Letters From War: A record of one family's journey through World War II

Three of my uncles served in the Armed Forces during World War II. This is a collection of letters written by Thomas, Carroll and Harold Hartley to their Mother Celia Ellen Gunterman Hartley and some of hers written back to them...

These letters were saved by my Grandmother, Celia Hartley, and then by her baby girl, my Mother, Mary Louise Hartley Becker. They came into my possession when Mom passed away two years ago and sat on my top closet shelf until I found them again recently. I had not realized how many there were and to what extent they would touch me. Along with some of the pictures that I found about the same time, they tell quite a story.

I began transcribing these letters because I wanted to share them with my cousins and the notebook of letters was just too large to mail to a family that is scattered all over the country. I'm publishing them because these stories deserve to be told, retold and remembered.

These letters were written in very plain language of the day. In places, I have added punctuation to make the letters more readable and information in [bracketed notes] to aid in the reader's understanding or to put the letters into the context of events, etc. It is meant to be one family's personal journey through a terribly trying time in our world.

Thank you Uncle Thomas Hartley, Uncle Carroll Hartley, Uncle Harold Hartley and Uncle Percy Carter for your WWII service to our fine country and the sacrifices you made to keep it so.

May this be a reminder that the freedom we have today is not free.