A USPS worker turned into a hero after he committed to driving almost 400 miles to deliver lost WWII letters to the family of a soldier.
Grand Prairie USPS carrier Alvin Gauthier is a Marine Corps veteran himself. Somehow, he found a cache of World War II-era letters in his bag during a shift.
“I was getting ready for my route and found some letters that were dated back to 1942, so World War II,” Gauthier told KXAS-TV. “My main thought was I have to find this family.”
Gauthier revealed to NBC affiliate KARK-TV that the letters were addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lamb” in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
“I talked to a guy in the postal office when I got back, and he said they just had zones way back, they didn’t have regular addresses,” Gauthier said.
However, he could tell they were meant for the soldier’s parents. One of the letters read, “I feel much better today after the mail call we had last night.”
“I just really want to get these letters to the right family,” Gauthier stated.
With the help of KARK-TV, Gauthier was able to identify and locate the soldier’s sister, Jo Ann Smith.
USPS Driver Hand-Delivers WWII Letters to Family of Soldier
The mail carrier, who himself is a Marine Corp Veteran, then used his day off to hand-deliver the letters to Smith. The ride ended up being a five-hour road trip for him.
“I could have stuck them in the mail, but it’s kinda like sometimes you have to go above and beyond,” Gauthier admitted. “Just go the extra mile … or 379 miles.”
“I’m very excited and very tearful,” Smith told Fox affiliate KLRT-TV. As the last one left of all her siblings, she stated that the letters were “a connection to my family.”
“I just appreciate Alvin,” she said. “He has really gone out of his way and people connect on different levels, and I feel as connected to Alvin as I do my family.”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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