Duane Sherman received mail from around the world for his recent birthday.
The Fullerton, CA, resident, who served in World War II and received a Purple Heart, is legally blind.
As Sherman’s 96th birthday approached last month, his daughter, Sue Morse, made a Facebook post to request cards for her dad, who only received bills in the mail.
“I wanted him to feel special,” Morse told the Orange County Register.
The gesture worked: More than 50,000 birthday cards and notes arrived from all 50 states and 10 countries. Sherman’s mail includes handwritten letters from schoolchildren and notes from top military officials.
He also received gifts like a signed CD from the music group Foreigner and a card signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Among Sherman’s letters was one penned by Stephen Michael Aichele, director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs.
“All of you have sacrificed greatly to rid the world of evil and for that, again, I thank you,” Aichele wrote.
Said Sherman: “All the good comments people made … it just brightened my day.”