WWII Soldier's Letter Home Delivered To Widow 76 Years Later

WOBURN, MA — There's always something special about receiving a handwritten letter, but Jean Gonsalves got something even more special last month.

The Woburn woman opened a letter from her late husband — written over 76 years ago, while he was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany, Boston 25 News reported.

On Dec. 6, 1945, 22-year-old Sgt. John Gonsalves wrote to his mother from Bad Orb, a town in Germany.

“Dear, Mom. Received another letter from you today and was happy to hear that everything is okay,” the television station quoted the letter. “As for myself, I’m fine and getting along okay. But as far as the food it’s pretty lousy most of the time.”

But for whatever reason, the letter didn't make it home. It was lost for three-quarters of a century until it arrived out of the blue at a United States Postal Service facility in Pittsburgh last year.

The intended recipient, Gonsalves' mother, had long since passed, and Gonsalves died in 2015 at the age of 92. But his widow, Angelina, is alive and living in Woburn. He met her five years after writing the letter.

USPS employees sent a package to her containing the letter from her husband and a note expressing their condolences for her loss, Boston 25 reported.

"Imagine that! Seventy-six years!" Gonsalves told Boston 25 News. "I just couldn’t believe it. And then just his handwriting and everything. It was just so amazing."

>>Read more from Boston 25 News.

The Gonsalves were married for 61 years and had five sons.

The Gonsalves family called the USPS facility to thank them for their dedication to delivering the letter, Boston 25 reported.