Dearest Kitty
Letters from a World War II Sailor to His Girl Back Home
by
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The small envelope is yellow with age. The USO paper is fragile and torn. A six cent stamp with a picture of a propeller-powered bomber sits proudly on the upper right side of the envelope. There is no return address, just a San Francisco, California, postmark. But I know who mailed it to me, although I have not seen it for sixty-five years. I remember words from long ago, another time and another place. I was fifteen years old when he first wrote them. He was nineteen. The war went on and on for two long years. He lived on a destroyer, the USS Stevens, as a gunner’s mate. He shot the big guns in many major battles.
We wrote often to each other. We waited for each other until the end of the war. I have more than one-hundred-seventy-six letters from my hero at sea. I almost destroyed them a long time ago. I thought they were too personal for others to see. But here they are. I want everyone to see this man I loved and traveled with for sixty-five years. It’s good to remember.
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About the Book
Dearest Kitty is a non-fiction book of letters written from a sailor, Elbert "Bert" Judkins, to his girl back home, Kathryn "Kitty" Kimzey during World War II. Kathryn kept all Bert's letters their entire married life and when Bert passed away in 2008, she got them out and began reading them. She worked for several years compiling them into manuscript format adding bits of her life, history, thoughts and feelings between the letters. Kathryn passed away in 2012 without seeing her manuscript in print. Her children have followed through with publication so that this bit of history will be around for Bert and Kathryn's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to cherish.
About the Author
Elbert David "Bert" Judkins joined the Navy during World War II. He was just nineteen years old. A farm boy from Iowa who had never been away from home. Kathryn Kimzey "Kitty" was a fifteen year old girl who lived a few houses away. Though very young, when Bert asked Kitty to write to him while he was away, she readily agreed. Bert and Kitty married in 1946, upon his return home, and were married for almost 62 years when Bert passed away. Following his death, Kitty found the bundle of letters he'd written her all those years ago and began reading them. She set about reading each and every letter and typing them into the computer along with her thoughts and memories of those days so long ago. She passed away in 2012 before getting the book in print. Her son, Larry D. Judkins diligently edited the manuscript for publication. The resulting book is a legacy for Bert and Kathryn's three children and six grandchildren to cherish.