As an infant, Sandra Bonilla Thompson lost her father in World War II. She found him generations later in the form of a bundle of more than 500 letters documenting the wartime romance between her parents. In their humbling and tenacious drive to speak to each other across an ocean, Nicky, a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, and his wife, Opal, manage to speak for an entire generation of mothers, fathers, and children torn apart by war.
Here are some excerpts from their letters. For more, see Sandra Bonilla Thompson's
Love, Honor, and Cherish (Airborne Books, Georgia).
Opal – April 13, 1943
How was your trip to Forth Bragg? I know you rode the train all night, and you must have been very tired. Have you been able to rest? ... Please forgive me for crying about having the baby. I don?t want to be mean and bad, but I?m afraid to have a baby if you are not here to help me care for it. Can you forgive me? Do you still love me? I want to be a good wife and mother, but I don?t know if I can raise a child alone. Mom and Dot say that some women feel down when they first find out they are expecting, but then when the baby comes, they are very happy. I?m sure I will love Nicky Jr. very much. Maybe it is all for the best. I?m getting big. I can?t hold my stomach in any more, so I?ll have to start wearing maternity dresses. The doctor told me that I should wear low heel shoes...
Nicky – June 26, 1943
Are you worried about me? Please forgive me. Sometimes it's impossible to write. Today is Saturday and after breakfast, we did calisthenics and then swam for the rest of the morning. I received two letters dated June 22 and 23. You say you can't write when you're worried. Darling, when I go overseas, you will have to write no matter how worried you are, or you will break my heart. No, Darling, you have not been acting like a two-year old child. It is natural for you to worry. When I go across, I'll find some way to let you know...
Nicky – August 21, 1943
The news we have been waiting for has come. Please, for your sake, and for the baby's, don't worry. I'll write as soon as possible, but keep writing to me at the same addreess, and my mail will be forwarded. As I write, I am remembering when we first met. When I saw you, I thought heaven was missing an angel... Do you remember the night before we were married? I said terrible things to you, but you didn't say a word. I wanted you to despise me so much that you wouldn't marry me. I was afraid that marrying me, a soldier, might ruin your life. And then you loved me enough to forgive me and marry me. I thank God for that...
Remember when you knew you were going to have a baby? You were upset, afraid that you might not be a good mother. Well, the little bugger will be here in a few weeks, and you and I will the happiest parents in the world. Send me a picture of you and the baby as soon as you can. If it's a girl, name her Sandra Maureen.
Darling, until you hear from me, be brave and true, and when I return, I will be the best husband I can be. I love you dearly.
Nicky – August 30, 1943
The next letter you get could come from anywhere – Africa, Sicily, Alaska, Norway, or Greece, but no matter how long you have to wait to hear from me, please continue to write, and always remember that no news is good news.
Darling I am so worried. Nicky Junior will be here in a few weeks, and I'm afraid you won't have enough money. I don't have any money to send you. We have not been paid. The army is afraid that if the boys had train fare, some of them would desert. I swallowed my pride and wrote to my mother asking for money, but I have not heard from her. I don't know which way to turn. As soon as I'm paid, I'll send you all I can...
Nicky – December 3, 1943
It seems like ages since I saw you, and it feels like years since I held you in my arms. I want to kiss you until you beg for mercy... I wonder how I got along before I knew you... You know, I think Sandra does look a little like me. She has your mouth, your eyes, and your smile. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be home soon. Our barracks looks like the League of Nations. We have two Irish boys, a Scotsman, and two Genuine Rebels, one from Georgia, and one from North Carolina. We have two Poles, a Frenchman, a Russian, two Jews, two Englishmen, a boy from Holland, a Mexican, a German, and of course me, an Italian. But Darling, we are all Americans. Each one is willing to die for the others. We are like one big family...
Nicky – January 9, 1944
It has been about two weeks since I wrote. I?ve been away, and I just returned. I would like to tell you where I?ve been, but that is impossible. I certainly missed receiving mail, but when I got back to camp, I had seventeen letters from you, one from Dot, and three from New York. I got the colored pictures of you and Sandra. They look so real I feel like I could almost reach out my hand and touch both of you. We have been working hard all day and all night, and I am having a terible time just keeping my eyes open. I wrote to let you know that I am all right. I?ll have a few days off, and I?ll write you a longer letter. I love you.
Nicky – April 1, 1944
Today I washed my clothes. I wish you had been here to tell me how to do it. I put all my dirty clothes, coveralls, underwear, socks, and field jacket in one pail and boiled the dickens out of them. What a mess! Everything changed color. I have to get some new clothes. How is our little girl? Opal, I lie awake at night wondering how you and Sandra would be cared for if something happened to me. I love you both so much that sometimes I wish we had never met. But then I would never have known the happiness of having a wife and baby. Late at night when everyone is asleep, I cry because I can't be with you. If I should go to meet my maker, I would continue to love you. I know I'll come home soon, and I'll do everything I can to make you happy...
Nicky – June 7, 1944
Just a few lines to let you know that everything is all right and that I am in pretty good health. How are you Darling? Are you feeling all right; are you still losing weight; are you keeping yourself as beautiful as ever? Darling, today has been a nice day; the sun was shining most of the time, it wasn't cold, and it looks like it will continue to stay nice. Darling, I don't know if you notice[d], but I always try to avoid writing about this darn war. I don't think you want to know more than you read [in the newspapers] and I don't care to speak to anyone at home about it... Darling, if I ever write a letter and I don't say that I love you and I miss you, don't fret. I will always miss you when I'm away from you. Darling, I look at Sandra's picture at least four or five times a day, and when I look at her picture, I look at yours too. I wonder if Sandra will recognize me when I come home...
Nicky – June 30, 1944
As I write this, my thoughts are with you. If you miss me as much as I miss you, we both miss each other terribly. Today I received five letters from you. Mail call is something that I always look forward to. Darling, I'm glad to hear that the baby is doing so well and that she is pretty as a picture. I am always thinking about what I will do when I first see her. By this time you know how [well] we are making out here in France. If it keeps going our way, I know it won't be long before I come home. Darling, don't worry about me. I'll be all right...
Opal – September 12, 1944
How is the most wonderful husband and father in this world? You are always thoughtful; I knew you wouldn't forget Sandra's birthday... I am sitting at the kitchen table writing, and Sandra is sitting in her highchair across from me. She has a piece of paper and a pencil. She is writing a letter to her daddy. You should see how well she can hold that pencil. Sandra is unusually smart to be so young. Everyone says so. Now a train is passing, and Sandra is yelling at the train. When we are outside and we see a train coming, Sandra waves at the engineer and the man in the caboose. Tomorrow on her birthday, I am going to take Sandra to town and have her picture made. Then I?ll make a roll of pictures here at the hose... I love you with all my heart.
Opal – September 20, 1944
How are you tonight? I hope you are safe and well. I am lonesome and blue. I want to see my husband... When I read the newspapers, I see that the paratroopers are very busy. There are doing a fine job. I know you are working very hard. I can never tell you how proud I am. Good night, my Darling. Please take care of yourself.
Although Opal knew only what she read in newspapers, she learned later that on September 22, 1944, the day the Allies had abandoned Operation Market Garden, Nicky was killed. Letters Opal had written from September 5 through October 5 were returned. On each envelope, the word "Deceased" was written and the word "Verified" was stamped.
Opal – September 24, 1944
Please forgive me, Darling, for not writing. I love you so much, and I've been thinking about you more than ever today. I dreamed about you last night. It was a warm, bright day, and the sun was shining on Sandra's hair. You and Sandra were running, playing, and laughing. You were as happy together as a father and daughter could be. Oh! How I wish that dream would come true. Do you think it will? Darling, I pray night and day for your safe return...
