The Story of "100 Letters" Written by US Soldiers to Their Parents During the Korean War, Delivered After 70 Years

Letter sent by U.S. soldier Vincent Konik to his parents during the Korean War / Photo by WNEP capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A letter sent by a soldier who participated in the Korean War to his parents has returned to his family after 70 years.

On the 4th (local time), local media in Pennsylvania, USA, and other foreign media reported that a letter sent by soldier Vincent Konik, who fought in the Korean War in the 1950s, was delivered to his family after 70 years.

The letter was able to return to the family after 70 years because last October, collector Rodney Schupe won the letter at an auction site.

All of Konik's letters were written to his parents, but for unknown reasons, they were not delivered to his family and after a long time, ended up at an auction house.

Vincent Konik (left) and collector Rodney Shope (right), who delivered his letter to the family / Photo by WNEP capture

Schupe, who won the letter for $3, judged that the letters would be more precious to Konik's family and decided to find the owner of the letters. In particular, Schupe said that the more than 100 letters written by a Korean War veteran over 70 years ago are history itself to one family and should not be discarded.

After searching, Schupe found Konik, the letter writer, but he had already passed away in 2004. Afterwards, he sought help from the post office, police station, and district office, but there was no way to find the owner of the letters.

Eventually, Schupe asked a local broadcasting station for help, and within 10 minutes of the story being aired, a man who identified himself as a relative of Konik appeared. The man named Ricky Waibel contacted the broadcasting station, saying, "My grandmother was Konik's aunt."

Schupe personally met Konik's family and delivered the letters, and Waibel said, "Since the person who wrote the letters passed away several years ago, I couldn't believe it. Who would have thought these letters would still exist? It's amazing." He added, "The letters are a lost part of our family's history. Thank you for finding them. We will share and read the letters among relatives from now on."