More often than not, fact is more remarkable than fiction. That’s exactly what a Goodwill employee realized when they appraised what appeared to be an empty, unassuming box but actually contained precious items from World War II that tell a very personal story.
Founded over a hundred and twenty years ago, Goodwill has served communities across the country in a variety of ways, from setting up aspiring workers with employment experience and training, to distributing donations. Recently, it helped a WWII veteran’s family reconnect with a part of their loved one’s military experience.
Valuable trinkets dating back to World War II turn up at Goodwill
In Oklahoma City, a lcokbox turned up at a local Goodwill; the container appeared plain. However, an employee inspected it further and found it actually had a secret compartment. Suddenly, the box’s story turned upside down.
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Inside that secret compartment sat an envelope; within that envelope was a leather-bound book, a medal, and honorable discharge papers from WWII.
“It was really a time warp,” said the Goodwill employee who made the discovery. “I mean we laid it all out.” They already found out a lot – but it was also just enough to help them do some further investigating and get even more information online.
A family gets closure
“We found out a lot about this gentleman,” said the Goodwill employee. “He was a carpenter at one time. A lot of background. He went into the military right out of high school.” Once they googled his name, they were able to find out even more – and so too could his family.
The store identified the soldier, who is left unnamed in multiple outlets, and found his obituary from 2017. Though they could not return his memorabilia to the soldier, they could bring them back to his family.
“His family had no idea those documents were in there, so we were able to reunite the gentleman’s daughter with it,” an employee with Goodwill revealed. The trinkets have been handed over to one of the soldier’s daughters in Edmond, Oklahoma. “She seemed really pleased to get it back, she said she had no idea it was in there.”
Have you ever found any unexpected historic treasures?
