A peculiar thing happened to me today; a discovery which I had far from expected for me to unveil, let alone a piece of history all in itself. As I was digging up and tending to my garden located in the backyard of my property with a shovel, I felt the tool come in contact with something unfamiliar in the would-be soil covered floors. After deciding to uncover this strange object, I soon then discovered that I had hit a rusted copper box which seemed to have aged in its years underground.
Out of sheer curiousity, I was able to open the box and identify its contents using the help of my neighbour, a crowbar, and other tools needed to pry this object open.
However, what we had discovered inside of this old container was of a world that we had only heard of; a world from a different era; a world far from our own.
The box contained newspaper articles, old black-and-white photographs, letters, a diary, a compass, and a medal.
Out of sheer curiousity, I was able to open the box and identify its contents using the help of my neighbour, a crowbar, and other tools needed to pry this object open.
However, what we had discovered inside of this old container was of a world that we had only heard of; a world from a different era; a world far from our own.
The box contained newspaper articles, old black-and-white photographs, letters, a diary, a compass, and a medal.
Within the Time Capsule
There were some newspapers within the box. Both of course, yellowed with time, but they were both in good condition.
One of the newspapers was titled "BRITAIN AT WAR France Joins England To End Nazi Menace" The article below described the need and purpose for the countries to have gone to war; a detailed description of the events which occurred thus far in the war at that period in time. It was published on September 3rd, 1939.
Another newspaper was titled "GERMANY SURRENDERS TO ALL ALLIED POWERS ENDING WAR IN EUROPE", and explained how the Nazi leader, Hitler had his reign end therefore ending the war in the continent, as well as gave an overview of the battles that the Allies had faced, the major events, and thanked all whom gave their lives in order to succeed in the war. It was published on May 7th, 1945.
One of the newspapers was titled "BRITAIN AT WAR France Joins England To End Nazi Menace" The article below described the need and purpose for the countries to have gone to war; a detailed description of the events which occurred thus far in the war at that period in time. It was published on September 3rd, 1939.
Another newspaper was titled "GERMANY SURRENDERS TO ALL ALLIED POWERS ENDING WAR IN EUROPE", and explained how the Nazi leader, Hitler had his reign end therefore ending the war in the continent, as well as gave an overview of the battles that the Allies had faced, the major events, and thanked all whom gave their lives in order to succeed in the war. It was published on May 7th, 1945.
The next artifacts which were uncovered were photographs.
The photograph on the right displayed a husband and wife. On the backside of the photograph read "Sallie & Kirk Nason forever" It would be assumed that this photograph was of a wife and husband just before the latter departed for war.
The second photograph to the left is of the husband from the aforementioned photo along with a few other soldiers of the same regiment. It is unknown when the photo was taken in particular.
The photograph on the right displayed a husband and wife. On the backside of the photograph read "Sallie & Kirk Nason forever" It would be assumed that this photograph was of a wife and husband just before the latter departed for war.
The second photograph to the left is of the husband from the aforementioned photo along with a few other soldiers of the same regiment. It is unknown when the photo was taken in particular.
The time capsule had held many sheets of paper. None of which were left blank at all. It is certain that these letters were all written by the soldier; for they were all signed by "Kirk Nason" and each resembles similar penmanship.
The date in which the letter above had been written is August 29, 1944.
Next, there was a diary which contained many pages of writing. The time span between each entry was 1-2 days apart from the next, so the author of the diary had frequently updated in this book. The name of the author was written neatly inside the cover of the book, and read "Diary of Sallie Nason". All of the entries were written at the time of the war and within them, discussed her feelings, events that happened, and even prayers for the innocents and an end to the war.
She had discussed her cautious and meticulous duties as a munitions worker at a factory(knowing her importance in the war effort), how society felt about having the neighbours she knew being completely shunned and transported to internment camps for being Italian or Japanese, how her fellow factory workers completely broke down after having known that they've lost a loved one, and her fear of losing her beloved spouse. She had also mentioned of how they, the women, should be extra careful and not gossip over important issues, for fear of spies were present.
It was also evident in her journals that she had paid close attention to the events which occurred during the war because of her ability to describe certain events as they were reported, and state her opinions- which explains the aforementioned newspapers being included in the time capsule.
She had discussed her cautious and meticulous duties as a munitions worker at a factory(knowing her importance in the war effort), how society felt about having the neighbours she knew being completely shunned and transported to internment camps for being Italian or Japanese, how her fellow factory workers completely broke down after having known that they've lost a loved one, and her fear of losing her beloved spouse. She had also mentioned of how they, the women, should be extra careful and not gossip over important issues, for fear of spies were present.
It was also evident in her journals that she had paid close attention to the events which occurred during the war because of her ability to describe certain events as they were reported, and state her opinions- which explains the aforementioned newspapers being included in the time capsule.
There is also an old compass in the box. It was from navigating through Italy, since it was evident that the maps used were not accurate.
Lastly, there was a medal, where the ribbon portion consisted of the colours of the Italian flag. It is an "Italy Star" and it was awarded for operational service on land in Italy at any time between June 11, 1943 and May 8, 1945.
There was also one more piece of paper held inside the time capsule. It explained reasons as to why these artifacts were included here.
"If you are reading this, please take care of these pieces of war from which my husband and I had accumulated from the frightening times of the Second World War. Here, you will find newspapers, photographs, letters from my dear Kirk, my diary, his compass, and his uniform all sealed away in this time capsule of ours.
The newspapers were to remind me of the times from which two major events had occurred during the war's time frame. I could not locate the other newspapers featuring other key events, unfortunately. But I was overjoyed when I had read the article indicating that the war had ended in Europe!
The two photos are of my husband and I, and my husband with fellow soldiers. He vowed never to forget the friends that he had lost that were in the photo along with him, and so, I vow this as well.
His letters reassured me his safely, but detailed his accounts on the war front. Let these be a warning of the dangers soldiers face during war.
My diary recalls my own account of war, but from the home front in Vancouver. It describes how the community here had functioned in the times of intensified paranoia and absolute fear. Many suffered from this; family members needed constant reassurance, and discrimination ran rampant.
After Kirk had thankfully returned from the war, he had returned along with a compass to aid him in his journey through the Italian environment.
For participating in the Italian Campaign, he was awarded with a medal. An 'Italy Star' to be precise. This is to show his involvement in the war and how he had helped make the success of 'Operation Husky' a reality."
"If you are reading this, please take care of these pieces of war from which my husband and I had accumulated from the frightening times of the Second World War. Here, you will find newspapers, photographs, letters from my dear Kirk, my diary, his compass, and his uniform all sealed away in this time capsule of ours.
The newspapers were to remind me of the times from which two major events had occurred during the war's time frame. I could not locate the other newspapers featuring other key events, unfortunately. But I was overjoyed when I had read the article indicating that the war had ended in Europe!
The two photos are of my husband and I, and my husband with fellow soldiers. He vowed never to forget the friends that he had lost that were in the photo along with him, and so, I vow this as well.
His letters reassured me his safely, but detailed his accounts on the war front. Let these be a warning of the dangers soldiers face during war.
My diary recalls my own account of war, but from the home front in Vancouver. It describes how the community here had functioned in the times of intensified paranoia and absolute fear. Many suffered from this; family members needed constant reassurance, and discrimination ran rampant.
After Kirk had thankfully returned from the war, he had returned along with a compass to aid him in his journey through the Italian environment.
For participating in the Italian Campaign, he was awarded with a medal. An 'Italy Star' to be precise. This is to show his involvement in the war and how he had helped make the success of 'Operation Husky' a reality."