Every Night Has a Dawn by Rachel Valencourt

Author:Rachel Valencourt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marmont Publishing

Wake Me Up

PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON

JUNE 7TH, 1944

Dawn Jensen

16 Years Old

“Look at you,” I exclaimed. Denise returned from nursing school, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Her short hair looked completely different from the girl who left for work that morning. Women were changing roles during the years of wartime, and Denise embraced that change with flair.

“Mama, look at Denise’s hair. It’s so different,” I said, wide-eyed. Mama turned to Denise, her face lighting up.

“Denise, you look marvelous. I love the new look.” Denise beamed.

“Thanks, Mama. It’s practical for nursing duties, too.”

Franny nodded approvingly. “Oh, My Giddy Aunt, you’re really swingin’ that style, Sis. I might bob my hair, too.”

The family had recently relocated to Port Orchard and living closer to the water felt more like our time on Neah Bay. When a job opportunity opened up for Daddy, he took it and was finally able to fulfill his lifelong dream of owning his own house. Though we missed Junior and Bobby after they were both drafted for the war, we managed to make our mark in our community.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Mama’s expression changed. Franny answered, finding a man in uniform holding a flag with a somber expression. My heart pounded, and a knot formed in my stomach.

“Mrs. Jensen, I regret to inform you that your son, Robert, was killed in action.”

Mama’s face turned pale, and tears welled up in my eyes. Denise rushed to console her, and Franny and I joined them, wrapping our arms around Mama as she collapsed into our embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

My dear brother Bobby was killed by a Japanese sniper in Okinawa at twenty-three. The reality of his loss settled in, and memories of our times together—laughter and sibling love—flooded my mind. It felt like a bad dream from which I couldn’t escape.

In the following days, our home felt empty, the laughter silenced. We sought solace in each other’s shared pain. Denise, donning her nurse’s uniform, continued to care for others, but sadness lingered in her eyes. Junior, released from duty, was on his way home from Europe.

Two brothers went to war, but only one returned. As the youngest in the family, I clung to memories of Bobby—the hunting trips, his love for the outdoors, and how he patiently taught us algebra all those years ago. The war had taken him from us, but his memory would forever live on in our hearts.

This blow hit us hard, and each of us handled it differently. Junior’s return from Europe brought both relief and sorrow. The horrors of war were evident in the weariness written on his face, as if a piece of his innocence had been left behind on foreign soil. Mama clung to him tightly, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she held her oldest son in her arms once more.

Franny, ever strong and stoic, tried to hide her emotions behind a brave facade. But I could see the sadness lurking in her eyes from the pain of losing Bobby and seeing the toll of war on her beloved brother, Junior.

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