For lots of active-duty soldiers, hand-written letters are their main form interaction with loved ones, so envision sending a note home from abroad and it not showing up for another 7 decades. While it’s unlikely in today’s world, that held true for American soldier John Gonsalves who served in Germany throughout the consequences of World War II. The then 22-year-old soldier penned a letter to his mother on December 6, 1945, however it wouldn’t arrive home for another 76 years.
The note was expected to go to his mom’s house in Woburn, Massachusetts– simply beyond Boston– to update her on how he was doing. “Dear Mom, Received another letter from you today and was happy to hear that whatever is okay,” he composed. “As for myself, I’m great and getting along alright. However when it comes to the food, it’s quite poor most all the time.” While he ultimately made it home from Germany securely, his letter was lost along the way and was discovered in 2015 at a United States Postal Service circulation center in Pittsburgh.
After their discovery, workers at the post office tracked down the soldier’s family and finally delivered his decades old letter. John died in 2024 at age 101, the airmail envelope was provided to his 89-year-old widow, Angelina Gonsalves. “Imagine that, 76 years,” she informed WXFT-TV. “I simply, I could not think it. And after that simply his handwriting and whatever. It was so fantastic. It’s like he returned to me.”
The letter arrived to Angelina’s home in Woburn around Christmas time, which she notes was John’s favorite season. “It was simply an amusing sensation that I had,” she says. “Like he was around us at Christmas-time.” The couple fulfilled in 1949– after John arrived home from war– when he provided her and her buddy a trip home from the shoe factory where they all worked, the New York Times reports. They wed in 1953 and had 5 children throughout their 61-year marital relationship. “We were good together,” she stated of John. “I had a great Life, I truly did. It was terrific.”
