Found WWII letters from a vet to his wife. Found the couple and delivered their mail.

[clayton_e]

It all started Sunday afternoon.
I went to an antique shop that is rarely open in my
town. The place was open and I was looking for more
classic campaign pins for my jacket (I already have
found a LBJ, Nixon and a Roosevelt).
I didn't find any, most of the stuff was old dishware
and little things which I had little if any interest
in.
Then I found a table strewn with notes and scraps of
paper. Some were bundled in stacks of 5 or 10 but most
were all over.
There were some letters from a WWII vet to his wife
who lived in my town at the time. I bought some
because of their historical signifigance and went home
to read them with fellow doper Palve. They were
pretty interesting, we found from the letters that the
guy was married just before Pearl Harbor was attacked,
he was stationed in Africa and also for a time was in
New York City and he wanted to go to Rome.
There was one letter that was different from the
rest. It was from her to him, the only one in the
stack, And it was unopened.
It was sent to New York, 6 cents postage (two 3 cent
stamps) on March 8th 1945. He must have been there for
a time after he was sent back after the war.
I looked at the name and return address, I had never
heard of the name but I thought I'd take a look for it
on the net. Maybe they had a son or something who
might still live in the area.
I looked them up and ended up with an exact match on
his name in my town. Must've been a son, I thought.
I was wrong. I called the number and got the woman who
wrote that unopened letter 57 years ago. She was
surprised to hear from some 17 year old kid who said
he had some mail of theirs.
So today Palve and I went to the place where the
couple lives now and delivered their mail.
They were so happy, they told me so much about their
lives and how the war affected them. He showed me a
picture of himself which was sent home in one of the
letters which I had returned.
They had the letters years before in a duffel bag
which he had while he was overseas. In the mid 60's
their appartment was broken into, and among many other
things the duffel was stolen. Years later the letters
showed up at some garage sale, then into another
attic, then to the antique store.
About a quarter of the letters and other things had
already been bought, but I returned to the store after
my meeting with the couple this morning and bought
everything else on the table. After looking through
some of it I realized all of the 500 or more items
there were all from this couple. I just bought
everything then gave it to the couple.

Among the items were: more than 30 letters from him to
her, a letter from her to him (unopened), letters from
faimily and friends to her throughout the war, lists
showing how much daily expenses cost (coke, 6 cents,
eggs, 8 cents a dozen), his chouffer license, her old
safe deposit booklet, a menu/program for a dinner
which he attended in Italy (he really loved that,
mentioned many of his good friends), a small mirror
from the place where she had worked at the time of the
war, many newspaper clippings (some of which announced
marrages of her sisters, friends and also some
articles about Africa and the war), business cards of
his from before he left for the war, many christmas
cards from the time of the war, postcards... the list
just went on and on.
And he said he did finally make it to Rome.

[clayton_e]

And sorry about how the spacing is at the end of the lines. Just fixed that problem on my pc.

[SkeptiJess]

{{clayton_e}} What a really super sweet thing to do. Thank you for telling us about it, kiddo.

Jess

[TheLoadedDog]

Wow. Good work, mate. :)

[Booker57]

Good on ya, kid.
Seventeen with great wisdom.

[Sinshine]

they make movies about stuff like that. Good on ya!

[Tranquilis]

Well done! You're a class act!

[Johnny L.A.]

Some people believe in the "Rule of Three" which says that whatever you do will be returned to you threefold. Dude, I think you just racked up some major points.

A big "Bravo-Zulu" to you!

[clayton_e]

It's not like I bought the letters to return them to the couple. When I bought them that really didn't cross my mind, I just kinda assumed that they had passed away, or if not then they were certanly not in the area.
Just went on a hunch that afternoon and it worked out.

[StGermain]

How very sweet. You did a wonderful thing.

StG

[WSLer]

That is the single coolest thing I have heard/read in 9 months.:cool:

[Lyllyan]

Let me chime in tho the "way cool" sentiment. It would be very interesting to keep in touch and hear their stories first hand. You did a very nice thing clayton_e, whether or not you intended to makes no difference.

[Eonwe]

clayton_e, you deserve props for that. Congratulations on being a fine and considerate example of a human being.

[Fifteen Iguana]

Clayton-

Write it up, pretty much the way you did it here. Send it to your local newspaper. If they don't publish it, or at least offer to write it up as an article (then they are idiots) try a larger newspaper.

When you start applying to colleges you have your essay ready and waiting.

And a big deposit in the Bank of Gookd Karma, by the way.

Cheers,
Fifteen Iguana

[Tripler]

Wow.

Dude, do you know how much this probably means to them, their lives? Your few bucks to purchase this stuff brings back more than years to their younger times.

Tripler
I betcha they're still in tears.

[Johnny L.A.]

I've been thinking about this. Let's say you do get a newspaper to write about it. What might happen? Maybe someone will read it who can have an influence on your life. Maybe when you go out into the job market, the interviewer will ask, "What is the most selfless thing you've done in your life?" You tell him that you spent a few bucks on some old letters and helped an elderly couple to recapture faded memories of their youth. "They even wrote an article about it," you say. It turns out that the interviewer read the article and remembered it. He hires you on the spot.

Maybe the old couple remember you in their wills.

Maybe the old soldier's surviving comrades hear about your deed and renew acquaintances with their old friends. Your few dollars spent has now touched more people. Maybe other people read of your example and do the same thing, bringing tears of joy to many others -- and their families. Maybe if people hear what you did, they'll be closer to their parents and grandparents.

Maybe you've been wondering what you will do with your life, and this episode inspires you to helping others.

Maybe you'll reap absolutely no material reward whatsoever. Nor should you expect any, as an act of kindness should be done for its own sake. But you've already received a reward, haven't you? You've felt the deep gratitude of a pair of strangers. You have the knowledge that you've made someone happy. You've felt the warm feeling that is the reward for being a nice guy. You've received kudos from the people on this board.

May your troubles be less,
Your blessings be more,
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.
-- Irish Blessing

[Hedda Rosa]

Just beautiful. I agree you should write this up, for publication or maybe just for friends and family, but this is a story that needs to be shared.

Very, very well done.

Twiddle

[Ringo]

Still though, clayton_e, pretty damn cool.

[Crusoe]

A very decent thing to do.

[Tansu]

Well done.

[leechbabe]

Wow what a sweet thing to do.

[tavalla]

Yep, nice job. I can't imagine how it must feel to get things like that back after nearly forty years.

[rocking chair]

fantastic! good work.

[jjimm]

Well done. Seriously good karma. I'm all choked.

And wonderful that they're still both alive, and still together. Hope you keep in touch with them.

One question though - how did you/they know about the garage sale and the attic after the duffel bag had been stolen? (Don't shoot me down for being cynical; it's a genuine enquiry).

[partly_warmer]

Very nice. Well told and heartwarming. Good impulses all around.

Can you find the lost photographs from my childhood, now? ;)

.... was just thinking ... an Internet business that tracks down the original owners and/or relatives of things, and lets them know they're available....

[Spritle]

We are living in a time where the WWII vets are passing away at an alarming rate. Soon, there will be no more. As they go, so do the first hand stories of the war; so does the understanding of the damage nations can wreak on other nations. No bronze memorials can convey these experiences. No statues can replace the history lost.

One of the biggest "complaints" about young people is that they are self centered, selfish and spoiled. Thanks for doing your part to prove these people wrong.

You are a credit to young adults.

[Johnny L.A.]

Spritle's post reminded me that The History Channel has a show called The Veteran's Project. This is an audio monolog by a veteran describing his experiences in WWII that is played over wartime footage. You might want to see if the man whose letters you found would like to do a video interview. THC might not want it for their program (if they did, they'd just use the audio), but I'm sure the family would like to have a copy of it.

You can use natural lighting, perhaps with a reflector to provide fill lighting, or set up studio lights if you have them or have access to them. (Lowel, Colortran and other kits fit into a large "suitcase".) Since it probably won't be broadcast (although as I said there might be a chance that THC or a veteran's organization might be interested) you can shoot it on a hi-8 or DV consumer camera.

As Spritle says, we're losing our WWII vets. A video interview would be a wonderful keepsake for the man's family.

[Jorel]

This is a great story!

Good job Clayton!

[Shirley Ujest]

This is such a sweet story.

I know that Milosarrian is a newspaper reporter, perhaps he can direct you to getting this story written by your local paper....this is the kind of heart warming feel good story that you simply must share with the world .

I lay odds that if it gets published, it will be featured eventually in People Magazine. You don't get much more famous than that.

[Politzania]

Originally posted by partly_warmer
.... was just thinking ... an Internet business that tracks down the original owners and/or relatives of things, and lets them know they're available....

Being a genealogist - I found this story very touching! Good job, clayton_e!

partly-warmer and all.... you might find some of these sites interesting:

http://www.cyndislist.com/lost.htm#General

[Boyo Jim]

Just wanted to add my congrats, and agree with everybody else. You did a GREAT THING!

You should not only write this up for a newspaper: this would be a terrific movie script! Even as I say this, I'm thinking, "Don't feel pressured to do more." Do more only if you would enjoy doing it.

I nominate this thread as the coolest thing I've read of ANY of us doing!

[Coldfire]

Dude. I wish I was as wise at 17 as you are now.

Very well done. That man could die next week for all we know - you gave him something priceless.

[Nortia]

What a sweet thing to do! Thankyou for sharing :)

[clayton_e]

Originally posted by jjimm
One question though - how did you/they know about the garage sale and the attic after the duffel bag had been stolen?


The owner of the antique shop told me how she got ahold of them, somebody came in and said some relative had bought them at a moving sale where it was among a bunch of other stuff probably from the owner's storage, stuff like old magazines and basic junk.

[Mooney252]

Newspaper's love these stories -- and you can never tell where they'll lead. Perhaps friends of the couples' will get back in contact with them; perhaps long-lost relatives.

A friend here found an old letter in the walls of their house when they were rehabbing it. It was written to a fiance in Norway at the turn of the century.

The story ran in the local paper. A little more research led to Norwegian newspapers, which I understand eat these stories up.

They found the story of the man. He ended up NOT marrying the fiance but another woman.

[Crescent]

That was a wonderful thing you did!

It also reminds me of something I've been meaning to do. I found a Purple Heart medal in a toolbox of my grandfather's after he passed away. It belongs to a guy named Carl C. Berry. I want to find him and return it to him or his family. I have no idea who this guy is, nor does anyone in the family.

[Squish]

This really touches my heart, because my mother's brother was in WWII (captured at the Battle of Anzio and spent two years in a German POW camp). She had letters that they'd exchanged, and lent them to a high school student for a school project. He promised that he would return them within the week. Yep, you guessed it. The kid walked off the job and she never got those letters back. Since her brother had died some time ago, it broke her heart; I remember her crying.

You did a wonderful thing.

[Johnny L.A.]

It also reminds me of something I've been meaning to do. I found a Purple Heart medal in a toolbox of my grandfather's after he passed away. It belongs to a guy named Carl C. Berry. I want to find him and return it to him or his family. I have no idea who this guy is, nor does anyone in the family.
Here (http://www.geocities.com/ohhitroy/berry.htm#1.10) is a Carl Clifford Berry who was born in 1891 and was married in 1914. About the right age to win a Purple Heart in WWI (although the page doesn't mention it).

Your best bet would probably be to contact the Bureau of Veterans Affairs, though you may start with the local VA post.

[Guinastasia]

That, my friend, freaking rocks!

Go you!

[Global Citizen]

That is a fantastic story.

Two and a half years ago my grandmother died. We then had to go trough mountains of personal effects, letters, correspondence, etc. We found several letters her brother (my great uncle) had written from a Royal Canadian Air Force base in England. He was the upper turret gunner in a Lancaster heavy bomber and we found his personal photo and a photo of the entire crew. In one of the letters we found, the last one he wrote, he said he was looking forward to seeing his new nephew when he returned from the war. Several weeks later his plane was shot down during a raid over Germany. Only the tail gunner survived. I visited his grave in Germany; it was an awe-inspiring sight.

Global Citizen

[Crescent]

Thanks Johnny L.A. I think I'll give the Bureau of Veteran Affairs a call. I appreciate your help.

[d12]

Touching. Thats the stuff books and movies are made of. I'm kinda jealous acctually.

[Ice Wolf]

Awesome stuff, Clayton. Somewhere along the line, in some way, your thoughtful kindness will be repaid, and not necessarily in the way of money.

Well done.

[BalmainBoy]

You remember this too, Clayton.

This will be a significant event in YOUR history as well.
When you're their age, the experience will still resonate in you.

[Olentzero]

That was an amazingly cool thing to do, clayton. Kudos.

[KimKatt]

This story just made my day. Truly. Such a selfless act seems so rarely heard of anymore... clayton_e, you done good.

[Leifsmama]

Wow! Isn't amazing where life can lead you?

[Daoloth]

My writing class did something similar last year. Our teacher found a box of letters from a war vet in the Pacific at a garage sale (the owner of the house found them in the attic). The letters detailed his love to his fiancee (whom he was writing to), as well as comparisons between the paper and actual events. You might have read something to the effect of, "The papers make a big deal when the Japs fly over low, but it's common here. There's no need to worry."

We got a day in the internet lab to see if we could find the guy's address. Turned out he and his wife were both deceased by the '80s, and their last residence had been the house where the garage sale was at.

[Girl Next Door]

500 Good Karma points for clayton-e!

[Mtgman]

As I read your account, you did not open the sealed letter from his wife to him. Is this true? If so, then major kudos for respecting the privacy of people you, quite naturally, believed to have passed away(after hearing the story of an estate sale and the age of the letters I believe this to be a natural assumption). Even the thought of returning them to family members without reading them was enough to get you the "Nobility" merit badge.

Very cool.

Steven

[NurseCarmen]

Hey, maybe if it does get published the people who bought the other stuff from the antique shop might read it, and forward thier purchases as well.

[clayton_e]

Originally posted by Mtgman
As I read your account, you did not open the sealed letter from his wife to him. Is this true?

yeah. I didn't open the letter, I'm not sure why, it just didn't seem right to do so. A few of my friends and some of their parents and people who I mentioned the letters to that afternoon thought I should open it.. But I just decided not to. Not really sure why.

[Una Persson]

I just stumbled across this thread.

You freaking rule for doing this. Good job.

[Profane]

Very, very cool thing to do clayton.