文章和它的注释

By Michael E. Ruane

1 It was not until three years after her mother died in 1990 that DeRonda Elliott opened the suitcase containing the letters her parents exchanged during World War II.2 Despite her mother’s urging, she had never been able to bring herself to read them. It was her parents’ private story. Her father, Frank, had been killed on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and afterward her mother seldom spoke of him.3 When Elliott, a retired nurse from Durham, N.C., finally examined the correspondence in 1993, she was overwhelmed.4 Frank M. Elliott, 23, who had left Georgetown University to join the Army in 1943, wrote from England. Pauline “Polly” Elliott, 24, wrote from their home in New Castle, Pa. Their daughter, DeRonda “Dee,” was a toddler. (1-2组)

5 (31 days to D-Day)May 6, 1944Dearest Darling,All day I have been fighting the feeling which has been dominating me of late. I keep continually thinking of home and longing for home in the worst way. All your letters of how beautiful my daughter is becoming by the day. The realization that I am missing all these months and years of her formative growth is actually gnawing at my heart. …I love you, Frank

6 (28 days to D-Day)May 9, 1944Dearest,The invasion, I read, is a topic of daily conjecture among the people at home and I guess you are a bit worried. Well, sweetheart, don’t worry, please. It is possible I may be a member in the assault but no more possible than that I may someday die. It is God’s will darling, to which we must all bow. In prep school we had a quarterback who always ended his pre-game prayers with the addition of the phrase, “Not my will God, but Thine” and so it is sweetheart and so it must always be — we must trust our God unflinchingly, unquestioningly.I love ’em all but Polly best of all —Frank (3-4组)

7 (17 days to D-Day)May 20, 1944Darling,Dad sent a fellow today to fix up our yard and he really did a super job — it looks nice. All the spring flowers are beginning to bloom now and the sight of them just increases my longing for you. … Sometimes I sympathize with myself by counting up the months since I’ve seen you — and because they are too many — nearly eight now — I feel very, very sorry for myself. … Really dear, I try not to feel sorry for me, you are the one who is undergoing all the hardship. I have Dee who in herself is enough to compensate for anything. Without her, I don’t see how I would endure this separation. Yet constantly, darling, all of me longs for you. It can’t be much longer now, sweetheart.I love you, Polly (5-6组)

8 (10 days to D-Day)May 27, 1944Hi Darling,… Darn it darling, I would certainly like to be on hand when Dee goes to see her first movie. Take her to Youngstown, Pittsburgh or Cleveland to one of those theatres with a long impressive lobby with candy counters and attractive posters. I’ll bet she will love it. Don’t postpone her enjoyment till I come home, but let me know how she reacts to all the glamour of Hollywood3 ’s productions. …Frank

9 (9 days to D-Day)May 28, 1944Darling —Here it is Sunday again — Sunday night. I think this is the most lonely time of the whole week for me. I am so darn lonesome for you, Frank darling. Oh I’m not the only one and I know it — there are millions just like me, wishing with all the strength of their hearts and minds for the return of peace and loved ones. — Dee is sleeping on this Sunday night, and the radio is playing old and beautiful music — and I am thinking of the Sunday nights to come when you will be listening to such music with me.I adore you, Polly (7-8组)

10 (1 day to D-Day)June 5, 1944Darling,… This is a beautiful summer evening, darling. I am sitting at the kitchen table from which place by merely lifting my head and looking out the window I can gaze upon a truly silvery, full moon. It’s beautiful, dear, and it has succeeded in making me very sentimental. The sight of that shining moon up there — the moon that shines on you, too — fills me with romance. The darned old moon keeps shining for us, darling — and even as it now increases that inescapable loneliness, it also increases my confidence in the future. I truly love you …Polly

11 (D-Day)June 6, 1944Frank M. Elliott was killed. (9-10组)