LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — For the past five years, hundreds of letters, written to and from World War II navigator John Watson Dewey, have been sorted and organized by family members.
Since the pandemic hit, Dewey's great-niece Carissa Butler from South Abington Township, took it upon herself to tell her uncle's story from nearly 75 years ago.
Even though Butler has never met her uncle, going through his letters makes her feel like she has.
"I spend ten minutes a day, I'd try and sit down, and it'd turn in to hours a day, and when I first started this venture, I didn't realize how invested I was going to get in it. I feel emotionally invested. I feel like I know John personally," said Butler.
Dewey was a navigator on a B-17 bomber plane during WWII stationed in England.
Butler explained that in order to come home, Dewey needed to complete 25 missions.
"Most men flying on B-17 planes only made it to like their ninth or tenth mission. So, February 8 was his first mission, and his ninth mission was March 6, when his plane went down," said Butler.
Dewey was stationed overseas for only a month before he went missing in action for over a year.
The families of the soldiers on the plane hoped that they were prisoners of war.
However, in October of 1944, it was confirmed that Dewey and seven of his crew members had passed away.
One month before he died, Dewey sent a letter to his older brother, detailing his account of the war.
It read, "Won't get into the gruesome details of flight. Not looking for glory, just too dumb to be scared."
His family member said the letters showcase the lengths Dewey and his crew went through.
"He's our world war two hero in our family," said Butler.
During difficult times like these where many people are honoring their frontline workers, the Dewey family said its only right to remember those who fought for our country too.