It took 76 years for Army Sgt. John Gonsalves' letter to his mother to arrive, yet it seemed to show up at just the right time for the rest of his family.
Gonsalves penned the note on Dec. 6, 1945, while stationed in Germany after World War II. The 22-year-old wrote that he was doing "fine and getting along okay. But as far as the food, it's pretty lousy most of the time." The letter was supposed to go to his mother's house in Woburn, Massachusetts, but it got lost on the way, and was found last year at a U.S. Postal Service distribution facility in Pittsburgh. Workers there vowed to track down the Gonsalves family and finally deliver the letter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Foreigners in Spain facing a 100% tax on homes as the country battles a housing crisisUnder the Radar The goal is to provide 'more housing, better regulation and greater aid,' said Spain's prime minister
-
Codeword: January 22, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: January 22, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
