Some families keep precious heirlooms and pass them on from generation to generation. I have a friend who insists she owns a locket once owned by Martha Washington, and I have another friend who wears his grandfather's World War II dog tags every day.
I don't have many of my grandparents' belongings, but I do love looking at their photos and wondering what their life might have been like. Photographs, like tangible objects they owned, seem to have the magical ability to transport one to the past.
Both of my grandfathers served in World War II, and I really regret never having the opportunity to talk to them about what they saw and what life was like for them. I was just too young when they passed and I didn't yet have the curiosity, so I definitely regret it.
Recently, Imgur user dtrosenb unearthed their great-grandfather's World War II case from up in the attic. The user didn't have the key and didn't want to break the lock, so it was necessary to wait until a custom key could be made.
60 years later, they finally opened the box…
Please SHARE if you think it's important to remember and honor the past!
Facebook image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Here is the chest that the user found in the attic. The banana is placed there to give an example of how large the trunk actually is.
The first items found were some buttons dating back even further than anyone anticipated — all the way back to the Civil War. According to the user, the letters "GAR" mean Grand Army of the Republic. This was a fraternity formed of Union Civil War veterans. The fraternity was disbanded sometime in the 1950s.
There was also a kit for making shotgun shells.
The trunk also contained some coins from the 1800s. That penny dates back as far as 1828. There are no answers as to why a World War II veteran had 1800s coins, but I guess that's just another mystery lost to history.
There was also an 8mm film editor.
There were also some interesting forms, including this World War II Red Cross Bond...
...and sugar certificate.
Eerily, it also contained laudanum, a powerful opiate that can very easily lead to overdoses.
This book was a very popular tool for sex education. The user's grandmother said that this was how her father learned about the birds and the bees.
They aren't 100-percent sure what is on these rolls, but the user's family suspects it might actually be pornography. Let's hope they don't have to find out!
Please SHARE this article to remind people of the importance of learning about the past!
