Letters from Home

A letter from a wife to her husband overseas 

To my Dear Husband, James,

I was so happy to get your last note. I was waiting for months to hear from you, but I am glad that you are okay and doing well.

My heart tells me you are okay but at the same time, it’s jealous, envious of the Marine Corps, the Country, and the President from taking you away from me.

I want you back, James. I need you here.

I love you with all my heart. I remember when you made this decision and how proud I was of you. But at the same time, I had this sinking feeling in my chest, knowing that there was a good chance that you’d be sent off to war. 

But I prayed and prayed that you would stay here, with us. Maybe God just doesn’t want to listen to me. Maybe God has forgotten about me. I don’t know.

I’m sorry my letter is so grim. I also remember when you first got sent overseas, how our letters to each other read like love letters from one teenager to another. Now, your letters are so vague and my letter are filled with pleas for you to come home, as if you can just get up and walk away from everything.

People say time flies, but that’s just when you’re having fun or when you are with the one you love. Being away from you makes every minute feel like an hour, every hour feel like a day and every day feel like an eternity. I have many dreams about you, some good and some bad. But my favorite dream of them all is the one when I’m waking up and I walk to the door because I could hear footsteps. I am afraid at first, no matter how many times I dream the same dream, afraid of who it could be at the door. But when I get close enough to see the doorway, I see you picking up our daughter, a daughter that we never had. You hold her up high and spin her around. Sunshine dances around the both of you...and I’m at peace. That’s my favorite dream. I can’t wait until we can make it a reality.

Well, I should go now. Philip needs some help with his homework. I love you so much and can’t wait for the day you appear on our doorstep. I look forward to receiving a real letter from you.

With all my love,

Rebecca.

A letter from a child to his father overseas

Hi Daddy,

I miss you so much! Are you coming home soon? I can’t wait to see you. The news makes things look so scary over there. I hope you are okay. Please don’t get into any trouble, Daddy. Mommy won’t tell you this, but she cries every night waiting for you to come home. She doesn’t know I’m writing this letter. I got the address from your last note home. It was so short. 

Was it really from you or does someone else writes them for you? It didn’t even sound like you.

Anyway, I want you home, dad. Please don’t re-enlist. Mommy can’t take it anymore. I’m afraid she is getting sick. She sleeps all the way to the afternoon and looks sick when she wakes up. I don’t know what to do.

I’m doing okay. My grades went down some, but not by much. I got B’s and C’s this report card instead of A’s. I guess the school work is just getting harder. Jessica told me when her dad went overseas; he didn’t come back for three years! Will you stay away from us for three years? Is that even possible? Daddy, why did you go there in the first place...why did you leave us?

I gotta go now. I can hear mommy downstairs. I love you Daddy and I hope I will hear you downstairs soon.

Love,

Philip

***BOTH SHORT STORIES ARE PROPERTY OF VENUS ANGELICA PEREZ. COPYRIGHT 2012.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.***

If They only Knew: a Female Veteran's Combat Memoirs

What Motivates Someone to join the Marines?

You willingly join the Marine Corps. Something motivated you, whether it was your father or your grandfather who was in the military, or maybe it was something as simple as a commercial you saw that made your heart skip a beat when you saw that soldier helping his fellow brother out of harm’s way. Whatever it was, you made the decision. 

You go through boot camp. You graduate. Nothing in your life can make you feel prouder than the moment you get your rank pinned on your collar. Nothing. That’s it, you are ready! 

A little time goes by and finally, it happens. You get orders. The first time you hear about it, excitement, fear, thankfulness to get a chance to join the fight…all these feelings well up into tearful eyes, but you don’t cry, because you are a Marine. You may tear, but you don’t cry. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.

On the field, there are bullets flying past you. A fellow Marine gets shot, another one throws himself over a grenade to save your life. So much happens in a blink of an eye. “Is this what I signed up for,” runs through your head for a split second, only a second because there’s no time to ponder when your Sergeant smacks you on your Kevlar and says, “Wake up, Corporal, and cover Jennings.” 

There comes those feelings again. Those tears try to well up, but you know you need your vision to align your sites. No time to dwell on petty things like feelings. A fellow Marine needs your help.

Jennings makes it. You grab the Marine who was shot and he survives. This is what it’s all about.

You just took part in a mission that saved a whole village of foreigners from getting blown up by their own people.

You finally get access a few weeks later to the internet. You see this news report about how everybody wants to bring all the troops home. Then you look to your left and you see a five year old girl that you managed to alert a bomb squad about. 

They managed to get the bomb off the five year old that was put on by her parents before it was detonated. She smiles at you. Those tears come back. And all you can do is just smile, shake your head and say to yourself, “If they only knew.”

Written By: Venus A. Perez


Venus Angelica Perez grew up in Bensonhurst, New York and is a former Marine and a current disabled veteran. She is also the author of Mentality Listens and a Christian Mafia trilogy that will be released later this year (title TBD). She expresses herself through art to cope with her pain. Her gifts include painting, photography, and writing. To learn more about the author, please visit her website at blessedbklynite.com.





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