DEAR JEANNIE: LETTERS HOME FROM WWII
Lou Winsauer and Jean Johnson didn’t have a classic love story. They were a pair of strong-willed rebels who ran with a crowd that called themselves The Dawn Club. When they married, neither of their fathers attended the wedding.
Their tempestuous marriage ended in divorce after 10 children, but (after a cooling-off period) they rebuilt a cordial relationship that lasted for the rest of their lives. She saved the letters he sent home while serving as an army medic, and they are published here along with a few other letters that were preserved.
And no, he never learned how to spell “reveille”.
From Lorraine Mertz - "I saw your heart throb" - July 17, 1941
I have a day off today so I thought I might as well waste my time by writing you a letter. I got your card last week and nearly fainted at the sight of it. At first I thought you had completely forgotten about me and then I was afraid that you might have gotten into a fight with someone who maybe got the best of you. That’s hardly possible though isn’t it Louis. I hear Joe Louis might be drafted too—maybe you two could get together sometime. I’d be willing to come down and pick up the pieces. Ahem.