WWII Purple Heart Veteran Reunited with Shipmate He Hasn't Seen Since 1944
There is nothing better than reconnecting with old friends. With current technology, it is easier to stay in contact, but receiving an email is just not the same as getting a letter in your mailbox.
Sue Morse wanted to make her father, Duane Sherman, feel special on his birthday.
Sadly, most of the WWII Purple Heart veteran‘s shipmates were no longer alive, so filling the mailbox with love would be difficult, CBS News reported.
“So I put on my Facebook my dad’s turning 96, he’s a WWII Purple Heart vet and I would like to get some birthday cards to make him feel special,” Morse told CBS News.
“The first day I got 150 letters and I thought that was really cool. The next day they said, ‘Could you pull around back?'” Morse said.
Soon 100,000 birthday cards filled the mailbox, as well as the rooms of her house and her friend’s home, too.
Sherman, who is legally blind, requires assistance to read the cards, but Morse and her “card squad” are committed to reading every single one to the veteran.
Some of the letters came from fellow veterans while others thanked Sherman for his service to the country.
“It moves me to no end,” Sherman said.
In the seemingly endless stack of birthday cards from well-wishers, there was one that stood out from the rest.
It was a message from his fellow shipmate on the USS Lamson. Sherman hadn’t seen the man since 1944 when their ship was caught in a kamikaze attack.
“The captain said abandon ship. We all ran to the port side and leaped over,” Sherman told CBS News.
His shipmate was 96-year-old Bob Apple, and the two were finally reunited for the first time in 74 years.
Apple also gave Sherman a painting of the USS Lamson in flames as a keepsake.
“I said, ‘We should have a nice card with that. Maybe a nice little birthday card,”‘ Apple said.
While the meeting with Apple was no doubt one of the highlights of Sherman’s birthday, he still has plenty to celebrate.
There are thousands of birthday cards left to read, which Morse estimates will take the rest of the year to get through with her dad.
“He truly is part of America’s greatest generation. They saved the world,” Morse said.
The world hasn’t forgotten the generous and selfless acts that veterans like Sherman have endured to keep us all safe.
Happy Birthday, Duane Sherman! We wish you many more years of happiness!
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