101-Year-Old Lacey Woman To Share Letters She Wrote To POW Families During World War II

LACEY, NJ — A 101-year-old Lacey woman will tell the story of how she helped bring peace to prisoner-of-war families next week at the Lacey Historical Society.

Letters that Agnes Joan Negra wrote to POW families during World War II and postcards she received in return have been published in a new book.

Negra would listen closely to Radio Berlin each night for Red Cross broadcast information involving American prisoners of war. She then mailed the details to the prisoners’ families, many of whom had no other way of knowing their loved ones' fates.

“Imagine not knowing where your son is and then you get a letter that he’s alive,” Negra told CBS New York.

She wrote more than 300 letters and got back a myriad of grateful responses.

One response she received in 1943 read, “The news of his safety was like the happening of a miracle after five weeks of extreme anxiety.”

She put the letters away after the war, only showing them to her son in 2019, according to the Asbury Park Press. For her 101st birthday, Negra’s son compiled her memories and letters into a book that was released this year titled “Waves of Hope.”

Next week, the public is invited to hear Negra discuss her book at the historical society’s general meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Negra's book will be available for purchase.

The meeting will be held at the Schoolhouse Museum located at 126 South Main St. behind Mrs. Walker’s Ice Cream in Forked River.

The Lacey Historical Society's program is free to attend.

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