The other day at the brocante I found a stack of letters written during World War Two (WWII) between a husband and his wife. At first I was drawn to them because of how they were worn, and stacked in perfect order. You might say the "art factor" attracted me. Then the dealer seeing that I didn't get the letters real significance told me they were written during WWII.
I asked him how much he wanted for them.
He wanted half of France, or close to it, he wanted more than I wanted to pay that much is true.
I told him that I did not read French very well, and that I wanted them because they looked attractive, a conversational piece of art, a living coffee tabletop book, but letters instead. He shook his head, "You don't understand their worth."
"I'll give you five euro." I might as well have stabbed him in the heart, he looked so shocked. Then I mentioned that my son liked history and he would read them to me, and I batted my eyes and said, "Pretty please with sugar on it." (or at least that is what I thought I was saying in French.)
Flirting works. Sorry but it does. I got the letters for five euro.
Later while Nathalie waited for me as I carried rolls of linen to the car, she started to read the letters. When I came back she had tears in her eyes, "These letters are incredible, they are full of emotion."
At that point I felt terrible that I had bartered for history with flirtation.
When I got home I put the letters on the kitchen table.
The next day after breakfast, French Husband and Sacha carefully opened them. The letters had a hypnotic power, they read in complete silence. Every now and then they would look up at each other share a line or two then bury their heads back into a time long ago.
Annie, my ninety year old, dear friend has shared her stories of WWII with me. When she talks about her past her eyes glaze over and I see her go back to when she was a young girl by her parent's side.
One of the things Annie has shared is that when the Americans arrived they had "chewing gum" and "chocolate." The American soldiers gave it to the children whenever they entered a town.
Later the troop heard that Annie's mother had the best home made soup, soup made with vegetables from her garden! They traded chewing gum and chocolate for bowls of soup.
Most of Annie's stories are not as dark as the ones written in the letters.
The letters are written are from Lyon, where the war raged bitterly.
The letters always start with, "My big love". Rarely do they mention any names, instead they refer to people they know as "The one who worked at the bakery" or "The one who use to live underneath us." They never say the enemies name, for fear that the letters might be opened and used against them, or worse destroyed.
The letters talk about how the enemy gathered the children, using them as human shields as they maneuvered from town to town. How farms where ram shacked they burned to the ground. "The Wife" mentions how she felt safer in the city that is being bombed everyday than in the country.
Later she talks about a butter factory that was raided and the butter burned. Just to belittle, to taunt us in the face of slow starvation.
She goes on to mention a small village of thirty-five residents, where she had thought to live safely, though over half where murdered in one day. "Whenever we hear a gunshot, we know someone is dieing. Many are dieing."
They write, in details, often coded, evident of fear, out of anguish and love for one another.
Sacha and French Husband read ever so slowly a few letters, often stopping... casting a distant look out the window, in deep thought, then continuing without a word.
The handwriting is exceptionally small. French Husband told me that is because paper was scarce, and to post a letter during that time one was expensive... in more ways than one.
Often the letters were written on mix match pieces of scrap paper. Their need to "talk" to one another, to share what they were witnessing, to be present to each other through the details of how they were surviving. They found paper and a mail carrier, out of their healing balm for one another.
I kept thinking how much they loved each other: Image walking to the post office, or a drop off zone to mail a letter in a battle zone? That is commitment.
"I do not know if I could have done that...." I said to the men in my life engrossed with reading. Nonetheless, French Husband looked up at me with sad eyes.
"Love motivates, but gee so does fear!" I said in defense.
XOXO in French "Gros Bisous".
Sacha pointed to the curled back envelope, "Look Mom," he said. He knows I love random, unplanned, spirit of love moving in the unconscious hand of time, sort of thing.
Food for thought.
French Husband says he will read the letters slowly. He is methodical like that, and it teaches me to harbor my excitement and not open all of the letters just to pick them apart for a quick fix.
I hope to post bit by bit as French Husband and Sacha read them to me. I wanted to read the last letter, but the two of them would not have it, I guess I am out-numbered and on the wrong side of the fence on this matter.
What side of the fence are you on?
I scrolled down to the end of your report in excitement, so that is my answer.
Intrigued by this topic, I possess WWII letter as well. Awaiting for more!
Posted by: jend'isère | 04 September 2009 at 12:17 PM
I'm also like you, Corey. often read the end of the book.
What a history lesson! as well as love, braveness and commitment!
My son Illya likes history as well as your Sasha and especially the WWII part. My grandfather was an underground resistant fighter while fascists occupied the village in southern Ukraine where my grandma with a child (my father) lived. Germans chased them out of the house so they could have it for themselves and grandma and my father had to stay in the shed with chickens. I keep my grandfather's medals and hope my son will treasure them too.
sorry, for talking about my personal family history, your post has made me very emotional.
________________
Dear Irina
Thank you for sharing your personal story on my blog. I do not mind, in fact I hope my blog encourages people to share their stories, to take part in the comment setion.
C
Posted by: Irina | 04 September 2009 at 12:21 PM
I guess that I would want to know the whole
story from beginning to end as soon as
possible, but I think that your husband and
son are right. These letters need to be
read slowly and with much thought. I think
you were meant to be the owner of these
letters and to share them with many people.
I think many of our young people don't
really realize what happened in World War II,
and they should know the whole story. Maybe
it would help prevent future wars if the
younger generations realized the sacrifices
so many young adults made and the suffering
that they went through to try to bring
peace to this troubled world. These
letters have been given to you for a real
purpose.
jann
Posted by: jann | 04 September 2009 at 12:30 PM
Corey, why not create a separate blog for the letters (in French & English), & then create a real book, using your photos to illustrate the book? It could be a family project.
Posted by: Penelope | 04 September 2009 at 12:34 PM
Something you can do together. I can't wait to read more.
Posted by: Sue | 04 September 2009 at 12:42 PM
I would have to agree with the men in your house. However, I would be so jealous that I was unable to read them myself. It would be wonderful to have the letters photocopied into book form with translation opposite the origianal letters. I would read it like a novel. I think my gurlz would, too. History and Love. Jann is right, they were meant to be yours to share with us.
Thank you.
Posted by: michelleb. | 04 September 2009 at 12:47 PM
I agree with everyone else, you were meant to have these letters. They will be honored in your house.
Posted by: Deirdre | 04 September 2009 at 01:02 PM
I wonder if anything you read will identify who it was who wrote the letters. Imagine if you were able to re-unite the letters with a family member...
Posted by: Gina | 04 September 2009 at 01:14 PM
I love your men. I love that they want to savor every word of these lives and this love. Amazing. I think that is what my husband and son would do too. It would make me crazy not being able to read them. Seeing how engrossed they were I would probably spend hours every day trying to translate them. What a treasure. Yes, you were meant to have them. God saw to that.
Posted by: Candy | 04 September 2009 at 01:15 PM
What a lovely blog you've got.
This is a real treasure that you have found. I have never managed to find something so heartwarming as these letters you have blogged about.
Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
I hope we will be able to read them all one day
Posted by: Emilia | 04 September 2009 at 01:22 PM
I'm on the savor slowly side of the fence. :) I have read the letters sent home by my great-great grandfather during the Civil War one-by-one making sure that I didn't miss anything. A diary written and copied by my great-great grandmother's brother from his friend, of time spent in Salisbury prison during that same war cannot be read in any other way.
Resist temptation, Corey, and let them take you through the letters as they were written. The picture that will emerge will be full and real, taking you on the journey along with the writers. It's worth the trip.
Posted by: Karin | 04 September 2009 at 01:36 PM
How wonderful of the man to let you have them for 5 Euro...an amazing stack of them too!!
I think it is wonderful that your husband and son are taking a huge interest, really sweet of them. As someone suggested, create a separate blog for them, that would be good.
Posted by: Anne A | 04 September 2009 at 01:41 PM
"I can't believe the dealer sold them to you for five euros! They are priceless; am glad they went to someone who appreciates their sentimental value and historical worth. xo"
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 04 September 2009 at 01:50 PM
Don't go to the end...let the story unfold.
Posted by: dancing kitchen | 04 September 2009 at 01:51 PM
I also found letters a couple of years ago at a fleamarket here in Vienna. Written during WWII between parents (living in Vienna) and their daughter obviously living in Germany (not the best place to be at that time). Unfortunately I only have the letters the parents wrote, but you can feel their fear between every line for their only daughter. At the time I had planned to do something arteful with the letters. But reading and rereading them changed my mind and they are now stored away in a wooden box with a satin ribbon around them. Everytime I think life is beeing not nice and fair to me i remeber the letters ans sometimes reread them. Gosh we must be so happy to not have to experience what our grandparents had to. thnaks for sharing your story (and the letters to come). I know what I will be reading this evening. Regards from Vienna, Erika
Posted by: erika | 04 September 2009 at 02:11 PM
I wish more people in my family had written and saved their letters. I have a collection of my Great aunts post cards that her mother saved and a few that my grandfather sent while in WWII. He was in France at some point during his tour of duty, I have a few pictures of him in France. A few years ago I also found a pile of post cards from my husbands great aunt and uncle in a box of pictures, it was like finding treasure. I have become the post card collector.
I often think when I see the post cards and letters that the people who wrote them would be glad we are remembering them and their story. I would like to think that one day my great grand children will find my journals and read them.
What a precious gift you have been given. I would be chomping at the bit to hurry and read them to see what happened and then go back and read them again. I do that with books, I become totally consumed with them until I have reached the end. I guess it's a good thing you can't read them, I don't think you would be able to resist. How cool is it though that you get to experience these letters with your fella's? Pretty cool!
Posted by: Michelle | 04 September 2009 at 02:12 PM
Gros Bisous...i m moved today...
Posted by: Cre8Tiva | 04 September 2009 at 02:19 PM
I would read the letters from the first to the last one, so I can agree with your men, a story develops in its own way, you can just follow the timing. How beautifl you have them, I whish you could trace down who they were by what they wrote as to know more about them.
Posted by: Gracie | 04 September 2009 at 02:21 PM
I would not be able to move until I had read the all at once, in a row :)
Posted by: andrea | 04 September 2009 at 02:26 PM
I can see FH and Sacha being seriously engaged in your kitchen reading those letters which are very sad accounts of witnesses of history. I was watching the first part of a documentary about the beginning of WWII the other day, as it started on September 3rd 70 years ago, and I was thinking how very USELESS to waste so many lives! It must NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN !
Posted by: Lieselotte | 04 September 2009 at 02:48 PM
You need to wait and savour each and every morsel they share with you so that the stories unfold....an amazing snapshot of history you are lucky to be able to share.
Thanks for Nelson, New Zealand!
Posted by: [email protected] | 04 September 2009 at 02:58 PM
dear corey
i think you were given these letters as a gift. i often think back to stories my grandfather told me about the depression and the time of WWII here in the states. i have often thought how good it would be to share these stories with others. my children have no idea of war or really wanting for anything, i often find it difficult to make them understand the concepts of delayed gratification and sacrifice. perhaps sharing these letters would be a good start. i found an excellent article about the men of that generation(http://artofmanliness.com/2009/04/30/7-lessons-in-manliness-from-the-greatest-generation/)and i would love to have one about the women then too, because they really handled everything.
as usual thank you so much for my daily dose of gratitude and tears!:)
Posted by: splendid | 04 September 2009 at 02:59 PM
What a tender scene of your husband and son, reading, slowly, thoughtfully your wonderfully found treasure. I understand your impatience at getting to the end, but, savor the two stories - the letters' and your men - and try to wait until the end.
This also brought to mind letters my mother gave me many years ago. They were letters from men at war, WWII, that she had kept and wanted me to have. They were kept in a box (I now have them in an archival box) and were from her brothers, cousins, my father's brothers and cousins, and their friends "from the corner" (we are Chicagoans and during the 30's and 40's everyone hung out on the corner) and always bring tears to my eyes when I read them.
Some letters are from Europe, some from Africa. A few have razor cuts in them - marks of censors obliterating locations or details.
There are no letters between Mom and Dad. She destroyed them all, keeping their love to themselves. Of course, I really wanted to read them, too. She just smiled a winsome smile when I asked her.
In the early 90's, our younger daughter had to do an essay in middle school about what life was like on the homefront during the war. She was to interview a family member or friend. There was no one she could question. I remembered the letters and pulled them out and we unfolded them, carefully, like Sacha and Yann, and read through them. She was 11 or 12 and was fascinated and thought she could do the report based on the letters using my mom's point of view. She asked the teacher, who then checked with me to make sure there really were letters, and then agreed to the proposal. I thought that a sign of a good teacher, don't you? What a beautiful, touching, and thoughtful report emerged. We were all amazed at what she could glean from what was written - and what was not written - and how well she became my mother's voice.
Thank you for awakening that time for me.
Oh, for all reading, there is a wonderful little book out called The Guernsey Literaty and Potato Peel Society which is story, told in letters, shortly after the war about life on Guernsey Island, which was occupied by Germans during the war.
Posted by: Penny | 04 September 2009 at 03:00 PM
What a find. Who could ever give these away? I found letters like this written from my grandfather to my grandmother while he was at boot camp just after their marriage in Mississippi shortly after WWI. They were a bit charged with some mild sexual innuendo that made me blush even though I was grown and had children of my own. She kept all his letters. He probably tossed hers. I wished I could have read hers. since then, I've tucked my own letters in a cedar chest for someone to find someday and read. It makes me smile just thinking who might find them.
Posted by: Muncie Hansen | 04 September 2009 at 03:07 PM
Dear Corey,
It is providential that they ended up in your good hands, what a gift!
Thanks for sharing it.
Love and Peace,
Leslie
Posted by: Leslie Garcia | 04 September 2009 at 03:11 PM
I did not know the war was so tough on the city of Lyon. That is why there are so many modern buildings.
Somehow the words of these ordinary people tell more about life during the war than history books do. Very moving.
Posted by: Diogenes | 04 September 2009 at 03:20 PM
You get the most amazing things when you go to brocantes..Most come home with geegaws..You come home with true treasures..
I hope you made BIG $ bundles from fabric bundles.
Posted by: welltraveled10 | 04 September 2009 at 03:28 PM
I would read the last letter-I would not be able to stop myself. But, then I would regret it. You are lucky to have such rational guidance!
Posted by: deb | 04 September 2009 at 03:37 PM
I have often wished, dreamed really about being there with you and your family...as I read your wonderful posts. But Corey, this has captured my heart and soul and I ..........well, now I'm really quite lost for words. I cannot wait to get more.
Posted by: Paula | 04 September 2009 at 03:38 PM
amazing!!! i would of wanted to read them all right now too!!!
Posted by: molly | 04 September 2009 at 03:39 PM
I love love love love letters
Love letters straight from the heart
keep us so near while apart.
Love Jeanne♥
Posted by: Jeanne | 04 September 2009 at 03:50 PM
I honestly would have read a couple of letters to get the feel of who was writing and then I would have gone straight to the last one - not being able to stand the suspense. I would then go back and read everything in between.
It is wonderful that you have such a personal part of history - makes it seem all the more real. I look forward to hearing more of this personal saga but especially the end.
Posted by: Nancy | 04 September 2009 at 04:07 PM
I know this is asking a bit much but I would love for you to post entire letters, maybe not all of them but maybe the first and then a few later, and keep us reading with you guys. I love history, love old letters and love "LOVE"! Thanks for sharing Corey!!
Posted by: angela | 04 September 2009 at 04:18 PM
How can Sacha and Yann be so calm? Nearly always I read a book/letters twice. The first time a quickly to get to the end, and then again more slowly to really absorb every detail. It would drive me crazy watching them read while waiting for a translation!
Posted by: Kathleen in Oregon | 04 September 2009 at 04:27 PM
As difficult as it may be...be patient...let them read them to you...you will enjoy them so much more! My mother still has her "love letters" my dad sent her during WWII. So far she hasn't shared them with me...they are still tucked inside her cedar chest...perhaps one of these days she will share them.
Posted by: Dee | 04 September 2009 at 04:29 PM
I am siding with your men. Read slowly, savor, imagine, taste, feel...chronologically.
Posted by: Denise Moulun-Pasek | 04 September 2009 at 04:30 PM
I love all your posts Corey, but this one, this one was special. thank you.
Posted by: Linda | 04 September 2009 at 04:48 PM
Letters are a truly amazing record of the past. I am lucky to have hundreds of letters written by my father's family in Ukraine to our family in Canada. I can relate to the physical appeal of the worn edges, foreign script and amazing stamps. Some of these letters are over 75 years old and as in yours, the war is rageing and they also have that sort of "code" for places and people. Then after the war there is the whole "Stalan" era and communist situation which bred even further code. However, unlike you I don't have a translator, (not being able to speak Ukrainian)so these letters lie in waiting to have their secrets revealed. My father would read them to us when they arrived but now that he is gone they are in boxes in the basement. At one point they were almost thrown out but after reading about your find I could never get rid of them now. One day I will have to find a way to have them translated.
Isn't it incredible that love letters written some 60 years ago can still be inspiring. It is not by chance that YOU ,Corey, were able to buy those letters. They have found their rightful home.
Thanks
Posted by: Bebe | 04 September 2009 at 04:51 PM
Now with the internet there are probably much fewer letters being written to/from military personnel. The handwriting in your letters is beautiful Corey. Don't read the last letter until the others have been read-it would be like reading the ending of a book first. Gros bisous.
Posted by: martina | 04 September 2009 at 04:54 PM
Such a lucky girl... I have only two or three post cards sent to my family from an uncle (Paris, Holland, unknown) and I treasure them. To have all this history in your hands is like winning the lottery.
Posted by: Lorelei | 04 September 2009 at 05:00 PM
OH, Corey, your pictures of husband and son pouring over the letters above their morning baguette and coffee--so French. But the beauty of letter Sacha is holding comes through the computer screen. The page filled with elegant tight words compels me to reach through the screen and want to feel the paper in my own hand and read the bittersweet history within. I do think you would write to your Yann in such a time. Also it reminds me of an older friend who told me that when she was in her 20s (in the 60s) an old spinster aunt died and left a trunk with detailed diaries of settling in the west Texas area in the late 1800s. But the family, wanting to respect her privacy burned it all. When she told me for some reason I had a lump in my throat. All those thoughts that could only have happened at that time to that person in that placed--gone forever. I am just the type of person that would have wanted to know what she thought, what happened and what the time was like. I would not have repsected her privacy I guess but I would have pondered and respected her life and times.
Posted by: Jenny N | 04 September 2009 at 05:25 PM
I think best to go with the menfolk on this one tempting though it maybe. I hope the story does not end in tragedy. I love the photographs today, the breakfast china & I love spots, jx
Posted by: Julie Ann Evins | 04 September 2009 at 05:25 PM
Savour those letters, and keep them safe. Preserve their history and the love they contain. Please don't use them in art - at least not the originals.
Posted by: Evelyn | 04 September 2009 at 05:31 PM
I want to know if they lived and why the letters are not in the hands of family.
But no, like a good book, I will wait till the last page is read before knowing the ending.
The genealogy bug is biting to know the story of their lives.
Posted by: Rebecca | 04 September 2009 at 05:36 PM
What a treasure you've found, Corey. I, too, would be tempted to read the last letter, but would try to resist. Good thing you have Yann and Sacha to help you.
Recently, my mother-in-law handed me a big box filled with letters. They were ones I had written to her during 20 years in Ecuador. They chronicle my life - culture shock, the birth of my babies far from home, loneliness, joy - I take them out and read them and they bring my past alive. I'm so glad she kept them, many as they are. And I know that my own children will treasure them when I pass them along.
Posted by: Lorrie | 04 September 2009 at 06:07 PM
5 euros??!!......there is something cosmic happening here....the words,the years,the love.....all has transpired to bring them to light...the boys are right...you must move carefully thru this....you have been chosen to sponsor this happening.....your generosity of spirit is a beacon...
as always-thank you for sharing.
KIndest regards,Missy from the bayou
Posted by: missy | 04 September 2009 at 06:10 PM
I will wait as French Husband and Sacha read on with patience. What a beautiful treasure you have gathered into your soul.
Marilyn
in Oregon
Posted by: Marilyn | 04 September 2009 at 06:13 PM
As I read this post my heart thumped in my chest. The passion they had for one another and the fear they must have endured has captivated me. I think French Husband and Sacha are right to wait. These letters are an important part of our world's history, especially in our present day, when some people and groups try to discount the horrors of WWII. They even try to say it didn’t happen. Here, yet again, is historical proof that indeed it did happen. Thank you for sharing these letters with the world. It is a reminder of the things that humans will do when consumed by greed and abusive power. And it is reminder of the resilience and beauty of the human spirit and the great power of LOVE.
Posted by: Nancy ~ Fete et Fleur | 04 September 2009 at 06:29 PM
Please Please post more about the letters! I've been sucked into their story and now I need to hear more!
I agree to wait and read them in order, but their story and words are so moving.
Selfish me would LOVE to read each and every word - you should publish them.
oh! oh! or even better try and find the owners of the letters (or their family)
LOL! pardon me - I'm a complete romantic sap !
Posted by: SueT | 04 September 2009 at 07:10 PM
I have an acquaintance, in Lyon, whose family's chateau was occupied during WWII. It's now a ravishing rose garden you might like to visit some day. It's called La Bonne Maison.
Exquisite beginning to a heartfelt outpouring by the letter writers, you, and your family.
Posted by: carolyn | 04 September 2009 at 07:16 PM
I'm happy because that man sold with only 5 euros these letters,this way we can "read" them,with you!
After 70 years from the war, a family in the south of France is reading ,at their kitchen table,love letters from that awful times!
hey, this is a good idea for a movie!:)
Tell us more!
Posted by: Minodora | 04 September 2009 at 07:19 PM
I have one precious letter that my father wrote to his parents in WW II. It would break my heart if I lost it.
These collection is so tender and complete. I'm so glad it found its way to you, Corey. I imagine a movie of these letters winding slowly before the viewer with only a voice over of the words held within.
Posted by: annie | 04 September 2009 at 07:26 PM
What a find. I have few letters from my grand parents to each other during both wars as my Grand Dad was APOW both times. In WW1 he was only courting my Grand Mother. In WW2 he was already married and had two children. Different contents in the letters, the concerns, the tone, the stories. Anyway about your question, I think that I am on the side of the fence of the people that like a good story with no spoiler, a good begining, good characters, good descriptions and juicy details and of course an ending that keeps on haunting me for a while. Thank you for sharing those with your public. I especially like the "Mon Gros z'amour" to accentuate the liaison between the s or gros and the voyelle of Amour. Too dear.
Posted by: Roxane Stoner | 04 September 2009 at 07:27 PM
Oh my...PLEASE consider making a book out of these...so that we could all appreciate them. That would be just grand...show the letters as background paper and have the translations printed on plain paper on top...if you start now you might be able to get it done for Valentines Day...I'm selfish...what can I say. Love to you and your family, Roberta
Posted by: Roberta | 04 September 2009 at 07:42 PM
Little did that man know that so many people will now have the opportunity to read the letters. Thanks so much for sharing them with us. I look forward to reading more.
Posted by: Jill | 04 September 2009 at 07:42 PM
I'm enchanted with the letters and also with FH and Sacha's reactions to them. The contrast in their responses to the letters and their love of daring exploits is so attractive. I think it's no accident that you have the letters and two such awesome guys in you life!
I too would have to read them in order. I recently reread letters from my grandmother and aunt to my parents, written when I was a child. I will read them again, as they bring back some of my childhood memories and all of them back to life.
Thank you once again, dear Corey, for all of the lovely food for thought!
Posted by: Carol | 04 September 2009 at 07:53 PM
I'm on FH's side of the fence; let the love and emotion develop chronologically (don't rush the ending though I would be tempted to do just that!)
I've yet to find any such thing at the German Floh Markts; in fact, I find very little to do with WWII here.
I think your letters are an absolute treasure, and I'm so glad that they are in the hands of someone who will appreciate them. Maybe it wasn't flirting that got them for a song. Maybe the dealer knew your home was just right for them.
Posted by: Christy | 04 September 2009 at 08:33 PM
Hey, here's an idea for your smart bilingual, entrepreneurial son Sacha:
1. Set up a PayPal account
2. Let readers pay him a few bucks to translate a letter for us
3. Post the letters on your blog (or he could create his own letter blog)
4. Sacha earns extra money (Yes, EARNED!) AND we could live vicariously through Sacha's translations!
Whadya think, Mom and Sacha?
P.S. Oh Corey, what a gift! 5 Euro? You are blessed! I think I would take those letters with me out of my burning house before most else. Forget the linens! I would never be able to NOT read the last letter first, but that's just me.
Posted by: amylia | 04 September 2009 at 08:43 PM
These letters would make a wonderful book! I don't know what they say yet, but the insight into that time period will be revealing. I look forward to reading the letters as you get them translated.
Posted by: Vanessa | 04 September 2009 at 08:59 PM
What a treasure (well, the two men in your life are also!). Are you the type who gets half way through a mystery and turns to the last page to see "who done it"? I admit I sometime do. With the letters, gee, part of my wants to know he comes home safely, but the other part wants to get totally immersed in the love. I guess I'm with the guys. Thanks for sharing! Cheers.
Posted by: Jeannie | 04 September 2009 at 09:30 PM
Picture 9......touched my heart. I love it...
Posted by: Amy | 04 September 2009 at 09:33 PM
Corey,
First of all I am all for a bargain. But in this case, I feel for the man that parted with these letters. Please go back and and give him 5 euros per letter. They are worth so much more or should I say priceless.
Second, wait and let the story unfold. Somethings should be savored line by line. It is two youngs lives in the middle of a terrible time in history. We should appreciate these letters from a love and historical point of view.
What a treasure! Enjoy!
Posted by: Ann | 04 September 2009 at 09:48 PM
Corey I am on the men's side of the fence this time. Once and only once did I read the last page first and I regretted it. So now I am page by page holding onto each thought as it was written in order of emotion. I am excited about this story of love! Blessings, Kimberly
Posted by: Kimberly | 04 September 2009 at 10:22 PM
Corey,
You have been gifted with a masterpiece. A masterpiece of history and love. I believe it should be treated with reverence and respect, which I know you will do! You are now the caretaker of these wonderful letters.
I hope that you will shield and protect their privacy to the degree that you feel appropriate. These letters, though historical in nature, sound like they reveal some private, raw emotion meant for 2 sets of eyes, only.
As I mentioned earlier, these letters were destined to be yours!
Marilyn (in Dallas)
Posted by: Marilyn | 04 September 2009 at 10:55 PM
What treasures you have.
Although I don't write letters often, I'm a stickler for thank yous that are handwritten. I feel the least I can do is pen a few (or more) words of thanks in return for a kindness given. I miss "real" letters such as you have (although to not on such grim occasion as WWII).
Thank for sharing them here, and thank you to Sacha and FH for reading them to us.
Posted by: Star | 04 September 2009 at 11:07 PM
To me Corey, it reads like a movie. A love story. Oh how it could easily be brought to life in a screen play. What a treasure, and yet.....I would want to know more. Who are these people? Do they have living relatives who would want to know their loved ones story? If I read French, I would be lost in this story. The kind that is thought provoking, and doesn't let go of you. What a treasure you have!
Posted by: Kris Grover | 04 September 2009 at 11:13 PM
Are you my clone? If I could read French I'd have read the last letter...
My grandparents were french and my father didn't speak English until he began school. He was in WWII in Italy when he was captured and a gun held to his head. He started to pray in French and his first words were Mon Dieu and instead of being killed was taken captive as an interpreter.
I grew up with these stories and when we went to Paris we also rented a car and drove to Normandy and saw the American Cemetery. So many lives lost...
My next door neighbor is french and grew up in Lyon.
So many connections...
Posted by: momof5 | 04 September 2009 at 11:14 PM
What I would do to read those letters.
Posted by: S | 05 September 2009 at 02:24 AM
While tragic, there is much beauty in these letters - love, bravery, commitment, the art of the letter.
The final letter deserves the respect of reading the others first.
Posted by: Laura | 05 September 2009 at 02:36 AM
I've heard that you can visit battlefields, concentration camps, places where horrific things happened, but nothing compares to the written words of people detailing these events. i.e. Anne Frank........the impact that these letters, diaries, and books can have on us. Please keep us posted on these letters......please. They play an important role in our lives. We must not forget the suffering of what went on in that war. These letters must be preserved.......can you make copies and translate them and sell them in a "petite book"? Ok, that was a random thought. Thank you for such a moving post............
Thanks, Corey for sharing..........
Kara
Posted by: darcy & Kara | 05 September 2009 at 03:49 AM
Beginning, middle or end ... the story will remain the same. Follow your drummer and step to the music which you hear, however measured or far away. Thanks, Henry T.
Posted by: Franca Bollo | 05 September 2009 at 05:26 AM
A few years ago I got possession of the trunk that had been in my grandmother's attic when I was a child. I have boxes of photographs, the oldest I can date has a tax stamp dated 1862. But it is the letters....My grandmother kept a letter she wrote to her sister in law about the celebration of the armistice of WWI the night before, however before she mailed it she received word her sister in law had died of the flu. The grief stricken letters from her husband are there also. My husband and I read every letter and separated them by postmark, Ill., KS, Ohio etc. and then put them with the photographs that had the photographers name and city stamp on them. Most of the letters were to my Great Grandmother....I cherish them.
Posted by: stljoie | 05 September 2009 at 06:06 AM
I think that the way your Sacha looks as he is reading these letters says that you have a beautiful and sensitive son.
That is what impressed me most.
kerry.
Posted by: kerry farr | 05 September 2009 at 06:28 AM
What a stunning story! And so beautifully told, Corey. There is truly nothing better than the story of a life at any point in time. Brava!
Posted by: Shelley Noble | 05 September 2009 at 07:25 AM
My husband said your brocante experiences would make a wonderful movie. A story could be attached to the things you find.
~elaine~
Posted by: Elaine L. | 05 September 2009 at 07:37 AM
The blessed side...and so thankful for it. What a wonderful find, Corey! Enjoy the rest of your weekend with your precious letters and your beautiful family.
: )
Julie M.
Posted by: Julie M. | 05 September 2009 at 08:40 AM
I'm glad you were the one to find and have these letters...you cherish such things.
Posted by: tammyCA | 05 September 2009 at 09:21 AM
What wonderful treasures! They have found the right home--where they will be treasured as the precious history of love that they are.
Posted by: Lizbeth | 05 September 2009 at 09:32 AM
Real treasure is personal, not rubies and diamonds, these letters are treasureful. Read slowly and soak it all up, swim with the tide of emotions. Live through the danger of other lives in times past. Come to the last letter at the right time. Whatever it holds deserves to be read in its rightful place, the end of the story.
Karon
Posted by: Karon | 05 September 2009 at 09:47 AM
Corey,
I‘ve heard it said several times that “Love is antique hunting together.” Yet in regard to your family it appears to be much more. I hope as you, FH and Sacha sit and contemplate the lives of two people from the past that love will grow stronger in your own family. I too wait to hear the details of the love that held two people together during such a difficult time in history. I agree with the men, wait and live day by day as their lives are revealed one letter at a time. The last letter will have great value whether sad or joyful if left in its proper place.
Posted by: Drew | 05 September 2009 at 10:21 AM
A miraculous find, I say!
My 96 and 99 year old grandparents in law lived through WWI and WW2 (being a nurse and officer). 'Tit Papi was in the same division as Charles De Gaulle and almost died a few times from train bombings.'Tite Mamie's father, Louis Proust (governor of the Tours region) was a part of the resistance, but fortunately was never discovered for sure death. He speaks so non-nonchalantly of those days.
While another friend in her late 80s speaks teary eyed of the SS and tortured friends. She was moved by the film Inglorious Basterds we saw together
Reading those letters are like listening to the people themselves tell their incredible stories.
'Tit Papi's birthday was yesterday! 99 years old. Here is his advice for living long and living through it all:
http://francoamericanlove.blogspot.com/2009/09/99-and-beyond.html
Posted by: Leslie Juvin | 05 September 2009 at 02:58 PM
If you photograph each letter and envelope, the way you photograph your other beautiful antiques, and add a translation in English, I think this would make a wonderful and important book! Please photograph them all just for safety's sake, they seem so fragile...
Posted by: Lilly | 05 September 2009 at 03:55 PM
P.s. I love you (the song) was inspired by a World War I letter from a soldier at war to his wife back home in the USA. I would love to see you wrap a story around these letters with a pictorial of you and your family and how each letter effected them. It is very interesting how your husband comments on what he sees.
Posted by: george Rothwell | 05 September 2009 at 08:37 PM
dearest corey...it's been way too long since i've visited here in your sweet world. i hope all is wonderfully wonderful with you and yours. lovely find these french letters...i would be so impatient i'm sure!!!
Posted by: annie | 05 September 2009 at 09:14 PM
What an amazing find!! I'm so glad the letters went home with you. My grandparents wrote to each other twice a day during the war, because there was an a.m. and p.m. post delivery. I can't imagine that dedication, but I can imagine the joy of opening the mailbox to find pure love in there, the need to 'talk' each day, they had a great love.
Posted by: Sue McGettigan | 06 September 2009 at 05:04 AM
Thank heavens the letters found you Corey. You're a chosen messenger. How forunate we are to have you to bring us the wealth of knowledge, history and passion the pages contain ... Thank YOU Corey again and again. xo
Posted by: Redness | 06 September 2009 at 01:26 PM
I don't know. I think I'd have to read them to find out what happened maybe. Until then, my heart would worry.
Posted by: suesue | 06 September 2009 at 02:59 PM
what an amazing find, many many of these letters were destroyed. You could write a book, with these, really amazing that they still exist.
Posted by: Lorie | 07 September 2009 at 01:45 AM
"Today I got my 525g of butter..." I am so very moved by this story.
Merci & gros bisous.
Posted by: Colette | 07 September 2009 at 07:12 PM
A wonderful lesson of enduring love for your entire family. Your son seems as engrossed in the letters as your husband is.
I look forward to your future posts about the letters. This is a compelling story and I am so glad you are sharing it with your readers.
My father served in the US Navy during WWII and he was recently asked to record an oral history
of his experiences. You can see him (Richard Foley) at www.stonehamtheatre.org. Click on oral history. He's the first installment.
Posted by: Chatelaine | 08 September 2009 at 04:23 AM