A simple thanks makes all the difference

Roughly a year ago, I tried to find the family of William H. Barnum, III. He is a former Prisoner of War during World War II in Germany. His connection to Norwalk is that his mother lived on Flax Hill Road.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago. The family uncovered my attempt to contact them through Facebook Messenger. I was able to point them to their father / grandfather’s web page (linked above) and share all the source documents I found, including newspaper articles from around the time of his release from the POW camp. I imagine some of what I had shared had never been seen before by the family.

What made my day and maybe the next couple of days too was their follow-up email this morning, which read,

“Good morning Jeff, thank you so much for all the information on my dad. You have done an incredible job, and our family appreciates all the work you have done keeping our dad’s memory alive. It is rare, in this day and age, to meet a person like you who understands that none of us would enjoy the freedom we have that our veterans fought and died for to preserve. I can only hope that we don’t squander all the sacrifices these heroes made for all of us. Again, our most heartfelt thanks. Susie and family.”

It saddens me to think that there may be a sentiment in our country that there’s concern that those who fought and died for our freedoms will be forgotten, and their effort and sacrifice “squandered.” The email and their words serve as validation that my work for the last 8+ years has all been worth it. It also provides me motivation to continue to help tell the stories.

My latest projects: I’m writing for Stories Behind The Stars, an amazing national initiative to document the lives and service of over 421,000 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice during WWII. I’m also helping a group of people in the Netherlands who are writing a book about their town, Overloon, and the impact of the Battle of Overloon on their town in 1944. They want to accurately document the lives and service of 132 Americans who lost their lives in the battle. One of those 132, Private John T. Miller, is on the WWII plaque at Calf Pasture Beach and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Norwalk.

The work continues and may never end. As soon as I think I want to pull back a little and focus on other things, a single email on a Wednesday morning from a grateful family gives me continued purpose.

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