WWII-era love letters unsealed after more than 50 years reveal soldier met wife from magazine ad

ORONO, Maine (WABI/Gray News) – After more than 50 years, a couple’s World War II-era love letters have now been made available to the public to view.

Throughout World War II, correspondence, particularly letters from loved ones, was what got soldiers through hard days, either at home or abroad.

In 1941, Harry Lund, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth began writing letters to Zilphia Lund, or “Zizzie” as she is affectionately called in many of their letters.

In a time before apps made it easy for users to swipe right to connect with someone, Lund had submitted a letter to a magazine editor asking for a friend to exchange letters with.

“Zizzie,” who was living in Chicago, Illinois at the time, answered the call.

Wow. You are so thoughtful and kind as to send me a swell letter…

“They were just kids starting to learn about life as well as learn about love,” said Gregory Curtis, head of special collections and projects at Fogler Library.

More than 400 letters were written between the two during the war – each one filled with comings and goings of their day-to-day lives.

Your letter came at a most opportune time. I have been laid off from my job for a week. Love and kisses, Zizzie

“Most love relationships are individuals coming together, face-to-face,” Curtis said. “This one is a little different. They’re separated by 1,500 miles for a good chunk of the couple of years.”

Good morning, my Dear Sweetie. Boy, am I proud of myself! Up again at 5:15 this morning…

“I think that he fell for her before she fell for him,” Curtis said. “We always see these dramatic war movies, and the dangers that are there, but for a lot of folks, there’s a lot of day-to-day, loneliness and drudgery, and those letters from pen pals, loved ones, were very much helpful in getting through that day-to-day grind of what’s going to happen.”

I believe I remembered after I sent your letter out yesterday that I hadn’t told you the exact time, date etc of our wedding. … Want to know something? I love you! Isn’t that strange? Kisses too, Zizzie

The two got married in 1943.

According to one of Zizzie’s letters, the couple got married at a YMCA on Sept. 18, 1943, at 2:30 p.m. to be exact as she wouldn’t budge on the time, despite the chaplain’s request.

The Lunds later settled in Portland and lived a quiet married life alongside their children.

In the 1970s, the University of Maine Special Collections caught wind of the Lunds, who sent the university their love letters with one stipulation: they must be kept sealed until September 18, 2023, the date of what would have been their 80th wedding anniversary.

“It’s a sweet gesture on their part,” Curtis said. “It shows, I think, the love that they had and the affinity for that time period, falling in love and learning about the world.”

Staff at the university honored that wish.

The letters are now on display to the public at Fogler Library at the University of Maine, after 50 years in storage.

There is still a lot to learn about the Lunds, like why they chose to donate them to the University of Maine in the first place.

It is a question staff in the Special Collections department may never get an answer to, but they do have one guess.

“There was very much a sense of your duty to do what you did for the country, so maybe that was still that feeling of duty for the future generations,” Curtis said.

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