Letters Across The Pacific - by April Martin Beltz (Paperback)

About the Book

Love endures across time and distance for a young college student and a cadet at the onset of WWII. They fall in love and marry before he is shipped off to the South Pacific. For the next few years they corresponded mainly through letters.

Book Synopsis

Bob and Mariellen met at a USO dance in the summer of 1942. Mariellen was a college student at UCLA and Bob was a cadet, training in Santa Ana. They saw each other almost every weekend through the summer and fall and married that winter, before Bob was shipped overseas.

This story is about their life. A life they lived mostly through letters for the next ten years and through two wars.

Their letters are time capsules. We glimpse into life lived in the States in the 40's as well as the South Pacific during WWII. We read the slang and the military jargon. We hear longing on both sides. We listen while they write of babies born and thunderstorms raging.

As time went on, Bob shares his feelings about phone calls, mail and the war. Mariellen continues to be supportive but is also dealing with the effects of staying home, pregnant, and terrified for her husbands safety.

Through WWII and the Korean War, they continue to navigate their lives through letters. More children arrive and their love endures, though there is visible pain on both sides of the pen.



Their letters were saved and treasured by both of them. The letters traveled the world and survived. This story is the true account of their lives, told by them.

The story is a true testament to the greatest generation, and how their lives and love endured so much.

Review Quotes

"And honey when you read this, don't just read the paper. It's so deep in my heart." A sweet, serious and very satisfying study, Letters Across the Pacific is more than just an engaging story of two young people and the love they grew during two separate wars. Rather, it is an exploration; through their letters, author April Beltz travels back in time to discover the people her parents were before she existed. It is a journey full of surprise, hurt, longing and love. Happily for us, we get to travel with her. Very highly recommended.

- LtCol (Ret) Jay A. Stout, author of Jayhawk and Air Apaches

"Letters Across the Pacific is the beautiful story of a young couple reaching through the distance with passionate letters that affirm their love and dedication to one another. It provides a vivid, touching account of how relationships struggled but endured as the war tore people apart. Highly recommended."

- Gregory A. Freeman, bestselling author of The Forgotten 500

April Martin Beltz, I stand here saluting you for honoring the people who have contributed so much for their country.

You have represented them in the light of love and deep respect.

- Gail Beuregard Author and daughter of a Korean War Veteran