Letters From WWII found in a storage locker

December 7, 2017 8:40 AM

Four siblings wrote hundreds of letters to each other during World War II. The story they tell of service, sacrifice and trauma was hidden away in an abandoned storage unit — until now.
posted by COD (6 comments total)

Wow, what a thing to find, and what a story. Thanks for the post!
posted by languagehat at 9:25 AM on December 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Fascinating read; not only do you get the impacts of the war, but an entire slice of family history - the health problems, the traumatic experiences, the different career arcs both during and after the conflict, etc. Glad that they were preserved; I hope they find a home in a good museum or archive.
posted by nubs at 10:42 AM on December 7, 2017

Thanks so much. I’ll check out the podcast.

The letters they printed are amazing. If I had read them in a writing workshop today, I’d say, “Fantastic job, but you don’t have to put in quite so much period detail to convince us. That’s the Fortiest thing I ever read.”

Heartbreaking to see John hectoring his mentally ill brother about bucking up and not being such a dreamer.
posted by Countess Elena at 11:29 AM on December 7, 2017 [5 favorites]

Very appropriate post today!
posted by TedW at 11:31 AM on December 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

What an amazing find. Thanks for the post!
posted by rtha at 12:12 PM on December 7, 2017

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Marshall Islands reference. One of the brothers liberated Kwajalein Island, and 40 odd years later I would graduate from Kwajalein High.
posted by COD at 12:15 PM on December 7, 2017 [3 favorites]