76 Years Later a WWII Soldier’s Letter to His Mom is Delivered to His Widow in Woburn, Massachusetts
These stories are far and few between, so when they come along, it's hard not to get the chills: a long-lost letter that no one actually knew was missing suddenly appears in the United States Postal Service system and is delivered.
In this case, it was a World War II soldier's letter to his mom letting her know he was coming home soon, according to a New York Times article.
Angelina Gonsalves of Woburn, Massachusetts recently opened a letter post-marked 1945. It was a letter from her late husband to his now-deceased mother. This was before Angelina even knew him.
The letter started out:
“Dear Mom, Received another letter from you today and was happy to hear that everything is okay,” he wrote on Dec. 6, 1945. “As for myself, I’m fine and getting along okay. But as for the food, it’s pretty lousy most all the time.”
Wow, imagine opening that, mailed in 1945.
John Gonsalves was 22 at the time and serving in Bad Orb, Germany. Angelina told the New York Times that she and John met in Boston in 1949 after he'd returned home from the war.
They married in 1953, raised 5 boys, and were married 61 years before he passed away 6 years ago at 91, according to the newspaper.
She told the Times she's sure he knows it finally arrived, even if his mother was never able to read it.
“I could’ve sworn I felt his presence here while I was reading the letter, honestly and truly, which is strange, but that’s how I felt.”
The letter was discovered in a Pittsburgh postal facility, and the postal service told the Times, that:
"...we typically find in cases of old letters and postcards is that they are sometimes purchased at flea markets, antique shops and even online and re-entered into our system.”
Whatever the case, the letter found its home.
Here's an interview Angelina did with a Boston TV station.