All 90 handwritten letters were lovingly taped in two albums and many of them had the original envelopes with them, duly examined and passed by Navy censors. It is because of the ‘loose lips sink ships’ embargo on wartime information that none of the letters was dated nor did they give any place names of where Kenny was at the time. Also, the letters were transcribed verbatim so all his spelling and punctuation errors—as well as any word choices that might be unacceptable in our current era—remain intact.

 

Just an asterisk to those who knew Omar~no, that wasn’t his real name. Throughout his life he had many nicknames: Toughy when he was a boy; Kenny Lee or KL to his parents and childhood friends; Cuz or Flags to his Navy shipmates; and finally Omar the Woodcarver, “O” or Omar, a name that stuck for the rest of his life. You may also see that he refers to himself as King Love in a few letters to his gal.

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We hope you enjoy Letters Home and please share with others who also might like to travel back so many years ago.

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If you have questions or comments write to lettershome@turkandhyde.com