Last week we received a donation from the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association. The donation may seem like a simple tackle box, but once it is opened, you’ll find a whole collection of letters written home from a Tennessee veteran serving in the Korean War! Sergeant Walter Seivers was born July 21, 1926. He attended Knoxville High School and worked at White Stores Grocery before joining the United States Army to serve during World War II, and upon his return he married Helen Lucille Davis in 1946. He was called back to service in October 1950 with the 1st Marine Division in Korea. In September 1951 Seivers was killed in action by an artillery round while attempting to take part of the Hwachon Reservoir, nicknamed the “Punchbowl.” Accompanying months worth of Seivers’s letters home to his wife are a collection of letters and financial records from his and Helen’s descendants. We are so honored to be able to preserve the story of the Seivers family, and we encourage anyone interested in his life, or others in our collection, to contact us so we can arrange time to look through our collection!
