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Health & Fitness

A Heartfelt Thank You to Veterans

Four Fairfield girls set out to thank WWII veterans. In their pursuit, they touched many hearts and spread a renewed sense of patriotism.

 

Veteran’s Day is an ideal time to reflect, in a personal way, on the heroes who came before us. Let me tell you about a few Fairfield girls who wanted to show respect and appreciation for WWII veterans.  Along the way, they touched many hearts and spread a sense of renewed patriotism.

The National WWII Memorial in Washington, DC, opened in 2004, almost 60 years after the war ended. These veterans are now in their 80s and 90s, and, sadly, we are losing them. Many have never seen the beautiful memorial erected in their honor. Salvatore Carrano, my daughters’ great-grandfather, served in the Navy in WWII on the USS Marcos Island. We are grateful that he was able to visit the memorial shortly before he passed away. 

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My daughters, Isabella, Sophia, and Caroline Carrano, with the help of their friend, Anna Leatherwood, learned that a group of WWII veterans would be traveling to Washington, DC for a "Day of Honor." On the return flight home, each veteran would be given letters of thanks from students. The girls thought this was a nice gesture, but we had no idea of the actual impact of these letters. 

The girls were told that 102 letters were needed in two weeks to make the deadline for the flight. With the help of their friends, the girls rallied and wrote touching letters of thanks. They held a "Lemonade and Letter Writing" event and inspired others to help them. As they wrote, they made emotional connections with friends and family members who made sacrifices for our country. 

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It was a lot of work, but the girls delivered the completed letters -- handwritten, some with colorful artwork, all addressed to specific servicemen who served in various branches of the military during WWII. We were not prepared for what followed.

The day after the trip to Washington DC, we received a phone call from one of the veterans. He told us that he was touched by the letters and he would keep them together with his important papers. 

He wanted to thank us!

Next came the letters…dozens of them…and e-mails, too. Some of the letters were carefully scrawled by an obviously shaky hand; others were typed, with apologies from authors who could no longer handwrite a note; all expressed appreciation for being remembered. Many told us that the letters were the highlight of their trip.  The veterans said they were not heroes, as the girls had called them, but simply Americans who did what had to be done. 

The daughter of one veteran wrote to us about her father’s experience: 

"'After visiting the emotional WWII memorial, and other memorials from various branches of the service, he tells us daily, 'it was like a dream.' When my sister and I met with our dad much later that night, he was certainly a changed man… He returned to us not the 90-year-old elderly veteran that we had dropped off very early that Saturday morning, but rather a mentally young, sharp, vibrant Army Sgt. that went off to serve his country so many years ago."

As November approached, the girls wanted to do something nice for a local WWII veteran. With the help of the Fairfield Senior Center, we were introduced to a lovely couple: he served in the army in WWII and she is a former Girl Scout leader.

We went to their house on Veterans’ Day morning 2010, rakes in hand, ready to tackle their leaves. The couple was more than appreciative and invited us to join them for hot cider and popcorn. They showed us photos of Mr. Cornell’s time in the service and we learned a little bit more about WWII from someone who was there. 

The girls were inspired to do more. After learning that funds were needed for the next "Day of Honor," they formulated a plan. They artfully created "jingle bell necklaces” which they sold on Sherman Green when Santa arrived. 

Later, the girls hosted friends for a Bunco Night. Each guest was asked to bring a $5 donation and an index card with information about a friend or family member who served in WWII. The girls hoped to inspire conversations about WWII heroes within each family. All money was donated to American Warrior, a nonprofit group that organizes trips to honor veterans.

Although the girls’ mission has been to show thanks and respect to veterans, they have accomplished something even greater. It has been wonderful to watch the spread of patriotism among the girls, their friends, their parents, family members, and everyone they met along this journey. Please take a moment to thank a veteran today and perhaps learn about a hero in your own family. 

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