Together
Through Korea and Alzheimer's

​Our parents held opposing views on every conceivable issue, but that did not deter our attraction to each other. We married at nineteen despite the enormous effort my mother put into preventing my relationship with Dick. 

We enjoyed a brief respite before Uncle Sam drafted and ultimately sent Dick to Korea. With nowhere else to go, our eighteen-day-old daughter and I moved back into my childhood home, the hub of my earlier problems.

While he lived overseas, Dick and I struggled in environments over which we had little control. ​He wrote poetic love letters and described the erratic behaviors he observed in his company. When he returned, we found our difficult separation─although alike in many ways─had changed us. ​

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In 2001, Dick received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's which proved to be our greatest challenge in a lifetime of tests. He withdrew into the disease and I found myself adrift. An unusual phenomenon occurred and enabled us to recover the love of our youth. The lyrical language he employed in writing letters from Korea returned during our last days together.

In my desire to honor Dick, a romantic man who loved his family, I reveal some of our intimate relationship and the challenges to our devotion.

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