Even though World War I ended the previous November, mail service from Europe in early 1919 remained slow. The mail from troops still had to go through censors, and mail was not the highest priority for transportation. It often took weeks for a letter to get from the writer to the reader. Americans were still getting letters written back in November when, as one soldier wrote, there was much to be thankful for. He imagined the festivities in America celebrating the end of the war and said, “Joy