Letter delivered with 1944 postmark

SAN MIGUEL, Calif., March 3 (UPI) -- A California man who received a letter from Alabama postmarked Aug. 9, 1944, said he is hoping to track down the rightful owner.

Gary McMaster, volunteer curator for the Camp Roberts Historical Museum, said a letter arrived in the mail last week with the 1944 postmark and addressed to "Miss R.T. Fletcher, American Red Cross Station Hospital, Camp Roberts, California," the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser reported Thursday.

McMaster said the postmark listed Montgomery as the letter's place of origin, but the corner with the return address had been torn from the envelope.

"Most letters come from family or good friends, so we're thinking that this lady was from Montgomery and that the letter came from a friend or relative," McMaster said.

Joseph Breckenridge, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman in Atlanta, said the whereabouts of the letter for the past 66 years is "a guessing game."

He said the letter could not have been in postal service custody for all that time because "no equipment, or transportation, or storage stuff is still in service from 66 years ago."