"Soon I'll be home again and once more, time and life will have a meaning." Bill Holston, USS Midway , 1951  In May 1951, a lovestruck sailor said a tearful goodbye to his sweetheart before boarding the USS Midway . Longing for home, he picked up a pencil and poured out his heart. My Dearest Bea is a rare collection of intimate love letters written by U.S. Navy Band trumpet player Bill Holston to his new bride in Norfolk, Virginia, during the long months of sea duty following their wedding day. When the letters are discovered generations later, a blossoming romance leaps off the page transporting readers into the heart of a timeless love story.