Letters to Louise

Author's Summary

An autobiography about a naive young man coming from a very stable and protected environment and went into the navy. As a Navy hospital corpsman, he became a combat corpsman with the US Marines. This story includes memories of events and the actual text of letters written over a period of four years to his girlfriend who was still in high school while he was in the States, Japan, and Vietnam.

MWSA Review

With the advent of email and social media, the art of writing personal letters is likely lost. This is unfortunate, because the level of care and thought that goes into a personal letter, especially when penned during precious free moments in a war zone, often leads to a deeper connection. In Letters to Louise veteran Navy Corpsman Russell Jewett lets the reader into the intimate conversation between he and Louise Johnson, his girlfriend at the time, starting with his service in Japan, and then through most of the memoir, in Vietnam while serving with the U.S. Marines.

The pair were not meant to be, but reconnected later in life. Louise shared that she maintained the entirety of his correspondence to include photographs that he sent to her. Jewett uses these letters to describe his service, discuss the 3/3 Marines’ fight along the DMZ, and provide a historical look into life as a corpsman in Vietnam. The letters also include the poignant and personal post-war planning of a young couple in love. At times, it is between these conversations that one most identifies with Jewett, Louise, and the trials of military service.

Letters to Louise is an enjoyable read. It will have most impact for those who served as and with the Marines along Vietnam’s DMZ in 1967.

Reviewed by: Steve Phillips (2012)