A collection of fifty-two letters written to Sgt. Ralph Sylvester, Jr. that were never delivered due to his being killed in action near Bologna, Italy on October 20, 1944. The letters were returned unopened and tied with a thin red, white, and blue string. Junior’s mother placed the pack of letters in box where they remained untouched for sixty-four years. On January 5, 2009, the first letter was opened and transcribed by the Junior’s youngest brother and the editor of the collection. The entire collection contains forty letters written by Junior’s mother, five letters written by his father, and seven letters written by his brother. There are also two birthday cards that had been addressed but not been mailed when the telegram arrived informing the family of his death. The book contains the transcriptions and the digitized images of each letter.

This work is copyright 2009, Curtis R. Sylvester. It is presented here with permission.

See also "Dear Blanche" for letters sent to his mother Blanche.