Daddy sat down in his chair by the battery radio that stood like a soldier in the corner of the living room. He turned the knob from the station where Mama had listened to “Stella Dallas,” her daily soap opera. For a few seconds, the crackling and the whining sounds of the radio filled the room. Then the voice of H. V. Kaltenborn overtook the noise. I was only four years old, but I knew that I was not to make a sound or get up and move around until that distinctive voice coming from the big box said, “Good night.”<\/p>\n
Daddy often leaned his head closer and cocked his ear toward the sound to be sure he heard every word. I learned early that the Pacific theater was more important than\u00a0 Europe\u00a0 because my twenty-two year old brother, a Marine, was fighting there. I didn’t know why they were having a war in a theater, but I knew it was far across the sea.<\/p>\n
Finally, Daddy clicked off the radio and stood.<\/p>\n
“Did they tell anything about Brother,” I asked.<\/p>\n
Daddy didn’t answer. He left the room\u00a0 and\u00a0 even at my age I could read the worry on his face.<\/p>\n
I looked at Mama. She shook her head and said, “Maybe we’ll get a letter tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
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