<p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">It started with a box of forgotten war letters hidden in my parents' attic. A World War II Coast Guard sailor and his wife maintained their marriage through war letters in quite an unusual way-with their own secret code. He was a musician playing the patriotic tunes of war, she was home forging her own music career. Their letters document not only their love story but the little-known role of music in war as he served on the U.S.S.&nbsp;</span><em style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">General A.W. Greely</em><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1); color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">Most days, sailors performed in military and dance bands on deck, easing the anxiety of young troops heading to war and healing war-weary troops coming home I learned about my parents' early marriage and war experiences through their letters after they passed away. A few years later, my brother gave me the most valuable letter-one with the secret code allowing my father to let my mother know his ship's location-a highly illegal act at the time. His letters offered her a nugget of hope that every war wife craved. Here, together with historical records, war diaries, news articles and deck logs, their intriguing war story lives on.</span></p>