LETTERS FROM A LONELY SOLDIER. By F. Keith Davis As you may know, I have mentioned my father’s military service here before. He was certainly one of the Greatest Generation, and my personal hero, for a variety of reasons. On this Veterans Day, I must mention again that Floyd L. Davis (1922-2008) was a staff sergeant in the US Army during World War II, when he was in his early 20s. He was stationed in the Philippines and later in Japan, during the Occupation after they surrendered. Although Dad was the greatest man Ive ever known, and he taught me many things—mostly by observing how he lived his life—I knew very little about his war experiences since he just wasnt one to talk about such things. This year, five years after his passing, I learned more. Mom passed away a little over a year ago, and a few months back we had to sell the home place in Wapakoneta, Ohio—the house they moved into after marrying in 1939, where my brother, sister and I were all raised. As my brother and sister-in-law worked to organize the home and contents, they set aside things—maybe ten boxes or so—they thought I might appreciate and treasure, which I temporarily stored in our basement until I felt I was in the right frame of mind to go through them. Eventually I started rummaging through the items assembled for me. After going through several boxes of wonderful mementos—including many of my old childhood toys, drawings, comic books and the like—I came upon a round, rusty tin container with a lid, perhaps 14 inches in diameter, likely the original canister for Dads Army dress visor cap. Upon opening it, I discovered a treasure inside: several colorful Japanese silk headscarves, two Japanese flags (a war flag and one from the Occupation,) Dads original draft notice, a Japanese-English translation booklet, and a stack of seventy or so yellowed envelopes—containing hand-written letters penned by my father to my mother, in 1945—tied neatly together with a thin red ribbon. I carefully looked each of the well-preserved items over, but I was especially curiously drawn to the envelopes. My heart seemed to pound harder as I untied the ribbon and over the next few hours, read heartwarming and often heartbreaking letters from a lonely young soldier, deployed overseas, to his youthful bride and toddler son (my older brother) who were at home, missing him, back in the states. I smiled, sometimes laughed out loud, and even shed a few tears as I read through some of the letters and tried to visualize this obviously-in-love couple at this time period of their lives, more than a decade before I was born. Reading the letters was at times emotionally overwhelming, yet at the same time also terribly fascinating. This was my Dad—a much younger father than I ever knew—sharing his most intimate thoughts and feelings, while journaling his mundane day-to-day experiences, as well. I recognized that familiar sense of humor as he recounted funny stories of some of the antics of his Army buddies, but it seemed somewhat strange to hear him (my strong and courageous father) admit to sometimes having personal struggles and feelings of hopelessness. Each letter told me more about the man I have always admired, and I only grew to respect and admire him more. In a way it felt like I spent some very special time with my Dad that day. Although he was a younger man, he was still the man of integrity that I always knew. As I ponder all this on this Veterans Day, I am reminded that there are many young men and women still deployed overseas—in lands far away from home and family and the creature comforts found here in our great land of America. The loneliness must be excruciating. However, they do all that they do so that our nation remains strong, safe and free. God bless our veterans and those who currently serve. I personally want to thank all of you. And thank you, Dad. We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. — Cynthia Ozick
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:45:43 +0000
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