About Me

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In 1943 I was drafted into World War 11 right out of Madison High School, Rochester, NY. This is my story as told in the letters I wrote home. They’re all here, all 192 of them. Spend some time with me as I describe my experiences in basic training and then off to war. They were written in an attempt to help me feel close to my family and to let them know what was going on in my life. It’s the first time I was away from home and I have to confess that I was homesick. My folks were Esther and Jacob Kaplow. We were four children in this order: Arnette, Ruth, Bob, and myself.

Intro to Florence


Dear Reader,

This is the beginning of a blog to honor my husband, Pfc Benjamin Kaplow, who died on March 23, 2007. It will include transcriptions of all his letters mailed to and saved by his family. I shall forever regret that they were never read by me in our 53 years of marriage. Yet, now I am able to go back to a time in Ben's life, long before I knew him, to meet this 18 year old and learn why he captured my heart. Ben and I were always a team. Even now, he as a young soldier of 18 years stays by my side into this period of my life of 75 years. Apart? Not really!

So for over two years I, along with the help of many volunteers, created Ben's web site. Because I couldn't choose which letters to omit, plus I added photos, videos, and historical links, as well as the readings done by students at Brighton High School and the University of Rochester, both in Rochester, NY, the site has become huge. Hence, the reason for this blog.

Those who prefer the letter transcriptions may read them here. And a visit to the pages of the web site for its historical information is available, too.
http://www.benkaplow.com

Don't hesitate to comment on how I'm doing. The web site was a demanding learning curve for me. Now with the blog, I'm venturing into some new curves while you will be adventuring with Ben at his web site or this blog.

Florence

1 comment:

  1. Well done Florence. I look forward to following the blog. I especially like the title.

    Bill

    ReplyDelete