"These letters and emails do so much more than record history. They show us the enormous sacrifices made by those who have served this nation and those currently serving as well, including the families on the home front. And no one can tell their stories better than they can."

Original letter by Andrew Carroll's cousin, James  Jordan, dated April 21, 1945, in which Jordan describes to his wife walking through the concentration camp at Buchenwald. Jordan shared the letter with Carroll, and when Carroll offered to return it, Jordan said, "Keep it. I probably would have thrown it out anyway." That was the spark that prompted Carroll to create "The Legacy Project," an all-volunteer initiative to save war-related letters and emails to preserve the "legacy" of U.S. troops, veterans, and their loved ones.

After the "Dear Abby" column ran in newspapers across the country, thousands of war letters were sent to the PO Box that Andrew Carroll had set up in a local post office in Washington, D.C.  Since that time, Carroll has traveled to all 50 states , 40 countries, and three (at the time) active war zones. Ultimately, he has helped to find and preserve hundreds of thousands of war letters and emails. And the mission continues.