Dear Eugene,

Damn you, Eugene Sledge.

Damn you for not telling me sooner, for making me cry for an hour after I received your letter, and damn you for making me love you so much.

Eugene felt the sting of tears begin to prick at the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, so no one could see. He needed this, he really needed this. Peleliu was hell, and he only had a taste of what was yet to come.

"Who's the letter from, Sledge?" Snafu asked, an slightly amused look ever present on his face.

"Nobody," Eugene said, pulling letter to his chest. The envelope fell to the ground, a piece of paper falling out of it.

"What's this?" Snafu asked, snatching the paper up before Eugene could. He looked at it for a moment, his smile growing bigger as the seconds passed, "Well, damn, Sledge!" He grinned, "You've been holding out on us."

"Give that back," Eugene grunted, swiping the paper from his hand. It was a photograph, it was of Lucy and Sid in the parlor of the Phillips household. She was laughing at something Sid said. He remembered this photo, because he took it. He smiled softly at the sight of it before folding it up and putting it in his shirt pocket.

Snafu lifted a hand, "Well, c'mon, start reading, she's pretty, let's see if she's got brains."

Eugene gave him a look, sighing reluctantly before he began to read aloud.

I guess I could say the same, I've always loved you. I honestly think it started when I dropped my lollipop in the dirt when we were young. You and Sid were playing, but you stopped when you saw it happen, and you gave me yours because you didn't want me to be sad.

"Aw, how sweet," Snafu grinned, interrupting Eugene.

"If you interrupt again, or say another thing about Lucy, I'm not reading it out loud anymore," Eugene told him.

Snafu only grinned and motioned for him to keep reading.

These feelings have always been there, but I think at Sid's party I really knew they were true.

Lucy sat at table, Sidney to her right, Eugene to her left, and Honey and Annamae across from her. They were at one end of the table, the "adults" were at the other end. Their mother and father were bragging about their children's achievements.

"Lucy was at the top of her class this year," her mother smiled, "Isn't that right, Lucy?"

Lucy, who wasn't paying attention, was nudged by Sid, "Yeah, Luce is amazingly smart."

"She'd make an excellent wife for someone someday," Her father nodded.

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment, clinching her jaw. When she opened them, she gave Honey a look, which the brunette reciprocated. She heard Eugene clear his throat, "I think Lucy will be excellent at whatever she decides to do," the redheaded man glanced at her parents before looking back at his food. A soft smile came to her face as she looked at him. She saw his eyes flit over to her, but he looked away we he saw her staring, which caused her to look away as well.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Sidney nodded, patting his sister on the back.

Seeing Annamae and Honey whispering to each other, with smiles on their faces, Lucy brought her heel down on a high heeled shoe,
causing Annamae to yelp. The blonde woman glared at Lucy, and Honey snorted while Sid gave her a concerned look, "You okay, Mae?"

"I'm fine, it was nothing," Annamae grabbed her foot under the table, and when she made sure no one was looking, stuck her tongue out at Lucy. Lucy repeated the gesture, but her mother caught sight of it. With the clearing of her throat, her mother gave the girls at the end of the table a stern look.

Eugene stifled a chuckle, seeing the whole exchange go down. He and Lucy locked eyes, causing her to hide a laugh too. Soon, their whole side of the table was burst out in laughter.

There was an awkward silence before her father spoke again, "You thinking about joining the fight, Eugene?"

"Oh," He frowned slightly, Lucy could tell that he didn't want to talk about this, "I want to, but my father insists that I stay."

Her father looked like he was about to speak again, but Sidney spoke instead, "Eugene has a murmur in his heart, dad," He explained.

Luce narrowed her eyes at her plate, "And knowing Eugene, I'm sure he's not to happy about it," Lucy spoke, setting her fork down a little too loudly than she intended to. She looked at her father and mother, both of them looking back at her with a quizzical glances. Lucy was never one to speak out, especially in that tone, "Can we drop the subject?"

I felt an overwhelming urge to defend you in that moment. I don't know why, maybe it was my heart speaking instead of my mind. What I did know was that you were constantly on my mind the minute those words left my lips.

Another one of the guests, her father's friend, furrowed his brow, "I pity the foolish boy that tames that one." He said pointedly towards Lucy.

"I pity them too," Lucy stood, "because they sure as hell won't get very far," She threw her napkin down on the table, and began to stomp out of the room.

"Lucille Elizabeth Phillips, you get back here right now!" Her mother shouted after her, but sighed when she realized she wasn't coming back. Annamae and Honey stood, but Lucy's mother motioned for them to sit, "She'll come back, let her throw her fit like a child."

The man grunted, "That outburst was quite uncalled for."

"So was your comment," Eugene spoke as he stood. He looked to Sidney, who nodded, and began to look for where Lucy could be. Leaving the house, he had a good idea on where she had went.

Entering the barn, he saw Lucy sitting on a bench, holding a lamb in her lap. She must not have noticed him come in, because she was having a conversation with the baby goat. "Yes, I know," Lucy smiled as the lamb baa'd back, "No, they don't get it do they Molly?"

Molly baa'd once again, "I'll have to agree with Molly on that one," Eugene said, making Lucy jump.

"Oh, Gene," She put a hand to her chest, letting Molly jump off of her lap, "you scared me."

Eugene scooped up the lamb with a smile. It relaxed in his arms, he could tell it was used to being held, "I'm sorry for what happened in there," he apologized to her, making Lucy tilt her head.

"You have no reason to apologize, Gene. It's my family," She shook her head, he sat in the spot beside her.

"Yes, well, I could've stuck up for you more in there. Thank you, by the way," He smiled.

Lucy smiles softly, gazing at the lamb in the man's arms and giving it's head a scratch, "Just being out here is enough," she told him.

That moment, that was when I knew for sure. You weren't like other men, trying to change who I was to fit their standards. You wanted me to be me. That is why I love you.

I love you, Eugene Sledge.

Eugene felt the tears well up in his eyes again, he couldn't help it. There was a woman, who he loved so damn much, waiting at home for him. Yet, he has no idea if he was even going to make it.

One last thing, I've enclosed a picture of me so you don't have to dream about my face anymore. Stay safe, Gene. Please for the love of God, stay safe.

Love, Lucy.