Perspective: Don't Throw Away History

In 1989, James Jordan sent a letter to his cousin, Andrew Carroll. A fire had destroyed the Carroll home. No one was hurt, but the loss of family photos and mementos was painful. So Jordan sent him a piece of family history, a letter that blossomed into more than 150,000 letters. Jordan, a pilot in World War II, wrote home three weeks before the Nazi surrender and described the liberation of a concentration camp. He wrote: “I saw something today that made me realize why we’re over here fighting this war. … When we first walked in we saw all these creatures that were supposed to be men.” Andrew Carroll realized that letter allowed him to be a witness to history. And he wanted more. Collecting such letters became a “‘Legacy Project” that was promoted through Dear Abby in 1998. Letters poured in. By 2013 Carroll had about 100,000 letters in crates in his basement. His hobby became a job. Carroll now is director of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University in California