To Live Again
"Losing Chuck, Finding Sallie," by David Tarrant of The Dallas Morning News, is a nicely written account of Sallie Stratton's quest to learn the fate of her husband, Chuck, an Air Force pilot who went missing in action during the Vietnam War. When the war ended, Sallie faced a frightening choice that would shape her life and drive this three-part narrative series:
Since the moment Chuck went missing in action Jan. 3, 1971, Sallie Stratton has waited patiently for an answer to the question haunting her life:
Is she a widow or a wife?
She believed the answer would come with the release of a list of U.S. prisoners of war on Jan. 27, 1973, when a cease-fire agreement ended American military action in the Vietnam War.
No matter the news, at least she would know whether Chuck had died in the crash of his F-4E Phantom II or survived and was taken prisoner. But then came the late-night phone call from the military: There was no information about Chuck. He was still missing.
For days following the phone call, Sallie descends into a black mood that culminates in her bedroom when she falls to her knees.
In one blinding flash, something mystical and supernatural takes hold of her. "I was totally enveloped in love and light and peace," she recalls. "I didn't have an answer, and it didn't matter. That's not what was necessary."
Up to now, she's been anchored to the past. For her own health and sanity and for her children, she must move forward.