Off to Be a Soldier, With a Daily Letter to My Wife

by Luke Snyder, Introduction and Edited by Susan Snyder

356 pages

Luke Snyder joins the Army in 1944. In a daily letter to his wife Ruth he takes us through his Basic and Medical Training at Camp Barkeley, Texas, his assignment to the 10th Mt. Division, deployment to Italy then to Camp Carson, Co. October 1945.

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About the Book
Luke Snyder, from small town Leesport, Pa. inducted into the Army July 1944, relates his military experiences through his daily letters to his wife Ruth. Over 330 letters were written over 16 months. His concise narrative walks us through Basic and Medical training at Camp Barkeley, Texas, his assignment to the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Swift, his battle experiences in Northern Italy at Mt. Belvedere, crossing the Po River, and his Army discharge from Camp Carson, Colorado. His compulsion to write has him penning letters after "lights out" in the latrine, under the lamp posts outside his barracks, and by "candlelight" in his "foxhole". He returns to the States in September 1945, is assigned to Camp Carson only to find out his beloved 10th Mountain Division is being deactivated. As the acting Regimental Mail Clerk, he watches soldiers reassigned or discharged awaiting his own military fate. To be home for Christmas is his greatest desire. This day-to-day recount from a soldier makes real the trails soldiers endure; the extreme pain of loss they may be unable to express and the yearning for letters that keep them connected until they're able to come home.
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Home Care by Susan Snyder A single nurse in her 50s changes from hospital to home care. Laugh, cry, and be inspired by her home care visits. Amy, a person of faith meets Liza living in her car and Nolan, a widowed school teacher. The three confront the future. Lizzie and Alice - Allies in Albuquerque by Susan Snyder A 68-year-old-widowed homemaker from Philadelphia and a 67-year-old single retired teacher from Hershey interact on a flight to Albuquerque. Their sightseeing adventures, horror, grief, and love experiences form an enduring friendship.

About the Author

Susan Snyder lives with her husband Richard in Mohrsville, Pa. She graduated from Trenton State College with a degree in nursing, retiring from that career in 2012. She's now looking forward to having time to write. Editing her father-in-law's letters and writing this introduction has brought her a great sense of satisfaction and the motivation to move on to fiction/mysteries, probably related to her experience as a nurse.