Letters Exhibit
In a Letter to His Parents, Lieutenant James R. Penton Profiles an Individual He Encountered Who Embodied True Faith in Action
Personal commentary: Although I think that e-mails are just as important to save as letters, handwritten correspondences have their own unique value. Most notably, they offer recipients a tangible connection to their loved ones, who can hold the actual paper that their sweetheart or child or parent also touched. They can also be embellished with drawings and other artwork, and it is not uncommon for troops to include an illustration or two in their letters home. James R. Penton, who fought in Europe during World War II, enjoyed drawing sketches of interesting people and places he encountered as his unit pushed towards Germany. In September 1944, Penton sent the following letter to his parents after witnessing the quiet valor of a woman who was the very epitome of “grace under fire.”
Dear Mother and Governor:
In the “Reader’s Digest” there’s a monthly article entitled “The Most Unforgettable Character I’ve Known,”—or something of the sort. Well, not so long ago I met an unforgettable character myself . .......
My guns were in position in a small farmyard in the recently-wrested town of Vire, along the crest of a beautiful ridge,—and but a stone’s throw from the rubble-dusty-haze rising above the warm ruins of the cities’ downtown business section….
In the light of day I noticed a sprawling, peaceful convent to the immediate rear of the position—with its courtyard and spires almost miraculously untouched. And while I sat there,—in the protection of a bank, gazing at the convent and listening to the melodious chiming of its bells intermingle with the hideous wail of Jerry 88’s,—a solitary nun made her way deliberately through the yard, a bucket of water in one hand. It was a shock to hear her address me in perfect English, show identification papers, and learn that she was caring for the livestock in the absence of the terrorized farmer and his family….
And I know that our most argumentative and skeptical atheist was duly fascinated and impressed by that display of the power and force of that Sister’s faith——and complete fearlessness . .....It was not the sudden, stimulated and short-lived courage which drives a man to risk hot lead on a daring dash to aid a buddy, to me, it was far more than that . ....It was the picture of a mellowed and complete faith,—it was serenity of mind and soul amidst man’s savagery of arm and spirit....
Do not worry when I don’t have time to write. You know in the army—“no news is good news.”
Love to all,
Jim
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