A Surgeon's War: My Year in Vietnam by Henry Ward Trueblood M.D

Author:Henry Ward Trueblood M.D. [Trueblood M.D., Henry Ward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astor & Lenox
Published: 2015-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

As the rain continued falling, the casualty rate generally slowed. The free time that resulted allowed Nancy and me, through our daily letters, to work out how we would negotiate our religious differences. I had told my parents of our plans to get married, and still could read between the lines of their letters that they thought maybe we were rushing this decision. In fact we could not have been more deliberate and thorough in that process. I had written to Nancy on August 16, just eight days after we had said good-bye to each other in the United States: “I told my parents we were in love and talking about marriage.” I felt that I understood my parents’ reservations, but a larger issue was driving my heart: “Religion is irrelevant. Let’s get married two months after I get back.”

I assured my parents that I heard their concern, but that I also knew that they would come to love Nancy as much as I did. I sensed that Nancy’s parents, too, might have similar concerns, over their daughter’s marrying a non-Catholic, and wrote to her on October 4, about that as well: “Please tell your parents we are getting married soon after I return. Mrs. Trueblood, do you agree? How soon do we have children?”

I thought that some sort of clear declaration of my actual religious beliefs was necessary, so that Nancy would know precisely where I stood. So the very next day, I wrote to her: “My religion is very simple. The need to live a good and productive life that is not driven by fear or a promise, but from my heart…. I can’t tell you enough, how lucky I feel to have you in my life.”

Nancy, too, was sensitive to the concerns of my parents, and wrote to my mother and dad in October: “Ward is a more mature man than the one I remember who left in August.” My mother then wrote to Nancy’s mother and mentioned how delightful Nancy’s letter was: “We are eager to know Nancy better, and hope to make her feel most welcome in our family.”

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