Writing letters to four sons, one in each branch of the armed forces is a full-time job for Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Rolfsen of Erlanger. The sons are serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, and seeing that each one gets news of the other as well as word from the family uses up a good bit of carbon paper. 

“All the letters Mrs. Rolfsen and I write,” says the soldiers’ father, “are made with an original and three copies, one for each boy. Then we make an original and two copies of each letter from each boy and send that along to the other three. It takes a lot of paper.”

Usually, the Rolfsen mailbox is stuffed with letters. It’s only when a week or two passes without mail that the soldiers’ parents begin to worry. One of their sons, Cpl Lawrence Rolfsen Jr, is stationed in Korea. When letters don’t come, the parents can’t help wondering if he has been injured or if the other three boys are being sent overseas. “You never know these days,” said the father who works for the Southern Railway. “We pray for their safety all the time, but we do worry once in a while.” 

Larry Rolfsen, 22, was a teletype operator with The Post before joining the Army a year ago. His brother Robert, 20, joined the Navy two weeks before Larry left home. He now is a yeoman, stationed at a naval gun factory in Washington, DC. 

PFC Donald Rolfsen, 19, recently completed his basic training at Lackland Air Base in Texas. Gerald Rolfsen, 17, is stationed at the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. Mrs. Rolfsen says she is very proud of having boys in each branch of the armed forces, but she doesn’t like to talk about it very often.

“The house seems so lonesome without the boys running in and out,” she said. “Our two daughters are great comfort to us these days, but they miss the boys too. We write to the boys all the time, even when their letters are delayed. But it isn’t like having them home.” 

Two of the Rolfsen brothers are engaged, and hope to be home this spring or summer to be married. Larry Rolfsen is engaged to Miss Mary Ann Wogenstahl of Covington, and Robert’s fiancé is Miss Rose Schwartz, also of Covington. 

“Only one of the boys was drafted,” said Mr. Rolfsen. “The other three enlisted. We pray for the day the world will settle down peacefully and boys won’t be called to war anymore.”

Newspaper clipping submitted by Duane Rolfsen

Banner is on display in Erlanger, May – September 2024 – 2026.