HIGHLAND, Ca. — World War II veteran Duane Sherman doesn’t want gifts for his upcoming 96th birthday. Instead, he hopes to receive birthday cards, from anyone willing to take a few moments and write.
His daughter Sue is trying to make that happen.
“Every day he said, ‘Oh have you checked the mail?'”
“To get something in the mail that’s for him, that’s special,” she added.
At 96 years old, that doesn’t happen too often. The family said most of his longtime friends and those he served with have passed on.
At first, he didn’t even want to celebrate his birthday on December 30. That is until his daughter started a Facebook campaign to get him letters to help him celebrate.
“It’ll be heartwarming.”
According to the family, Sherman served in the Navy during World War II. He was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Lamson in 1944 when it was hit by a kamikaze plane.
“The flames from the crash, engulfing the bridge.”
He lost 30 shipmates.. To this day, he even still has a piece of shrapnel lodged in his back.
“We should all be very proud of their service and honor them in any way that we can,” said Morse.
If you would like to send a card, mail it to: Duane Sherman C/O Sue Morse, P.O. Box 794, Highland, California, 92346.
