I have wondered the same thing, JC. My (late) husband was the first casualty of WWII. He was injured in the South Pacific, at Makin Island. He was awarded the Navy Cross, which was presented to him by Elenore Roosevelt, along with two purple hearts.
He was hospitalized for a year, due to injuries that he sustained, as the Marines took the island. It was a miracle he survived.
I have two trunks full of memorabilia - and a large box full of medals he was awarded while in the USMC. Letters, cards, awards, certificates, uniforms - I don’t know what to do with it all - but can’t bring myself to just throw it out.
All those things are very important to you and to me, however, no one else could appreciate them as much. Those decisions are hard, especially medals, purple hearts, etc. Very important!
If you have kids, they would want them but if you don’t, I believe I would contact the closest Memorial museum or something like that and they might add to their displays. Please check Fr.mail for the rest of this story..!
With respect to your letters and other memorabilia, if there is no one else in the family who might appreciate what you have, have you thought of donating them either to a local museum or veterans group, or to the Smithsonian? They might be interested, or be able to make some worthwhile recommendations.
BTW, on one of our trips, we bought a CD of civil war songs to listen to in the car. The songs were both historical and awful. LOL!