THE DEAR JOHN LETTER…
FOR ALL THE GIs THAT RECEIVED “DEAR JOHN” LETTERS WHILE DOING MILITARY DUTY. ALTHOUGH THIS POEM REPRESENTS WW II LOVES LOST HAS HAPPENED IN EVERY WAR. (Photo from Vietnam War) SOME GIs LOSE THEIR HEARTS, BESIDES OTHER BODY PARTS! (“Jodie” is remembered, he is the guy that stole your girl while you were away.)
© I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
From: Thoughts, Memories and Tears
War, so tragic, in many ways,
How to plan life, day by day….
To wait for someone, in harm’s way,
Is tomorrow, my last day…?
I could not ask, you wait for me,
Separated by more, than just a sea….
To pledge my love, on bended knee,
Knowing my life, be in jeopardy….
I looked for your letters every day,
The war dragged on endlessly….
Then the word came from you,
You fell in love, we were through…!
My lost love, how I miss your tenderness,
Your memory, my only happiness….
Your sweet memory, etched in my heart,
There, you belong to me, never to part….
For memories are, all that remain,
Not meant to be, you share my name….
Beautiful days and romantic nights,
Gone forever, not to fill my life….
True love comes, but once in life,
A broken heart, my perpetual plight….
Condemned to sadness, my whole life through,
Eternal loneliness, in place of you….
Oh so long, since I’ve seen your face,
Much too long, since I felt your embrace….
Oh so long, since your lips, I’ve kissed,
Much too long, your love I’ve missed….
So sadly, life, beyond our control,
By hurting people, we injure our souls….
Is life destined, forever to be?
Love for others, not for me…?
So long ago, our hearts entwined,
We shared a love, so sublime….
Tragically, a love, not meant to be,
For then, I could not belong to thee….
Now, life has changed, the war has passed,
Your love given, your die, been cast….
Your name, now changed, shouts aloud,
Telling me, beware, I dare not crowd….
So my love, forever, I’ll be gone,
In your life, forsaken, I don’t belong….
As I close, be sure you know,
Wherever you go, my heart will follow….
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU….dear,
John, Valentine’s Day, 1946….
Peter S. Griffin
Co. A. 2/502nd Infantry
101st Airborne Division
Viet Nam, 1965-66
Written: 09 February 1998
