An old man published an emotional letter that he hopes will help him track down a woman he met in 1972 when he was about to commit suicide. It was a meeting of only a few hours, on a rainy day, but which changed his destiny.
The incident took place in 1972 in New York. A former US military pilot, the man was depressed after taking part in a bombing raid in Vietnam. Here is what he wrote to the woman who saved his life:
“I met you in rainy weather on the last day of 1972, the same day I had planned to commit suicide.
Just a week before, at the behest of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, I flew over Hanoi on a B-52, dropping 48 bombs. I don’t know how many houses I destroyed and how many lives I took, but in the eyes of my superiors, I was a real hero.
On New Year’s Eve, I was sitting in my apartment with a bottle of whiskey almost empty in front of me and a cruel sense of guilt that was grinding my soul. When the bottle emptied, I went to buy another one and promised myself that on my return I would kill myself with one of the weapons I had in the house. I ended up walking for hours on the street without knowing where I was going. I was walking along Hanover Street when a small but heavy rain began to fall from the gloomy gray sky. A rain that seemed to be slowly, slowly trying to wash away all the guilt that hung like lead on my shoulders. Nothing, however, could drive away from my guilt, so I decided to return to my apartment.
That’s when I saw you. You were sheltered under the balcony of the Old State House. You were wearing a gala dress, which looked royal and ridiculous at the same time. Your brown hair was combed to one side and a galaxy of freckles dusted your shoulders. I had never seen anything more beautiful!