Tag: U.S. Army ASA | Page 3 | Nancy Lou Henderson

Please, Please Mr. Postman

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

We were both writing to each other, but I was the only one receiving letters. Once receiving an address, I mailed a large stack of letters to Frank that had been waiting on my nightstand to be sent. It would take days for Frank to get them. Receiving letters from him while he poured out his love for me made my heart ache because I knew how depressed he was and that he had not gotten my letters of love to him. It is a strange feeling to know your letters would comfort the one person who owns your heart and soul, but you are not able to get them to him fast enough. I prayed that soon a...

I Love You, Frank

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

Finally, we were in communication with each other. Of course, it would be a slow process, but it was the best we had. I would not know Frank received my letters until sometime after the 15th of February, but we kept writing. We both had so many questions about what was going on with each other. Frank wrote a letter many days before Valentine’s Day, asking his folks to buy flowers and candy for me. Days before Valentine’s Day, I had mailed his Valentine’s Card and sent a box full of things for him to munch on. Because we knew how long the mail took to reach each other,...

Guard Duty and Cookies

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

Frank was finally receiving my letters and boxes. Finally, he could begin to realize that there was no need to worry about who would always own my heart and soul. Loneliness through separation from the person you truly love added to being in a war with so much uncertainty of what the next day may bring can cause a person to think of the worst of what could happen instead of the truth that they know inside them. My biggest worry was for Frank’s health and safety. I was so terrified of something happening to him and him not returning to me alive. Loving Frank with all of my heart and...

Ups and Downs and Poetry

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 4 comments

Frank had decided to quit smoking on March 1, 1971, while he was in Vietnam. There is a movie called “Cold Turkey” from 1969. It is about a town whose citizens all decided to quit smoking and the emotions that they went through. If you haven’t watched it, you will want to do that. It is really funny. Thinking, if you are twenty-one years old, have been married for nearly three years, have been separated from your wife for two months who you are used to being intimate with, are suffering from loneliness with off and on depression, and you are in Vietnam during a war, it...

Helping Me Get Up

Posted by Nancy Lou Henderson in Vietnam Letters | 10 comments

Frank wanted me to tell him all of my feelings, upsets, and worries. It would be hard for us to hold back sharing those things with each other because we only confided in each other. We knew that sharing these things would upset each other because we were not in a position to help each other. Sometimes we were strong enough to hold back our upsets and emotions when writing to each other but many times we failed. On March 1, 1971, I failed miserably wallering in self-pity while writing a letter to Frank but he loved me so much that he would not let me sink into depression and self-pity. ...