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Well-maintained Army uniform with love letter from 1957 found in ditch

Well-maintained Army uniform with love letter from 1957 found in ditch
AND ACTIVE MILITARY IN FOR FREE. TONIGHT, THERE IS AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY ABOUT A MAN WHO SERVED IN AN ARMY UNIT. MORE THAN 65 YEARS AGO. KMBC NINES ANDY ALCOCK IS LIVE OUTSIDE THE WORLD WAR ONE MUSEUM WITH HIS STORY AND WHY PEOPLE HERE IN THE METRO ARE UNRAVELING IT. ANDY. ALL RIGHT, KELLY. HOWARD PENNINGTON DIED IN FRANCE IN LATE 1957. HE WAS SERVING AS AN ARMY COMBAT ENGINEER, BUILDING ROADS THERE LAST WEEK, A UNIFORM AND EXCELLENT CONDITION WAS FOUND ON A COAT HANGER IN A DITCH BY THE SIDE OF A REMOTE ROAD IN THE PIPER AREA OF KC. K, NOT FAR FROM LUANNE PALMER’S DRIVEWAY. A LOVE LETTER ADDRESSED TO PENNINGTON WITH A DECEMBER 1957 POSTMARK FROM VERDUN, FRANCE WAS FOUND IN ONE OF THE POCKETS WHEN THE WOMAN POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT IT. MOLLY JENNINGS RESPONDED, I LIKE TO TRY TO SOLVE A LOT OF MYSTERIES, SO I SHARED IT WITH MY DAUGHTER AND SHE INITIALLY RAN WITH IT. SHE STARTED LOOKING INTO THE MORE. SHE KIND OF TALKED TO ME ABOUT IT. THE MORE I GREW INVESTED IN IT, AND I REALLY WANTED TO KNOW AND TRY TO FIND HIS FAMILY. MOLLY AND HER DAUGHTER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUT SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT HOWARD PENNINGTON, INCLUDING FINDING SOME OF HIS RELATIVES. WE WILL HAVE THAT PART OF THE STORY COMING UP TONIGHT AT SIX. REPORTING LIVE OUTSIDE THE WORLD WAR ONE MUSEUM, ANDY ALCOCK KEN, ABC NINE NEWS. ALL RIGHT, ANDY, THANK YOU. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL OR TEXT LUANNE PALME
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Well-maintained Army uniform with love letter from 1957 found in ditch
The discovery of a well-maintained Army uniform in a ditch by the side of a remote road in the Piper neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, has several people looking for answers.Luann Palmer’s daughter found the uniform on a coat hanger near the driveway of the family home.“I just thought if it was my dad’s, I would want it back,” Luann said.Inside one of the pockets was a love letter addressed to Howard Pennington postmarked in Verdun, France, on Dec. 2, 1957.The letter reads in part, “Sweetheart my love, I miss you so very much."With the letter providing the only clues about the uniform, Luann reached out on social media to find the potential owner.Molly Jennings responded to help solve the mystery.“I shared it with my daughter, and she initially ran with it. She started looking and the more she talked to me about it, the more I grew invested in it and I really wanted to know and try to find his family,” Molly said.Through research, they found that Pennington was assigned to an Army combat engineers unit building roads in France.Molly and her daughter also found out that Pennington died just three days after the letter was postmarked.They haven’t been able to determine if he received the letter or how he died.They also discovered Pennington’s commanding officer lived in Leavenworth, Kansas, and he still has family in that area.And they found Pennington’s great-nephew in Clinton, Missouri — about an hour from where the uniform was found.However, the great-nephew told Molly he didn’t know the uniform, or the letter existed until she reached out.“I personally think it was in the possession of someone that’s maybe not related to him, maybe someone he served with, a close friend,” Molly said. “I really just want to know who had it. I want to know why they kept it safe for 65 years,” she added.“It’s been hung up, somebody took great care of it, somebody has to know something,” Luann said.

The discovery of a well-maintained Army uniform in a ditch by the side of a remote road in the Piper neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, has several people looking for answers.

Luann Palmer’s daughter found the uniform on a coat hanger near the driveway of the family home.

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“I just thought if it was my dad’s, I would want it back,” Luann said.

Inside one of the pockets was a love letter addressed to Howard Pennington postmarked in Verdun, France, on Dec. 2, 1957.

The letter reads in part, “Sweetheart my love, I miss you so very much."

With the letter providing the only clues about the uniform, Luann reached out on social media to find the potential owner.

Molly Jennings responded to help solve the mystery.

“I shared it with my daughter, and she initially ran with it. She started looking and the more she talked to me about it, the more I grew invested in it and I really wanted to know and try to find his family,” Molly said.

Through research, they found that Pennington was assigned to an Army combat engineers unit building roads in France.

Molly and her daughter also found out that Pennington died just three days after the letter was postmarked.

They haven’t been able to determine if he received the letter or how he died.

They also discovered Pennington’s commanding officer lived in Leavenworth, Kansas, and he still has family in that area.

And they found Pennington’s great-nephew in Clinton, Missouri — about an hour from where the uniform was found.

However, the great-nephew told Molly he didn’t know the uniform, or the letter existed until she reached out.

“I personally think it was in the possession of someone that’s maybe not related to him, maybe someone he served with, a close friend,” Molly said. “I really just want to know who had it. I want to know why they kept it safe for 65 years,” she added.

“It’s been hung up, somebody took great care of it, somebody has to know something,” Luann said.