Month: October 2018 | Page 3 | Nancy Lou Henderson

The Longest Hair

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

Frank had been in a good mood until receiving my letter which had been delayed in the mail. With mail delivery so mixed up at times, it was very hard for us to communicate but even with normal ten-day delays in receiving letters, our moods would already have changed by the time we got another letter. We just never knew what to expect in a letter but we learned to work at holding back our reactions to a five-day-old letter. In the next letter, Frank was a little down and he gets a little rebellious. May 29, 1971 Dear Nancy, Hi Darling. How are you today? I hope you’re well and in...

The Pocket Watch

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 2 comments

Frank experienced so many emotions in his last four letters which were all written in a time span of eight days. He was feeling rebellious, angry, humorous, and depressed. In his letter from June 5, 1971, he was very down. Frank was not feeling well and something else was really upsetting him but he had not shared with me what it was. After receiving his June 5th letter, I was totally confused but then I received his next letter written three days later. June 8, 1971 Dear Nancy, Hi Honey, how’s my life today? I hope that you’re fine and happy because I want you to be happy. I...

The Surprise Gift

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

I was so excited that Frank had finally received his pocket watch. After receiving Frank’s letter, reading it, and seeing in his writing how excited he was about the watch, I was really happy. Frank was still messing with me about the Surprise Gift he was sending me. I could not think of one thing that I had been asking him for. He had already sent me two gifts that were totally amazing and beautiful. I did not want him to spend any more money on me. June 16, 1971 Dearest Wife, I love you, I love you, I love you. I just can’t help it. I’m just so filled with love for...

Two Weeks of Heaven

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Letters After R&R | 6 comments

Standing in our living room, holding the phone to my ear, then hearing Frank’s voice saying he loved me, was surreal. For the first time in six months, I was actually talking to Frank, and it felt like it was all a dream. How had he called me? Where was he? It took only seconds before Frank answered all of my questions with his next words, “Nancy, I am in California, and I am fixing to get on a flight to Houston. Wanna come and pick me up at the Houston airport?” I was fighting back the tears, holding back squealing loudly, and smiling from ear to ear all at one time,...

Back to Missing Him

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Letters After R&R | 2 comments

Our two weeks together had come to an end and Frank had returned to Vietnam. There is really no way to explain the feeling of having had Frank home for two weeks, having to tell him goodbye again, then knowing it would be six months before seeing him, talking to him, and holding him in my arms again. The best words I have to explain this feeling would be, “Feeling like your heart had been torn in half”. Our love for each other had grown stronger with every day we were apart the first six months and we knew that we were connected in more than letters. Our hearts and souls had...