Vintage Valentines: Historic military love letters that rival Shakespeare

Let’s talk about love! Andrew Carroll, Director of The Center for American Letters, returns with some of the most romantic words ever written, by service members fighting wars around the world. This collection of over 200K letters spans the Revolutionary War to World Wars all the way up to modern emails from our current generation. We begin with the beautiful words for a loving wife, composed on a battlefield in Virginia, during the American Civil War. Carroll continues with an intriguing love letter that was really part of a secret intelligence mission during WWII. And we hear the bitter side of love, in a response to a “Dear John” letter from a Korean War soldier. Carroll also shows how some love letters can even bring total strangers together, as we hear about a love story that began with pen pals. And we take a whimsical look at the medical conditions associated with true love, from a pioneering African American doctor during the World War II era. So don’t wait, grab a pen and some paper and write to the one you love, because love letters are not just for Valentine’s Day anymore.  Check out The Center for American War Letters at Chapman University here:https://www.chapman.edu/research/institutes-and-centers/cawl/index.aspx   Connect with Navy vet and CBS Eye on Veterans Host, Phil Briggs phil@connectingvets.com Follow on X @philbriggsVet @EyeonVeterans @connectingvets   To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices