The birthday surprises have not stopped pouring in for a World War II veteran in Watauga, Texas, who turned 100 years old on Monday.
Veteran James South had no idea the response he would receive when a picture of him holding a sign asking for 100 birthday cards for his birthday was posted online by staff at the Brookdale Senior Living facility a few weeks ago.
“Hello! My name is James South. I am a proud WWII veteran! I will be turning 100 on October 7th, 2019. I would like to receive 100 birthday cards,” the sign read.
On Monday, Breitbart News reported that South had received more than 60,000 cards from people as far away as Australia and India.
However, reports said that as of Friday, that number has climbed to over 100,000.
“To go to a store in town and pick out a card and send it to me, that’s almost more than I can handle I’ll tell ya,” the veteran said. “It touches my heart.”
South’s daughter-in-law, Debbie, said the family has been emotional as they read each of the heartfelt birthday wishes.
“We’re just crying everyday because we’re just reading all these beautiful cards,” she commented.
On Thursday, Alex Rozier, a reporter with WFAA, tweeted photos of South will all the birthday greetings he received.
South’s son, Jim, noted that many of the cards have come from places such as Great Britain and China. He said schools hoping to teach their students about World War II also sent cards.
He even received a special birthday greeting from President Trump.
“Our nation owes your generation, the greatest generation, a tremendous debt of gratitude,” the letter from the president read.
South was born into a family of Texas sharecroppers and joined the United States Army in 1940. He was deployed to Normandy, France, only a week after the D-Day invasion took place.
His son said it means a lot to their family that people would take time out of their day to wish his father a happy birthday, even from thousands of miles away.
“The people that have gone to the store for cards, and the people who have taken the time to pen out their thoughts and their feelings, it’s just been an overwhelming and an amazing response,” he said.
South told reporters that he is grateful for having lived such a good life for so many years.
“I’m just thanking God for watching over me and keeping me healthy. There’s no telling where I’ll go from here,” the veteran concluded.
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