--- title: "This may be the origin of the ‘Dear John’ letter" description: "No two innocent-sounding words can crush a troop's morale quite like \"Dear John.\" In the military lexicon, a \"Dear John\" letter is a cute letter sent by a troop's lady back home that lets him know she's gone. These letters…" date: "2019-01-28" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Eric Milzarski" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/eric/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/this-may-be-the-origin-of-the-dear-john-letter/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # This may be the origin of the ‘Dear John’ letter ![]() No two innocent-sounding words can crush a troop's morale quite like "Dear John." In the military lexicon, a "Dear John" letter is a cute letter sent by a troop's lady back home that lets him know she's gone. These letters typical start with incoherent ramblings about how they miss their "John" before ultimately saying they're moving on. --- ![]() *Seriously, didn't they read the poster? (Image via Smithsonian)* To the deployed John, time stands still, but the Earth still rotates. Even if a troop finds a good one that's willing to wait, everyone knows someone who got a "Dear John." Despite the fact that these heartbreaking letters were undoubtedly sent with the near-[12 million]() letters delivered per week during WWI, the phrase wasn't popularized until WWII, when American GIs sent and received over [one billion]() pieces of mail throughout the war. ![]() *This is just one day's worth of mail for reference. (Image via Australian War Memorial)* When, exactly, troops started using it to refer to an actual letter is lost to time, but it's been used as a popular saying as far back as 1944 in the [St. Petersburg Times](). However, the phrase originated many years prior, and was used extensively in Anthony Trollope's 1864 novel, *Can You Forgive Her?* The immensely popular Victorian English novel that, honestly, does not hold up to the modern standards of bearable. ![]() *You can seriously skip this book. Even Stephen King mocked it in his memoir. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)* A [*CliffsNotes* of the *CliffsNotes*]() is that the story centers around a woman named Alice who has two suitors. One is wild and exciting, but evil: George. The other is honest and a war hero, but boring: John. As it turns out, George is a psychopathic politician who tries to murder everyone and Alice's cousin. Just throwing that out there. But, in the end, John finds out Alice is leaving him through a letter that starts with a phase repeated throughout [the novel](), "Dear John." Although we don't know the *exact* origins of the phrase, as John was the most popular boys name of the time (see: John Doe), this our best guess. Either way, the phrase has had an undeniable impact — it's since been referenced by [Hank Williams Sr.](), [Taylor Swift](), a Nicholas Sparks [novel]() that became a [film](), and [television](). ## Author Eric is a U.S. Army veteran and was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division where he served as a radio operator. After being honorably discharged, he then pursued a career in the film and television world.He is now the resident "nerd" at We Are The Mighty. To follow Eric on social media: please check out the links below. [Facebook]()