May 29, 2011
Memorial Day or “Decoration Day” as it was first called, is tomorrow- a holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers. It was first enacted in 1865 by former slaves to honor Union soldiers at the end of America’s Civil War. After World War I, the holiday was extended to honor all U.S.Service Members who died in military service.
In an effort to combine the theme of letters and soldiers, I am inspired to share some appropriate book titles that will offer us their firsthand accounts. Reading soldiers’ letters presents an intimate and heartfelt way to share their experience and honor their sacrifice.
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- Behind the Lines: Powerful and Revealing American and Foreign War Letters- and One Man’s Search to Find Them by Andrew Carroll
- Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman
- Dear America- Letters Home from Vietnam DVD by Tom Berenger and Ellen Burstyn
- Dog Tags Yapping: The World War II Letters of a Combat GI by Morton Elevitch & Jean Van Doren
- Grace Under Fire- Letters of Faith in Times of War by Andrew Carroll
- Letters of a Nation by Andrew Carroll
- Operation Homecoming by Andrew Carroll
- War Letters DVD with Joan Allen
- War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars by Andrew Carroll
- War Letters Armed Forces Edition by Andrew Carroll
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References and ideas:
- Wikepedia-The Free Encyclopedia. “Memorial Day.”
- Amazon.com “War Letters.”
- For information on Writing to Soldiers- search “Give Your Write Arm to Pen and Paper” on this website.