Lost love letters coming home to family

Surviving relatives of a World War II soldier whose long-lost love letters were found in a Wichita shed have been located.

1st Lt. Philip “Turk” B. Ray wrote the letters to his wife, Margaret – his “darling sweetheart.”

The nearly 200 letters, photos and articles detail Ray’s experiences during training and deployment with the 83rd Infantry Division in Europe. The 83rd landed at Omaha Beach about two weeks after D-Day, advancing through France and Luxembourg, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and eventually crossing into Germany. They returned to the United States in March 1946.

“It’s unusual and a nice surprise. We’re looking forward to reading the material,” said Marco Bianchi, the Rays’ nephew

Bianchi, who lives in Fort Worth, said he and his wife lived in Wichita for about eight years when they first got married.

“We were pretty close to my aunt and uncle and saw them frequently and enjoyed a great relationship,” he said.

Turk Ray died in 1993, and Margo died in 1986.

Bianchi already has Turk’s medals and Bronze Star, which Turk earned for his bravery in the war. He also has a map of Turk’s that shows the movements of the 83rd Division.

“It was framed in his office, and now it’s in my office,” he said.

Bianchi’s father also served in World War II.

“Lot of memories there. They didn’t talk much about their wartime experiences. Hardly ever. But that’s pretty common,” he said.

Derrick Heckman, a math teacher at North High School, found the letters while cleaning out a wood shed for a neighbor in Indian Hills just before Memorial Day.

He said he plans to mail the box to Bianchi soon.

The Eagle published a story earlier about the letters and Heckman’s goal to find the family, and readers pitched in to help.

Within the first four hours of the story going online, Heckman received roughly 30 messages from people with information about the family and how to contact them.

“I appreciate everyone who tried to help,” Heckman said.

“It spread like wildfire.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Lost love letters coming home to family."