
Later, he receives the last letter from Savannah saying they received an anonymous donation giving Tim additional months of treatment. Selling the coins he inherits from his father, he donates the money to help with Tim’s treatment and returns to his military service. When he meets back up with Savannah, John learns that she married her friend Tim who is suffering from a disease, and they rekindle, almost restarting their relationship but choosing not to.

John reenlists for a few more years until he learns his father suffered from a stroke and returns home to be with him during his passing and the funeral. But after the tragedy of 9/11, he continues his service, and they exchange letters for several years, which ends in an actual "Dear John" letter and the ending of their relationship. In the original ending, when John leaves, the two promise to write letters to each other until he ends his time of service.
