Vietnam GI's undelivered letters finally returning home - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Sgt. Steve Flaherty already had a lot to live for when he joined the Army -- a high school degree, and a natural ability as an athlete.

He even had a baseball scholarship, but decided to give up on that after one year in college to serve his country in the Vietnam War.

Flaherty kept in regular contact with his family through letters. It was through this basic form of communication that he was able to connect with his loved ones back home.

But, like a lot of soldiers, Flaherty would not be coming home from Vietnam. He would be killed on March 25, 1969. He was 22 years old.

But that's not the end of Flaherty's story. There's still more to tell.

Flaherty's family will soon be getting a fresh perspective on his time in Vietnam in the form of several letters from him that were never delivered.

The letters were among the artifacts exchanged between US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his Vietnamese counterpart.

"He never let on, never let on to his mother or to any of us as to exactly how dangerous a situation he was in," Flaherty's sister-in-law, Martha Gibbons, said. "He protected us, he kept us from a lot of that."

Gibbons has seen snippets of the letters. Two are addressed to Flaherty's mother. In one, he writes, "If Dad calls, tell him I got too close to being dead, but I'm O.K. I was real lucky. I'll write again soon."

In another letter, Flaherty talks about the casualties and death surrounding him. "It has been trying days for me and my men. We dragged more bodies of dead and wounded than I can ever want to forget."

"Until you read that, you don't get an idea of just how critical a situation he was in and how dangerous a situation he was in and how fearful he was for his own life," Gibbons said.

"When I read it the first time, I was just in tears because knowing how afraid he must have been knowing that he was going to die at any minute."

It's been 43 years since his death and Gibbons is still trying to wrap her head around what has happened. However, she says learning of these letters brings so much more pride for our military men and women.

"I'm really anxious to see the whole letter and read it and to get them in my hands to feel them, touch them, to know that the letters that he wanted to come home will be home," Gibbons said.

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