A Texas Postal Worker Found A Collection Of Long-Lost Letters Penned By A WWII Soldier Between 1942 And 1944, And He Delivered Them To The Soldier’s Surviving Family Members
After a postal worker in Texas discovered a collection of long-lost letters written by a World War II soldier, he vowed to deliver them to the surviving family members of the now-dead soldier.
The postman, Alvin Gauthier, found the letters in the bottom of his parcel hamper.
He had been getting ready for his route when he first came across a Christmas card marked with the year 1944. Then, he dug up more letters dated between 1942 and 1944.
They were written by Marion Lamb, who fought in the U.S. Army during World War II in the South Pacific between 1941 and 1945.
Alvin himself was a veteran, so he understood the importance of mail to soldiers. He served in the Marine Corps in Iraq in 2003.
There wasn’t much information from the letters to work with. The only clues he really had were the soldier’s name and the recipient’s address, which was in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Alvin searched for Marion Lamb’s obituary online and then contacted a local news station in Jacksonville about his discovery.
Soon after the story was published, 84-year-old Jo Ann Smith, Marion’s younger sister, reached out to Alvin. Jo Ann was just a toddler when her brother was drafted.
Alvin learned that Marion’s letters had been in the possession of Jo Ann’s nephew in Tennessee. The nephew mailed the letters to a cousin in Texas named Debbie Smith, but she never ended up receiving them.
Lena Lir – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
When the package arrived at her residence, it was partially broken, and the letters had fallen out. Alvin offered to deliver the letters to Jo Ann in person.
“I could have stuck them in the mail, but it’s kinda like sometimes you have to go above and beyond,” Alvin said. “Just go the extra mile…or 379 miles.”
He drove five hours to Arkansas on his day off from work to return the letters. Debbie Smith also traveled to Arkansas for the occasion.
Together, Alvin, Jo Ann, and Debbie read the letters. Since then, they have stayed in touch with each other.
“It restores your faith in people,” said Debbie. “And we saw the connection, the real connection, between military families.”
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