Good NewsWorld War II-era postcard finally delivered in Elmira, New York
On July 4, 1943, a postcard was send to sisters Pauline and Theresa Leisenring of Elmira, New York.
Last week, it finally made its destination, arriving at the home now owned by Adam and Laura Rundell.
"It was delivered in mint condition. We were so shocked," Laura told the Star-Gazette. "It's a treasure that just showed up in the mailbox with our address on it."
The letter was sent by the sisters' parents, who were visiting their brother at the Medical Center Barracks at Camp Grant, a WWII Army post.
The postcard reads:
"Dear Pauline and Theresa, We arrived safe, had a good trip, but we were good and tired. Geo. looks good, we all went out to dinner today (Sunday). Now we are in the park. Geo has to go back to Grant at 12 o'clock tonight. Do not see much of him. We are going to make pancakes for Geo for supper tonight. See you soon. Love Mother, Dad."
Adam told the paper that he and his wife tracked down the Leisenring sisters' remaining relatives — Theresa died in 1952, Pauline in 1962 — and offered them the postcard. If they don't want it, the Rundell family will "find a place for it in our home," Laura said.
The Rundells, like the Leisenrings, have two daughters. The eldest, seventh-grader Hannah, plans to use the postcard as a part of a school history project.
A postal official speculates that someone outside the postal service likely found the postcard and placed it in the mail, the Associated Press reported.
"As long as there is a deliverable address, the postal service will deliver it," Karen Mazurkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in Buffalo, said of the almost-70-year-old postcard.
