- It was a blessing to discover the letters that my grandfather Elmer H. Stahl wrote to my mom when she was a little girl while he was serving with the 773rd during WWII. Mom passed away in 2007 and I now have the letters in the same vintage metal Johnston Chocolates box that mom kept them in since she was 9 year old. The letters are very tender and precious, written at a time that I can't imagine the things that grandpa and his buddies had to do and see under the conditions that few will ever experience. God Bless these hero veterans and their families.