During World War II, as letters arrived from my husband, a frontline combat medic in Italy with the Tenth Mountain Division, I was given assurance he was alive. I had to believe, though letters often arrived two months after they were written. That letter home was the only communication available in 1944 and 1945 from the Italian front, and all letters and cards were censored.
Newspapers, radios, and newsreels at the movies told the world of the mountain peaks captured, rivers crossed, heroic details, lives lost.
That letter home held our hearts together during the war. Letters were often written on the surface of his helmet, on a rock, or a board, and on any writing paper that was available.
The letters home have been lovingly transcribed for easier reading because I wish to share them.
