> How this WWII-era message in a bottle washed ashore in Florida
How this WWII-era message in a bottle washed ashore in Florida
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Description
While cleaning up debris left by Hurricane Debby in Safety Harbor, an Odessa woman uncovered a WWII-era message in a bottle, sparking national interest into its authenticity and how it got there.
Now weeks later, 10 Tampa Bay has uncovered the keys to unlock the mystery, here’s what we know:
Suzanne Flament-Smith found the bottle filled with sand and other trinkets like a shell casing, along with the letter dated March 4, 1945.
The cursive writing was etched on a worn piece of paper, next to a U.S. Navy letterhead from the Amphibious Training Base in Little Creek, Virginia:
Dear Lee,
Received your letter yesterday was glad to hear from you. So you got a little lit up the other day. Well that is an every day thing around here, they have a bar and they have pretty good beer. Bud + Schlitz…
They are all pretty good, I get happy every night I’m on the base.
I’m going to school again. Radio School, it seems to be a lot of fun.
Who is your dream girl now.
Well Lee, I have to fall out for school now, but I’ll write again tomorrow, and tell you how I made out in Norfolk.
Your pal,
Jim.
Most of the words were hard to make out. Who were Lee and Jim? And how did their conversation end up in Safety Harbor 80 years later?