World War II relationship documented in letters from the time
JEFFERSON TWP — John Alwine didn’t hear much from his father about his experiences serving in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II.
He had to read about it decades later, in about 70 letters exchanged between his father, John Alwine Sr., and his mother, Edna Alwine, née Roudybush, during the conflict.
The burgeoning couple wrote to one another up to several times a week in 1944 and 1945 — Alwine Sr. keeping his sweetheart abreast of happenings in the war and Roudybush keeping him up-to-date on the homefront.
The letters are a little wrinkled and withered after decades of being kept in a box in Alwine’s closet, and he said that some of them were probably not in good shape to begin with. He said he finally read through many of them when he took them out from storage this summer. Seeing the writings of his now-deceased parents brought tears to his eyes.
“My dad never went into too much detail,” said Alwine, of Jefferson Township. “It blows my mind what’s in there.”
Alwine laid all of his parents’ letters on his pool table, accompanied by his father’s military memorabilia, like his jacket and Purple Heart medal. He also put together a collage of photos of his mom and dad, which they also saved from their upbringings.
Alwine said his father had lived around Jefferson Township before joining the military, and his mother lived in the Sarver area.
Most of the letters are still in their original envelopes, and they range in size, shape and color, because Alwine Sr. would mail them from different locations based on where he was with the military at the time.
Letters from Alwine Sr. to his girlfriend usually begin with him reacting to the last letter he received from her.
“Letters are so good, it’s almost like being together,” Alwine Sr. wrote in a letter on April 6, 1945.
His letters then ask how she is doing and wish her well.
“How is your cow? I hope you feel fine all around,” that same letter said.
Only sometimes did Alwine Sr. describe his life in the Army. His musings about he and Roudybush’s love take up many a full page, but at times he would tell her what he did earlier in the day.
“Yesterday, I got a haircut and saw a stage show,” said a letter Alwine Sr. wrote Oct. 15, 1944. “The show was nice, but I couldn’t understand them.”
Roudybush’s letters to Alwine Sr. are written in cursive rather than in print, but she had similar sentiments with regard to her affection for her sweetheart. Roudybush may have received a photo of Alwine Sr. in a previous letter, because she thanks him for it in a subsequent letter.
“Those pictures you sent me were plain, and I could see your face plainer,” said a letter Roudybush wrote May 27, 1942. “That big picture of you I had framed, and it’s on the piano in the parlor.”
And, of course, the couple made liberal use of “Xs” and “Os” at the end of each of their letters.
“They were in love with each other,” Alwine said. “My mom’s writing, she used a lot of Xs and Os.”
A letter sent by Alwine Sr. on Dec. 6, 1944, contains news that Alwine Sr. could be returning home soon. In the letter, he tells Roudybush that he had been injured.
“In case I didn’t tell you I got hit by a 88 shell outside of Brest,” Alwine Sr. wrote in the letter. “I also had 248 shots of Penicillin for the wounds. Was eight shots a day for 31 days. I also had eight blood transfusions.”
Alwine explained that it would be years before his father would get all the shrapnel removed from his body. Alwine took him to a VA, where the staff used a magnet to remove residual shrapnel from his body.
Alwine Sr. died on July 21, 1994, and Edna Alwine died on May 21, 2010.
Alwine said his dad was one of four Alwines who served in the military during World War II — Alwine Sr.’s three brothers also served. Alwine said his uncle, George Alwine, died on the second day of the U.S.’s invasion of Normandy.
Alwine also has several remnants of his father’s military service, including a Freedom Towel, a plaque indicating that he was wounded in action and a booklet that is meant to help a soldier reacclimate to civilian life.
“They gave it to them when they came back,” Alwine said of the booklet. “It tells you when you can and can’t wear your uniform in public.”
Alwine’s parents got married when Alwine Sr. returned to the U.S. from Europe. They had four children, who didn’t learn much about their father’s military service while he was alive.
Alwine said he plans to preserve his parents’ letters so they can be read forever, because he thinks they could also act as glimpses into life during World War II on the civilian and the military sides. He only lamented that some of the letters sent between his parents may have gotten lost, because of the constant movement his dad was doing in the military.
“I’m glad I held onto them, some people probably would have thrown them away,” Alwine said. “I’m going to put them in Ziploc bags to keep them.”
Alwine Sr. remarked on his future children to his future wife in a letter written Oct. 26, 1944.
“Soon’s I get home, I’ll get a job, then our little love nest,” Alwine Sr. wrote. “I can picture you cooking, and also, you and me playing with the children, our children, honey.”
