New book unveils World War II love letters, revealing a passionate young man's love story.

After her parents passed away, Paula Bernice Roberts was swept off her feet by a passionate young World War II hero.

Her own father.

Roberts, a resident of Massachusetts, told Planet Chronicle Digital that he was deeply romantic and held his mother in high regard.

"I never knew that man when I was growing up."

In her new book, "Sealed With A Kiss: The World War II Love Letters of Second Lieutenant Paul E. Roberts, 320th Rifle Infantry Regiment, United States Army," the author introduces U.S. Army Lt. Paul Roberts to the world.

The book is derived from the 350 wartime letters that the young officer from upstate New York wrote to his future wife Bernice Getter.

The couple got married on May 4, 1946, just after the veteran recovered from shrapnel wounds sustained in Germany during the war in 1945.

"I’m going to kiss you and hold you all night long. When morning comes we’re just going to ignore it."

In a 1944 letter from Europe, Roberts expressed to belle Bernice his anticipation of being very close to her all night long upon his return to the United States.

"I'll kiss and hold you all night, and in the morning, we'll pretend it never happened."

At 20 years old, the young soldier ended his message with "SWAK," a kiss sealed.

The daughter stated that the same salutation appears at the end of almost every letter, except when it was removed by military censors.

While cleaning out her childhood home in Scotia, New York, after her mother's death in 2008, Paula Roberts discovered the letters hidden in an attic trunk. Her father had passed away before that, in 2003.

Roberts stated that the man he knew growing up was different from the man who wrote these letters.

"My mom retained all of them but never revealed or disclosed any information about them to me."

In 1943, Lt. Roberts enlisted in the Army after growing up in New York. He departed for Europe in 1944.

The young man's passionate pursuit of love is interspersed with the challenges of Army life, the fear of combat, and his recovery from war wounds.

The young couple's intimate moments and boudoir attire are referenced in some of the letters he writes to his beloved.

On March 6, 1944, Roberts wrote: "I first feel like discussing black lace, bedrooms, and related topics."

"If anyone ever asks you what I do in [the] Army, you can tell them I lead an infantry rifle platoon and when you tell them you can be proud of it."

The man, who had just lost his best friend, described the death with a distant stoicism, reminiscent of a combat soldier.

"Tonight, I'm not in the mood to write, my love. I received tragic news that Mike O'Connor was killed in France," as stated in his letter dated October 10, 1944.

"Thinking about his wife and baby is quite distressing. My feeling that way won't make things better, I suppose."

A decade after the war, the true extent of his affection for his childhood friend was uncovered.

In memory of the fallen soldier, they named their only son Michael.

Deep into Germany, the Allied advance found Roberts at its sharpest point.

On March 22, 1945, he writes, "If anyone ever asks you what I do in the Army, you can tell them I lead an infantry rifle platoon and when you tell them you can be proud of it."

"As a rifle platoon leader, I'm proud to have led men in an infantry rifle platoon who fire M1 rifles and use bayonets and hand grenades, often fighting hand to hand with the enemy. I know this because I've done it myself."

Six weeks before Germany surrendered, on March 28, Roberts was badly wounded by shrapnel from an 88MM artillery shell.

"She kept him going all those years. It’s just so beautiful and moving now that I look back on it."

His daughter stated that he almost lost his right arm. He underwent recovery in several hospitals in both England and the U.S. for several months.

The dominant theme of the letters and the book is the love that is torn apart by war and distance.

In another letter, Roberts expresses his love for his sweetheart, stating that he thinks about her constantly, both day and night.

"Being in love is wonderful, especially when you know that the person you love loves you and considers you their own."

That man, Paula Roberts said, never revealed himself to his children.

Roberts stated that he was a devoted father who looked after and supported his loved ones.

As the owner of a piano store in Schenectady, New York, he frequently worked seven days a week, yet he did not display outward emotions.

Despite not being explicitly stated, the depth of love between her parents was clear to her.

At age 42, the combat veteran was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which the family initially believed were the aftereffects of the nerve damage sustained during the war.

Until his death at age 79, Roberts was accompanied by his wife throughout the progression of his nervous-system disorder.

""Looking back, it's so beautiful and moving to see how she kept him going all those years," author Roberts stated."

Roberts believes that World War II veterans, including her dad, were driven by a love for their country and fellow man, and that this love sustained them through the trauma and loss they experienced in their youth.

"Even though everything was going on, my father had an inner calmness," she stated.

She said, "He knew that he had done something good that made the world a better place for the rest of his life."

On Amazon, more information about the book "Sealed with a Kiss" can be easily found by anyone.

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