Military Issued
Last weekend I was lucky enough to dig through a big box of army issued artifacts belonging to a relative who had served as a Lieutenant during WWII. Little pieces of history to hold in my hands that hinted at both the epic and ordinary routines of an enlisted man.
1. Pre-Packaged Stationery Set for writing your mom, sweetheart, or (apparently) your secret seductress.
2. Front and back of a military matchbook.
3. Look what this book warns: This document must not fall into enemy hands!
4. Four pack of cigarettes.
5. Just some of the pins the Lt. had been awarded.
Included in the box was a letter the Lieutenant’s secretary had written to him a year after the war ended in which she described how hard it was to return to civilian life. How much she missed the camaraderie of those she served with, and the strong sense of purpose. She even lamented the changing styles of women’s fashion she was now forced to select from, instead of her government-issued uniforms.
Again and again in the letter she said how hard it was to “get back into the swing of things.”
I hope she eventually did. I hope she went on to have a good, full life.
