William White is a 104-year-old U.S Marine veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart in World War II. He retired after 35 years of active service, which included time in the Pacific theatre of World War II.
And like most people of that time, White never celebrated Valentine’s Day before. This was even when his wife of 42 years was alive.
This year, however, his Valentine’s Day is very special and one like never before.
He is celebrating this Valentine’s surrounded by a pile of 70,000 love letters that have arrived for him from across the world, thanks to a social media campaign called ‘Operation Valentine.’
White lives in an assisted living facility in Stockton, California and a fellow resident launched a campaign called ‘Operation Valentine,’ requesting family, friends, and strangers to send cards to honour ‘Major Bill,’ as White is fondly called.
The goal of the campaign was merely a 100 cards but the response to this campaign has been overwhelming.
A week before Valentine’s, White had received around 70,000 cards and letters from people across the United States and the world. Would you believe that there is so much mail that the family had to bring in some volunteers to help open the cards and letters and read them out to White.
“It’s just too fantastic,” White told Reuters. “It’s something I’ve never heard of or seen. All of a sudden here, like a ton of bricks. I’m sort of speechless.”
Isn’t this extremely heartwarming? This certainly proves that love is very much alive in the world!
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