Introduction

The two shoeboxes of letters were tucked away—memories of long ago. Lucile (Stacks) Marston didn’t want to share them with her children until she was gone. They were personal—letters her husband Johnnie lovingly wrote to her, from pre-marriage in 1939 until he came home from Italy at the end of World War II in 1945. This is their love story, as told through Johnnie in over 300 letters he wrote to Lucile. Johnnie’s love for his darling Lucile comes out loud and clear in his letters. That love is what kept him going the years he spent with the U.S. Army during the war.

It was important to Johnnie that he wrote regularly to Lucile. He tried to write every night even though that wasn’t always possible. He wanted her to write him regularly as well. It’s evident that he looked forward to mail call every day. When it was time for mail call, he didn’t want to walk away empty handed.

You won’t find anything earth shattering in these letters. Johnnie was on the frontlines—he couldn’t and didn’t tell Lucile what was happening in the war. Johnnie most often wrote Lucile to tell her how he was doing and to inquire as to her well-being. Johnnie worried about Lucile’s health. He constantly told her to take care of herself. He often asked about family members and wrote about sending money to her. The letters are repetitive. You might read the same thing for days in a row, but it was the fact that Johnnie was thinking about Lucile all the time that was important to him.

Johnnie also exchanged letters with his father and stepmother, his mother, Lucile’s parents Sam and Leola (Lemons) Stacks, as well as several of Lucile’s brothers and sisters. Lucile kept some of these letters with her letters from Johnnie, so they’re included here as well.

Unfortunately, this conversation is one-sided. Lucile’s letters to Johnnie didn’t survive the war so can’t be included. We’ll have to use our imagination to hear her side of the story.

Johnnie and Lucile (Stacks) Marston (1943)

One of two boxes of letters from Johnnie, stored away for 65 years