Dear Dods

When Art Was Drafted In Early 1943It Was The Beginning Of Four Years Service To His Country. He First Served In A Camp For Conscientious Objectors (Cps) For Several Months Before Requesting Reassignment As A Co Non-Combatant In The Army. He Was Assigned For Basic Training And Later Clerks School At An Army Medical Replacement Center In Texas. After Three Weeks In Pennsylvania Preparing For Overseas Shipment He Was Returned To Texas And Assigned As Company Clerk In A Medical Unit Preparing For Overseas Duty. In A Few Months Art Was Assigned To Medical Administrative Officers Candidate School Preparing For His Two Years Of Service As An Officer. Excerpts From The Letters Exchanged Between Art And His Wife Dods Tell The Story.. It Is A Powerful Story Of A Unique Wartime Experience; Not As Someone Remembered It Years Later But As The Letters Were Written In The Heat Of The Moment As Decisions Of Conscience And Character Were Required. In Letters Never Intended To Be Read By Anyone Other Than His “Dods” This Soldier Tells Of The Struggle He And Others Experienced Seeking To Serve Conscience And Country While Conscripted Into Often Conflicting Circumstances. At Cps: No Real Mission Except For The Limited Time Actually Fighting Fires Well Fed And Comfortable But Troubled Over The Absence Of Money For Our Families Restless Over A Desire To Be True To One’S Beliefs And A Feeling Of Isolation From Our Country’S Crisis. In The Army: Being Pressured Not To Think Not To Ask Questions To Follow Orders Learn To Hate To Kill. But In Both Situations Forming Strong Friendships With Good People And Finding Satisfaction In Doing Assigned Tasks Well. The Day By Day Relating Of Events Make Life At Cps And In The Army Genuine And Real And Also Shares The Love And Caring Between Art And Dods.. About Eighty Percent Of This Story Is Told Through Excerpts From The Letters. The Letters Both At Cps And In The Army Give An Authentic View From The Inside; Written More Than Sixty Years Ago By A Sensitive And Talented Writer Pouring Out His Heart As He Shares His Life With His Wife. They Tell A Poignant And Often Humorous Tale That Gives Unique Perspective On Life In The Army With Its Regimens Rules And Pack Mentality..