Woman found a WWI soldier’s hidden love letter during renovation. It had been lost for 100 years
'Far as I can tell, nobody to return it. So here it sits, for now...'
Laura Tonkin, a woman from Durham, was always fascinated by antiques. She loved collecting postcards, currency, and photographs, but had no idea what amazing part of the history her attic had in store for her to discover. While renovating her attic, a worker stumbled upon an old, tattered letter under the insulation — and she later realized it was, in fact, a love letter, as reported by WRAL NEWS on November 12.
When she first found the letter, she had no idea what it was. The letter, written by someone named John B. Woosley, wasn't exactly in great condition; it had deteriorated into strips of parchment and was difficult to read. "I don't know what this is, but it's very cool," Tonkin said. The letter mentioned the date it was written on, but without the year, and the blank ink made it impossible to read. However, Tonkin didn't give up, and when she did decipher it, she realized it was a love letter. Tonkin said Woosley had written the letter to his girlfriend, Oma, and that he was a soldier from the front lines. Further investigation revealed that Woosley must have written the letter during World War I.
He was a First Lieutenant in the infantry, stationed on the front lines in France, according to reports. Tonkin said Woosley must not have been too old when he wrote the letter, and that some parts of it are all about the war. For example, "We have seen quite a bit of shell fire. Artillery put eight shells right near my kitchen, within 100 to 150 yards," the letter reads. Tonkin was stunned, thinking to herself how difficult it would have been to write a letter at that time in history.
"To think about being on the front [line], and writing a letter at this time in history, and having to be so careful about what you say," she said. In his letter, Woosley mentions the French girls and how they were nothing compared to Southern girls. Tonkin wanted to know more about the soldier, and eventually her research led her a few miles down the road to where he was buried. His plot is in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery near UNC-Chapel Hill's campus, next to his wife, Oma. It was confirmed that Woosley was from Asheboro. After the war, he studied banking and became a finance professor in UNC's School of Commerce. Woosley worked there from 1947 until Aug. 31, 1953. In a memorial dedicated to him, his colleagues had described him as an engaging professor, with "good humor" and "good will." Oma passed away first, and five years later, Woosley too left the earthly world to join her in heaven. The couple had no kids or family, and Tonkin believed that the previous owner of her home may have known the family. "Far as I can tell, nobody to return it. So here it sits, for now, anyway," she said. Moreover, the woman shared that she will keep the letter until a historical society or Woosley's family member claims it.
Today, people rarely write letters, but in the past, especially for soldiers, they were the only means of communication. During World War I, writing letters became more popular than ever, bridging the gap between loved ones. Medium reported that millions of letters were sent every month globally. In fact, in Britain, 12 million letters were sent each week. Letters were also used as a medium to share training details with other soldiers and vent out the traumas and agitations of war. Just like Woosley, soldiers often sent letters to their lovers, telling them that they were okay.
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