A Florida mother cleaning up trash after Hurricane Debby discovered a nearly 80-year-old message in a bottle, containing a shell casing that may have traveled more than 800 miles.
The World War II-era note, bearing U.S. Navy letterhead from Amphibious Training Base Little Creek, Virginia, and dated March 4, 1945, was discovered this week by Suzanne Flament Smith on the west shore of Tampa Bay.
Flament Smith He told WTSP She decided to start picking up trash on Wednesday, but couldn’t bear the amount of trash strewn along Bayshore Boulevard in Safety Harbor after the hurricane’s storm surge.
“As I was filling the third bag, I noticed glass bottles with letters, notes and Bible verses written on them.” She said. “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I think I’ve found a message in a bottle.'”
The bottle contained a cartridge, several shell casings, sand and “small artillery shells,” the station said.
It also contained a letter written in cursive on old paper, although much of the writing had faded.
“Kids ask me, ‘What is this?’ and I tell them, ‘It’s cursive.'” She told WAVY.
Flament-Smith said the note appeared to be addressed to a friend named Lee and described plans to attend radio school.
The base from which the letter is believed to have been sent is now named Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.
Navy spokeswoman April Phillips told WTSP the base was established during World War II to prepare amphibious forces like the soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day.
The Navy told the department on Friday that it can’t verify the letter’s authenticity because it doesn’t include a last name, but it’s possible the letter’s letterhead existed in March 1945.
Still, Flament-Smith is hopeful the mystery surrounding the letter will be solved.
“Well, I try to tell my kids that if they do good things, good things will happen,” she was quoted as saying.
“There’s a sense of excitement and also a sense of story, and hopefully that story can find a home.”
