Letters were a “tremendous value in boosting sagging morale” (PBS.org). They were something for soldiers and their family to look forward to receiving. Letters gave both the soldiers and their family reassurance that their child, their mother, or sibling was ok and safe.
While I knew that there was censorship within letter writing, I was not aware that it was to such an extreme degree. The soldiers were forced to limit what they told their loved ones, to avoid the risk of disclosing key information to the enemy. However, if it fails inspection according to army censors, someone whose job is to approve letter content, then they “blacked out anything they thought might give useful information to the enemy, then photographed onto a reel of 16 mm microfilm”(PBS.org).
I wonder, what would the army censors have considered useful information to the enemy? I understand disclosing their location and updates on the war, but what else? Would comments about the status of soldiers’ health be important? What about resources?
