Letter from an American soldier stationed in Germany during World War II, delivered after 76 years since sent | The Postal Authority found his widow’s address and handed her the letter
John Gonzalez wrote a letter to his mother when he was stationed in Germany in 1945, but the letter reached its destination only this year. The letter was sent from an American soldier stationed in Germany to his mother in Massachusetts, and was delivered 76 years after it was sent.
Soldier John Gonzalez, then 22, wrote to his mother in December 1945 after the official end of World War II, WFXT-TV reported.
The letter has not been opened for more than 75 years, and is in a distribution facility of the U.S. Postal Service in Pittsburgh. “Dear mother, I received another letter from you today and I was glad to hear that everything is fine,” the letter read. “As for, I’m fine and doing well. But in terms of food it’s pretty shabby most of the time.”
He signed the letter: “Love and kisses, your son Johnny. I will see you soon, I hope.” Gonzalez passed away in 2015. His mother also passed away. The Postal Authority found the address of his widow, Angelina, whom the soldier met five years after sending the letter.
Alongside the decades-old letter, Postal Authority employees also sent their own letter to widow Angelina Gonzalez, 89, saying “the delivery of this letter was extremely important to us.” After the Gonzalez family received the letter, they called the post office and thanked them. “Imagine seventy-six years,” Angelina Gonzalez told WFXT-TV. “Just, I did not believe. Then I saw his manuscript and everything. It was just so amazing.”