A local Salvation Army store in Missouri turned out to be a treasure trove for a bygone love story when a collection of love letters from World War II was discovered.

Unbeknownst to those who worked there until recently, the Salvation Army store in Hannibal, Missouri.housed World War II love letters written between World War II soldier Chester McMeen and his wife Alma Bernice Modglin, both of whom have since died, according to NBC affiliate WGEM-TV.

According to the outlet, the letters were discovered by store manager Tina Eifert, who then sent them to a local reporter, Megan Duncan. Together, the two read the romantic letters while trying to find members of the couple’s family to pass the letters on to them.

Representatives for the Hannibal Salvation Army did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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“It was an incredible discovery. There’s a lot of history, so I wanted to know who they belonged to,” Eifert told WGEM-TV of the letters, which she originally discovered in 2023 in a pile of Salvation Army donations.

The love letters chronicled the early days of the couple’s romance, from the first letter written on Sept. 11, 1944, to the last letter dated Nov. 27, 1945, Eifert and Duncan said. McMeen returned home shortly after writing the last letter, and the couple began life in Carbondale, Illinois, and had three children, they added.

“(In the letters, Chester) talked about how ‘When I get back together, we’re going to open a business, we’re going to do these things!’ Duncan told WGEM-TV. “And then when you look at their lives and you look at their obituary and you look at the photos, it all came true.”

Determined to notify the couple’s next of kin, Duncan said she found their son’s address, sent a letter and was waiting for a response.