This exhibit was on view at the National Postal Musem from November 11, 2005 to November 13, 2006.

On the battlefront and at home, letters provide a vital connection between military service members and their families, friends and loved ones. Motivated by the extraordinary circumstances of war, letter writers often reveal the priorities of life through vivid, heartfelt words and sentiments.

Every letter on display was lost or discarded by its original recipient. Found by strangers, these letters were recovered from the trash, yard sales, construction sites or former homes and were forwarded to the Legacy Project. While the background of some of the letters remains incomplete, these re-discovered papers offer irreplaceable perspectives on history.