How a Nebraska soldier's letter about visiting his brother's grave sparked a lifelong romance

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By Michael O’Connor

HASTINGS, Neb. — Long ago, in straightforward yet elegant prose, the young Nebraska soldier penned a letter to his mother.

It started out simply, “Dear Mom: Last Sunday evening I visited Wayne’s grave.”

Melvin Marian’s letter described his August 1945 visit to his brother’s grave at a temporary cemetery at Okinawa, Japan. His brother had died during the bloody battle for the Pacific island during World War II, and Melvin visited the grave just weeks after the last bombs blasted.

Melvin’s tender letter was published in The World-Herald in October 1945 and was read by a 23-year-old Nebraska widow named Betty Wilke.

FULL story: http://www.omaha.com/living/how-a-nebraska-soldier-s-letter-about-visiting-his-brother/article_7aac2206-d22a-50cc-b653-bc51805bfb31.html