While stationed overseas during World War II, U.S. Army soldier Jimmy Morris wrote letters to his parents, but they never reached his family back in Pennsylvania. More than 80 years later, his children, Kathleen Morris Rosati and John Morris, finally received and opened those letters for the first time. The discovery came after Erik Martin, a postage collector from Massachusetts, bought a batch of war envelopes on eBay and found three of the unopened letters addressed to their mother.
Martin used social media to track down the Morris family and mailed the letters to them. Written between May and June of 1944, around the time of D-Day, the notes included messages like “Back in England now… Hope to see you soon.” Both siblings immediately recognized their father’s handwriting and said the words showed how much family meant to him, even at just 19 years old.
The letters arrived the same week Jimmy would have turned 101 years old; he passed away in 2005 at the age of 81. After the war, he spent his career as a mail carrier in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, proudly making sure mail reached its destination. His children say he deeply loved his country, always flying an American flag, and that receiving his long-lost letters feels like a reminder that “it’s going to be OK.”
Source: KWCH
photo: GETTY
Photo: bgwalker / iStock / Getty Images