I Found Letters Home in the Papers . . .

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 2:42 PM | Wyatt Winnie (Administrator)


The 4th of July is this week, and my thoughts have turned to my family who have served in the armed forces. Not just the Revolutionary War, but other conflicts as well. They’ve also turned to those family members who served in times of peace.

Most prominently, I’ve thought of my grandfather, who served in World War II. And though I have so many more questions about him than I will ever have answers, today I’d like to share a small discovery I made about Warren Hoover, my great granduncle. Warren was my grandfather’s uncle, and he served our nation during the First World War.

One day I was searching the local papers of the small Missouri town where my grandfather was born. I was hoping to find a birth announcement or some other mention of the family. Instead, I found a treasure trove of letters from Warren to my great-great grandmother. He wrote these letters home from France, where he was stationed during much of the conflict.

There are so many entries in those papers. Week after week they published his letters home. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned by reading these gems. Sometimes I’m struck by the things Warren says, but at other times I wonder at the things he doesn’t say.

If you want to read one of his letters, I’ve included one here for your perusal below [1].


I’m not here today to recount any specifics of Warren’s story, but rather to encourage those who are searching for family with military service to not only search for their ancestors in military records, but in letters, journal entries, newspapers and more. These are great sources to find mentions of those who have gone before.

I also want to say that if you don’t find any specific hits on your ancestor, don’t be afraid to read the local paper of where your ancestor lived at the time of these events. You’ll find yourself learning more about the conditions of life surrounding your ancestors’ time and place and feel more of a connection with them.

For me, these kinds of nuggets have done just that—helped me to view the world from a different perspective and to maybe learn what holidays like the 4th might have meant to them, for good or for bad. Personally, I’m a fan of the 4th of July and this weekend, I hope those of you who are celebrating will enjoy your holiday safely. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find some cool stories about your family too.

1.    “Monett Soldier Boy Receives Foreign Medal,” The Monett Times, (Monett, Missouri), p. 3, col. 1. 5 April 1918. Newspapers.com. (https://www.newspapers.com/image/174383191/ : accessed 1 July 2025).


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