USPS Carrier Drives 379 Miles on His Own Dime to Deliver Lost World War II Letters: ‘Above and Beyond’

A veteran himself, Texas man Alvin Gauthier used his day off to make the trip to Arkansas for the special delivery

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USPS Carrier Drives 379 Miles on His Own Dime to Deliver Lost World War II Letters: ‘Above and Beyond’
A veteran himself, Texas man Alvin Gauthier used his day off to make the trip to Arkansas for the special delivery

By Anna Lazarus Caplan Published on May 1, 2024 01:05PM EDT

Alvin Gauthier

A Texas mail carrier recently reunited a woman with 80-year-old letters her brother wrote to their family while he was serving in the military
Alvin Gauthier knew the significance of the correspondence, having also served in the military
On his own dime, the postal carrier drove five hours to Arkansas to make the special delivery

A Texas postal carrier went hundreds of miles off his route to make a special delivery, reuniting a family with World War II-era letters sent from their loved one who was serving in the Army.

Grand Prairie USPS carrier Alvin Gauthier, a Marine Corps veteran, said he knew the importance of the cache of letters when they inexplicably landed in his work bag one day.

“I was getting ready for my route and found some letters that were dated back to 1942, so World War II,” Gauthier told NBC affiliate KXAS-TV. “My main thought was I have to find this family.”

Yet the letters offered few details except that they were addressed to a “Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lamb” who lived in Jacksonville, Arkansas, NBC affiliate KARK-TV reported.

Gauthier contacted KARK-TV and with their help, the station was able to find Jo Ann Smith, whose brother was Marion Lamb, the soldier who wrote the letters which were addressed to their parents.