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Letter to Editor
November 15, 1928
The Prison Mirror
Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota
What is this article about?
WWI veteran D.S. writes to the editor of The Prison Mirror, offering to contribute an article on his ambulance corps experiences and the tragic death of his young wife, who believed he had died in a hospital after an ambulance wreck, to illustrate the meaning of true love.
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OCR Quality
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Full Text
AN OPEN LETTER
By D. S.
Editor of The Prison Mirror:
Some time ago you asked that I give you an article concerning my thoughts and feelings in the trenches of the world war. Up to date I have some seventeen pages written. It takes considerable time to compose such an article due to the fact that I wish to make no errors. I want the correct spelling of all those cities and villages of France and other countries I visited, and as I presume you readily understand that most of them are unquestionably hard to spell. Furthermore, it is my desire to place parts of the forces exactly, or as close to exact as my memory will permit, with the approximate dates of advances, retreats and fierce fighting.
I was not in the trenches at any time under fire. I was over seas twenty-one months, eighteen of which I spent in active service in the Ambulance corps. When I left for France I had been married 14 months and had a big baby boy, and eight months later a baby girl arrived. My wife was very young, and the strain of my uncertainty between life and death along with the care of two children was too much for her. She was one of those loyal, true-blue, old-fashioned kind.
A month before the Armistice, I was taken to the hospital out of the wreck of my ambulance caused by heavy artillery. My wife received this news. It did not state my condition and, as due to the shock I was unable to write very well, I had a nurse do so for me; but the letters were lost somewhere; my wife believed I had died: and so she too succumbed to death.
If it would be all right, I should like to tell your readers of this, as it may give them a chance for some serious thinking and, above all, it may help some of the younger generation to understand the meaning of love--"True Love."
I believe I can give you a very interesting story, if these things are publishable in your paper. I assure you that it will contain nothing but true and honest facts as I faced them.--D. S. [Yes, sir, let us have your best; we believe that our readers will join us in welcoming such as you promise here.-Ed.]
Note.--Perhaps the following may not be too late for the next MIRROR issue:
By D. S.
Editor of The Prison Mirror:
Some time ago you asked that I give you an article concerning my thoughts and feelings in the trenches of the world war. Up to date I have some seventeen pages written. It takes considerable time to compose such an article due to the fact that I wish to make no errors. I want the correct spelling of all those cities and villages of France and other countries I visited, and as I presume you readily understand that most of them are unquestionably hard to spell. Furthermore, it is my desire to place parts of the forces exactly, or as close to exact as my memory will permit, with the approximate dates of advances, retreats and fierce fighting.
I was not in the trenches at any time under fire. I was over seas twenty-one months, eighteen of which I spent in active service in the Ambulance corps. When I left for France I had been married 14 months and had a big baby boy, and eight months later a baby girl arrived. My wife was very young, and the strain of my uncertainty between life and death along with the care of two children was too much for her. She was one of those loyal, true-blue, old-fashioned kind.
A month before the Armistice, I was taken to the hospital out of the wreck of my ambulance caused by heavy artillery. My wife received this news. It did not state my condition and, as due to the shock I was unable to write very well, I had a nurse do so for me; but the letters were lost somewhere; my wife believed I had died: and so she too succumbed to death.
If it would be all right, I should like to tell your readers of this, as it may give them a chance for some serious thinking and, above all, it may help some of the younger generation to understand the meaning of love--"True Love."
I believe I can give you a very interesting story, if these things are publishable in your paper. I assure you that it will contain nothing but true and honest facts as I faced them.--D. S. [Yes, sir, let us have your best; we believe that our readers will join us in welcoming such as you promise here.-Ed.]
Note.--Perhaps the following may not be too late for the next MIRROR issue:
What sub-type of article is it?
Emotional
Reflective
Historical
What themes does it cover?
Military War
Morality
Social Issues
What keywords are associated?
World War I
Ambulance Corps
True Love
Personal Tragedy
Wife Death
Prison Mirror
Armistice
What entities or persons were involved?
D. S.
Editor Of The Prison Mirror
Letter to Editor Details
Author
D. S.
Recipient
Editor Of The Prison Mirror
Main Argument
the author offers to write and submit an article detailing his world war i experiences in the ambulance corps and the tragic story of his wife's death after she believed he had died, to provide insight into the meaning of true love and encourage serious reflection among readers.
Notable Details
Seventeen Pages Already Written
Not Under Fire In Trenches
21 Months Overseas, 18 In Active Service
Married 14 Months With One Child When Leaving, Second Child Born Later
Hospitalized A Month Before Armistice Due To Ambulance Wreck From Artillery
Wife Died Believing He Had Died After Lost Letters
Story To Highlight 'True Love'