The song Letters from Home ,by
John Michal Montgomery, is about a soldier receiving letters from his family
members. It talks about him getting his letters and reading them to all his
buddies. These letters from his loved
ones kept him driving on. It is quite the same for all soldiers. Nothing is
better than getting a letter from someone you love telling them all about the
normal stuff going on around their home town.
How do these letters affect soldiers, and what new technology is used to
help soldiers stay in contact with their home and those who mean the most to
them?
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| Smadja, Richard. Germany, December 1939, German soldiers receiving letters from home. . 1939. Photograph. yadvashemWeb. 19 Sep 2013. <http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/5746740_72689.html> |
Writing a letter
sounds simple and is almost obsolete in America today; however, for soldiers
overseas a simple letter can mean so much to them. In an article by The
Collegian, soldiers reported that receiving letters and care
packages was a great moral booster. It also states that the soldiers change in
attitude because of getting letters was the best reason to write to them. Getting
a letter is a big deal to a soldier, it means that someone is thinking about
them and supports them. These people are not always family however; letters
from strangers are almost as important to them. They show the support and love
the country has for their soldiers overseas. Soldiers’ Angels is a nonprofit
organization centered on writing to soldiers who are fighting. On the Soldiers
‘Angel’s web site there is a section dedicated to Testimonials. This page is full of accounts of soldiers telling stories of how letters they received helped them make it through war. Just as the song says, the letters keep them
driving on waiting on their letters from home.
Letters do not
just boost morale. There is a study that soldiers who receive letters and
packages from home are less likely to have post traumatic stress disorder after
returning home. The Journal of Traumatic
Stress states, “ After studying information from 193 married male
Army soldiers who returned from military deployment within the past year,
investigators found that more frequent spousal communication through ‘delayed’ communication
such as letters, care packages, and emails was linked with lower PTSD symptoms
after deployment.” This basically means that those who obtain care packages and
letters have an easier time transitioning to normal life when they are sent home.
There have
been great strides in technology in the past few years. Letters are not the
only way to communicate with soldiers anymore.
Now you can email, talk on the phone, and video chat. A soldier in
Afghanistan was able to witness the birth of his first son on Skype reported The Desert News.
Social
media such as Facebook and Twitter has made staying connected with home much
easier for soldiers. In Mary
Grace Keller’s piece of writing she relays
that, “technology has paved the way for a new form
of communication among military families today, and the emotion and connection
is just as strong.” Not everyone agrees with this. The Journal of Traumatic
Stress continues to stress that, "When you receive letters, they can be
read again and again, and when you write them, it can be therapeutic." In
the song the man mentions folding the letter up and keeping them in his pocket,
you cannot hold an email or carry a video chat in your pocket. There is
something about knowing that someone took the time to sit down and write a
letter that is meaningful.
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| Soldier seeing his baby for the first time. From The Desert News |
Writing
letters to soldiers, whether you know them or not, is a wonderful thing. It
helps boost their morale, and it gives them a reason to continue to fight. Receiving
letters can also lead them to have an easier time adjusting after returning
home and have a lesser chance of post traumatic stress. Technology has given us
many options of communication but a hand written letter from the heart will
always be welcomed by any soldier.
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| Soldiers receiving mail. From Soldiers' Angel's web site |
