Forgotten WWI Love Letter Discovered in North Carolina Attic

In November 2025, a home renovation in Durham, North Carolina uncovered a remarkable piece of history - a love letter written by a World War I soldier to his girlfriend. The letter, discovered beneath the attic insulation, was penned by John B. Woosley, a first lieutenant in the infantry who was stationed on the front lines in France during the war.

Woosley's letter, written on parchment and now in fragile condition, describes his experiences in the trenches and his longing for his sweetheart, Oma. Despite the hardships of war, the soldier's words convey a sense of tenderness, with Woosley even commenting on the French women, noting that "they don't compare to Southern Girls."

The discovery of this letter has provided a poignant glimpse into the lives of those who lived through the Great War. Woosley, who was likely in his 20s at the time, survived the conflict and went on to become a finance professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School. He and Oma later married, and their graves were found side-by-side in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery near the UNC campus, where Woosley was laid to rest in 1956, five years after his wife.

The letter's finder, Laura Tonkin, has decided to keep the historic document safe until a potential relative or historical organization comes forward to claim it, preserving a piece of the past that would have otherwise been lost to time.