. Paul Curtis’s letter stuck out to me because of his great way of explaining the feelings a person goes through during combat. In my opinion I don’t think anyone can truly come close to knowing how soldiers felt during combat but Pvt. Paul Curtis’s description allows you to get a small idea of how it must have been. The line states “Take a combination of fear, anger, hunger, thirst, exhaustion, disgust, loneliness, homesickness, and wrap that all up in one reaction and you might approach the feelings a fellow has.” Finally Warrant Officer Frank J. Conwell’s letter stood out to me because it shows how fast young men had to grow up and how they missed their childhood. The letter says “But the Flexible Flyers have turned into tanks. The snowballs are grenades. The wet stuff trickling down the back of necks is often blood. And when you’re numb with cold there’s no place to go to.” This allows me to see just a little into the life of a soldier and how these young men went from these happy childhood memories into a war of death and destruction.

The “War Letters” taught me the importance of writing letters through being able to see all the love and emotion that are put into the letters and that letters are kept and cherished by the recipient and often reread over and over. The letters that helped me see this the most were the letters sent from loved ones to soldiers. They showed so much love and care. I also can imagine how the soldiers reread the letters and it helps give them a moral boost. 

Due to the documentary I now have a better understanding of not just why letters are important but also how much they had to do with the wars of the past. Also a different form of respect for what it took and takes to be a war-time soldier.

Sincerely, Hayley Podany

Please click here to view the PDF version of the November 2024 newsletter.pdf

The Spanish 1 class has been learning about Día de los muertos, a holiday celebrated primarily in Mexico. They believe that the spirits of their deceased family and friends return to earth one day each year (November 2) to eat, drink & be merry, just like they did when they were living. To welcome the spirits and make them comfortable during their visit on earth, each family prepares an ofrenda in their home. It is a festive display of traditional items (marigolds, a cross, salt, a wash basin/water, food, incense, etc.) as well as personal items (a portrait, the deceased's favorite food, drink, toys, etc.). When we've decorated ofrendas the past, usually each student has created their own ofrenda; most students make one for a grandparent or sometimes there's a student who hasn't lost anyone they know so they make an ofrenda for a celebrity who's passed. This year, however, the class opted to make one together for their classmate Austin Matthies who passed away in February. We reminisced about fun memories of him as we planned what personal items would best reflect him to place on the ofrenda. Not only did we learn about this Mexican tradition, but we're grateful that it provided us an opportunity to remember our friend Austin as well :)

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