Vietnam Vet Canning Hot Peppers Finds Note on His Truck That Makes Him Cry
When Mike Koma went to WalMart to get some canning supplies for his hot peppers, he never expected to have an emotional reaction.
That was until he came back out to his truck and saw a card with an American flag on the cover.
As Koma’s license plate says, he’s a Vietnam Veteran. When he got home from the war, the reception was anything but warm.
“We didn’t have a parade or anything,” Mike told KDKA.
“When I came home from Vietnam, I flew into the state of Washington, and people were spitting at us and calling us baby killers.”
Koma opened the note and began to read. What he saw had him wiping tears from his eyes.
“Dear Vietnam veteran, thank you so much for your service in the United States Army in Vietnam,” the note said. “You, sir, are a hero in my eyes.”
The note was signed by Cindy Twigg, a name Koma had never seen or heard before.
“I got that thing off my windshield and read it, and I just started bawling,” Koma told KDKA.
“I put it on Facebook, hoping someone would know her,” Mary Koma, Mike’s wife, said. “[The note] made him feel good, and that’s what I want to see him do, to heal from that war.”
A few months later, Mike and Mary tracked Cindy Twigg down and was able to coordinate a meeting. The two met for the first time at a local war memorial.
Twigg had her own experience with the Vietnam War. Her long-time boyfriend died from Agent Orange complications after he returned home from Vietnam.
Since then, Twigg has been writing notes and leaving them on the cars of Vietnam veterans.
She said she writes two or three a week, but Mike and his wife were only the second to reach out to her.
“I’m sure everyone that got one felt the same way that I did,” Mike reassured Twigg. Her note clearly had a profound impact on his life.
“I just couldn’t wait to meet her,” Mike said. “That was the nicest thing anybody ever did for me since I came home from Vietnam.”
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