an amazing letter

It took more than 60 years, but the final letter of a soldier killed in World War II finally made it home.

Gary Mathis bought a box of old newspapers at a yard sale in Kansas, and discovered the letter inside a newspaper from 1915. The letter's envelope has military post office markings dated March 6, 1944.

It was addressed to W.J. Krotz of nearby Poole, about 120 miles west of Lincoln.

Mathis placed an announcement and picture of the letter in the Ravenna News, hoping someone might know the family.

Louise Kisling said she heard about her brother's letter through word of mouth. Clinton Krotz, an infantry soldier in Italy during the war, was killed in action on May 8, 1944. The letter was the last one he sent home.

In the letter, her brother thanked his parents for a wristwatch they had sent as a birthday gift, as well as some candy and nuts.

Kisling said her only disappointment was that her parents never got the chance to see the letter. An envelope within the letter was postmarked by the Poole post office, Kisling said. She was not sure how it ended up in Kansas.

Mystery aside, Kisling is grateful.

"We sure appreciate the man that saved it," she said. "It's amazing a letter can come back after all these years."