Final letters home from soldiers

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  • Final letters home from soldiers

    I know that some soldiers write letters to family to be delivered in the event of their death.

    My question is, is this something that soldiers elect to do themselves, or are they told to do it by their higher-ups? (I dont mean that it's mandatory, but is it suggested as a good idea?).

    Where does one suppose the letters would be kept?

    Thanks.

  • #2
    Re: Final letters home from soldiers

    I don't know how helpful this is, but my husband was in the US Navy during the first Gulf War, and just before they had to advance toward the mine-infested Persian Gulf on their way to shore (it was an amphibious ship), they were told that they had one more chance (last mail call) to write home before comms would be cut off indefinitely. (Or at least until the mission was completed.)

    They didn't use heavy language or specifically say, "this is it", but he said there was a feeling of gravity about what they were doing, and lots of sailors wrote letters that they might not ordinarily write. He, on the other hand, was 20 and stupid (his words) and had no real understanding of what they were heading towards until the ship ahead of them blew up. By then it was a little too late.

    The darling boy isn't entirely sensitive to the subtleties of life at the best of times. Lucky he's cute.

    Maybe it's different in the army...

    I would, however, lean toward underplaying this in the dialogue and language choice. I always think of Peter Weir's Gallipoli as a stunning example of how to convey the feelings of utter hopelessness and the underpreparedness of these boys in the minutes before they would be changed forever - without once laying it on heavy in the dialogue. Really powerful stuff.
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    • #3
      Re: Final letters home from soldiers

      Sorry. I didn't really answer the last part of the question. But I would guess that these letters would be left in their personals with instructions - probably written or given to the closest friend. The personals would be sent home anyway, so a letter of this kind would definitely get where it needs to go.
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      • #4
        Re: Final letters home from soldiers

        Thanks for the replies. I'm actually using the letter as a plot point, and not for any dramatic heaviness. My soldier basically admits his role in a crime that occurred, but he would not want this information to get out unless he was killed, which is why I was most concerned with where the letters were kept.

        It sounds like the rules are up to each individual, whether they kept them on their person or gave them to a trusted comrade.

        Thanks.

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