Tag: Fort Leonard Wood | Page 2 | Nancy Lou Henderson

Letters 15 & 16 from Basic 1968

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Love Letters | 12 comments

A Unique & Special Letter The next letter is unique and special, Frank decided to write to me on something he thought would be different, but I will let him tell you about it. April 20, 1968 Dear Lou, Isn’t this a novelty? I bet you never expected to get a letter that was written on a bedsheet. Well, I’m not out of paper, I’m not nuts, and I don’t mean anything by it. I just thought that it would be unusual. It is Friday of my 6th week, and my nerves are shot. We don’t get our orders until Wednesday and rumor is the RA’s don’t...

My Brother’s Letter, Basic 1968

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Love Letters | 10 comments

There is a love that is often unspoken between best friends. Frank and Jimmy shared that unspoken love. My brother, Jimmy Blakley, who is mentioned throughout these chapters as “Jimmy” by me or called “Jim” by Frank in his letters, was also awaiting orders. Frank and Jimmy were best friends who had a deep love and respect for each other before Frank, and I started dating. Frank and Jimmy had even joined the Army on the Buddy System, which meant they were to be stationed together throughout their service time in the Army and included them doing Basic Training...

Smoking Laundry & Big Fins 1968

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Love Letters | 8 comments

After having survived the two weeks of not enough food, Frank and I realized that we would have to manage our money very carefully. Frank was in constant search for another apartment for us because of the high rent we were paying. Also, he wanted to get closer to town and Fort Devens, but for now, we were enjoying our apartment in the country. We were only blocks away from a small lake called Sandy Pond, which was beautiful with a beach and a floating platform that we could swim to. Swimming in the pond was free, so Frank and I went there on the weekends sometimes to enjoy the beauty of...