{
  "id": 16596698,
  "title": "A Soldier in Vietnam Recorded His Letter Home Because He Thought It Was Easier Than Writing. It’s a 43-Minute Splice of History",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/a-soldier-in-vietnam-recorded-his-letter-home-because-he-thought-it",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-26T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/soldier-vietnam-recorded-letter-home-thought-it-was-easier-writing-43-minute-splice-history-180989646/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "There’s more to Private First Class Frank A. Kowalczyk’s 1969 message than routine updates on his deployment. He poignantly preserved not just his feelings and personality, but a palpable soundtrack of war",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}