From Illinois Public Media’s The 21st, here’s a great story you may have missed last month:

“Lots of us have boxes and bins in our basements, attics and garages. Some maybe even offsite in storage lockers. They probably need a good cleaning-out, too.

“Well, imagine if you opened up one of those boxes only to discover a key to the past.

“That’s what happened to one Arizona man named Joe Alosi, who frequently bids on storage units, sight unseen. In one of them, he found plastic bins filled with hundreds of handwritten letters dating back to World War II. They were the letters from members of one Rockford family, the Eydes: Frank, a Marine; Ralph, a member of the Army; John, a member of the Air Force and Sanford, who received a deferment.”

Listen to the incredible story of a Rockford family’s trials in America’s wars from The 21st, or browse the letters at the Washington Post.

You can catch The 21st on 89.5 WNIJ, Monday through Friday, at 11 a.m.