Letters Exhibit
Ruth Kwall Assures Her Fiancé, Joseph Portnoy,
That, No Matter How Long the War Lasts,
“I’ll Wait for You Forever”
&
In a Short but Poetic Letter to Ruth, Staff
Sergeant Portnoy Affirms Both His Faith in God
and His Undying Love for Her
Personal commentary: Throughout Grace Under Fire there are many wonderful love letters and profiles of couples in truly committed relationships. (One of my favorite stories involves a woman named Lynda Severson who wrote a “To Any Soldier” letter during the Gulf War in 1991, and a Marine named Steve Belgum received the note and responded. Their back and forth correspondence, which led to a surprising conclusion, is too long to feature here, but it’s in the book and like nothing I’ve ever read before.) Some of the most beautiful and poetic letters in Grace Under Fire are by Ruth Kwall and her fiancé Joseph Portnoy, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who patriotically joined the U.S. Army in 1940—a year before the raid on Pearl Harbor. After the Japanese attack, Ruth and Joseph both realized that he would soon be off to war, but despite the obvious dangers that lay ahead, neither their faith, nor their love for one another, ever faltered. What is particularly striking about their letters is the maturity and wisdom expressed by these two relatively young individuals. The first letter is by Ruth.
You know, dear, for some reason or other I took particular notice of “my” ring today. It shined more brightly than ever before—in this dark day a beacon of hope. It seemed to want to talk—to tell me that just as it is without end, but continues on in an unbroken line, so our love is without end. For instance—I want to tell you again, more surely than ever, that no matter how long or hard the siege may be I’ll wait for you forever.
I know, and darling you must too, that God in heaven will guard this precious thing and help preserve it and us for a time when the world will need tangible examples to show it that war does not end things; that good, beautiful emotions live on forever. I’m nineteen, Joe, but I know deep down inside me that the emotion I feel, that we feel, is older, is mature—that it has made me grow to more of the sort of person you’d have me be.
War isn’t funny and I know we’ll be tested even further than we ever dreamed could be possible. I’m game, honey. I love you. I’m going to bed now, sweet, and of course I’ll dream of you.
Need I say I’m yours,
Ruthy
Joseph wrote the following.
My dearest own:
Yes angel, you are wise to rely on your complete faith that everything will turn out right for us, and knowing that you think like that, I also feel free to exercise my faith. Perhaps some may feel that we are vain and view the eventualities of war through rose-colored glasses, but if that were so, then how could we believe in prayer and that a world of peace is possible? No, sweet, as long as we can believe that our lives are still molded by God’s will, and believe in his justice, we can never be accused of deliberately sugarcoating our senses.
…With you beside me, courage becomes a living thing, and there will be little that we can’t surmount. Of course we’re idealistic kids with our heads tilted skyward, but that’s just the way we are heading. It’s just right over that dark cloud, honey. Can’t you see that sun?
Your adoring husband
~
