Letters Home: Section 1, Letter dated July 7, 1999

Christina Allgood shares the story of her life and the lessons she has learned as she writes her Letters Home.

July 7, 1999
Katrina,

The house staff has been talking of war, Katrina, now that Betsy’s great, great grandson has recently enlisted. War is such a strange phenomenon, an entity that no one really wants and no one ever enjoys but, unfortunately, is sometimes necessary. Sometimes, wars are fought for freedom, sometimes for justice, and, sometimes, wars are fought for reasons no one truly understands, reasons only later sorted out and decided upon by history. But, whatever the reason, all wars share the same prayer that the war will end quickly and that loved ones will return home safely.

I wanted The Oak to do something special for the troops this month, Katrina, something that would allow at least a few soldiers to know that they are in the hearts and on the minds of the people for whom they fight, so that they know that they are cared about and that their safe return is in our prayers. So, each day, all of us at The Oak are sending cards and letters hoping that some soldier somewhere will, if only for a moment, feel the comfort and peace of home and perhaps receive a message of hope to their heart. It’s been amazing to watch the hundreds of pieces of correspondence be boxed up each day and prepared to mail. It is such a small gesture and yet it feels so exciting, as if an angel of joy is preparing to wave her wand about the world. Yet, I wonder if the true receivers of the joy are those who will receive the cards and letters or those who are sending them, sending a message of hope?

Father used to talk about war, about the preparations of war. He would speak, at times, about soldiers practicing skills until the skills became as natural to the soldiers as breathing or blinking. Father would talk about the bonds that grow between soldiers as they begin to trust and depend on each other, learning that working together could possibly result in all returning home alive and well. It was a sense of duty and an honor, Father often explained, that brought young men to war. But, Father was also quick to mention that war was never easy, a frightening experience with inevitable bloodshed, adding that the greatest heartbreak of any soldier was the loss of another.

Yet, where would we be without war? But, as much as I dislike war, the costs of battle, the losses incurred, as much as I blame war for personal losses to our family, I am thankful and grateful for those people who have the strength, the fortitude, to make such difficult decisions regarding war and for those who fight for all of us. Still, I’ll hold on to the dream of a world at peace with itself, a future without war. Doesn’t everyone have that dream?

Forever,
Christina

This work is fictional. Any resemblance to actual situations or persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional.