They are no longer young, these veterans of World War II. They are proudly weighted down with memories and medals from what was a pivotal time in history.

Now, 60 years after their common victory in Europe, a cluster of Russian soldiers has reached out to greet their Brothers-in-Arms Against Fascism,” in the Fox Cities.

“To get to the front line, I added a year to my age. Otherwise, they would not have admitted me to Radio Operator School. It was in 1941 in Chelyabinsk,” wrote Nadezhda Sorokina, Line radio operator.

Four years later, on May 9, 1945 in Essen, Germany, a defeated German handed her a bouquet of flowers and said “Congratulations, frau,” in Russian to her.

“I was not even 19-years-old at the time, she wrote.

In Moscow earlier this month, on the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, a major commemoration was held in the entire center of the city.

At the United States Consulate in Yekaterinburg, an exhibition of the correspondence between Kurgan and Fox Cities veterans marks the common victory.

How do we measure the meaning of this exchange after decades of interceding tension, after a Cold War, after closed cities in the former Soviet Union and open criticism of policies from country to country?

Simply, we look to these men and women who simply want to meet:

“We hope that our letters will be read by those who fought together with us against our common enemy in Europe and in the Pacific. And that they would like to write letters as well about themselves. We have an occasion for one more meeting, though, through our correspondence, to experience exciting moments of our youth once again, and to learn each other better,” according to a cover letter from Boris, Dmitry, Peter, Ivan, Nadezhda and Grigory, veterans from the Siberian city of Kurgan.

Quietly, this grand idea based on World War II recollections has taken shape through the generosity of military veterans in Sister Cities of Kurgan and the Fox Cities. They have exchanged accounts about that time of their lives. They are patriots turned into pen pals, men and women who have not only have vivid memories of what happened more than 60 years ago but who are vibrant enough to tell their stories.

Alexander Inozemtsev, president of the Kurgan Rotary Club, introduced the project to Peter Kelly, CEO of United Way Fox Cities, and to me in September as we spent four days in Kurgan developing plans for joint civic engagement work in our two regions.

While veterans who were allies in the war are able to share their memories, wouldn’t it make sense for them to do just that in honor of the 60th anniversary of the victory on the European front on May 8, 2005, he asked.

Yes. We would gather materials from the Fox Cities to send to Kurgan and to Yekaterinburg, where the U.S. Consulate would put together an exhibit to mark the anniversary of victory.

Kelly, a Downtown Appleton Rotary member, invited club veterans to be part of our inaugural letter exchange while I tapped into members of SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives. With each contact we made came adjunct information:

Have you heard about the project underway at Appleton North? Students there are videotaping interviews with area veterans on Friday afternoons. Those will ultimately be held at the Library of Congress.

“Do you know my friend’s dad?” others would inquire. “He has a great story,” they’d promise.

Finally, with documents in hand – English translated into Russian – we put together our first packet and sent it mid-April via FedEx, and then e-mail.

The stories were heartfelt and far ranging. The voices were proud and serious. These veterans had been there, part of the war, living years without knowing what the future would bring. It was an integral part of their lives but not necessarily something they spoke of often.

What we provided to begin were mostly found objects. What the Russians sent were personal letters that now invite responses.

How fascinating it is for the project impetus to come to Americans from Russians. None of us really knew how to do this because over the 60-year period since World War II, communication between countries has ranged from difficult to impossible.

The freedom all these veterans fought for more than 60 years ago includes the freedom to openly correspond with one another. What seemed a simple proposal in September wasn’t entirely simple after all.

“We are sure that the common people from Russia and the United States can be friends and will cooperate to save the world from terror and violence, to give hope to our children and grandchildren for the better,” veterans wrote in the cover letter for Packet No. 1, Letters from Kurgan.