A grandmother from California has brought letter-writing to a new art form by sending hand-written letters to troops stationed overseas.
Alleen Cooper, 98, has written thousands of letters to service members since World War II and continues to write letters to the troops today, WGN reports.
Cooper, whose son served in the Vietnam War and has struggled with post-traumatic stress syndrome since the war, sent her son letters while he served regularly.
She said wanted to comfort soldiers who were in harm’s way or who were injured.
“One in Florida, he had to have a new ear and I’m sure he was very, very depressed,” Cooper told WHNT.
She began a tally of how many letters she has written six years ago, and has sent nearly 7,000 of them to date.
The letters are up to four pages long, and Cooper says she keeps track to make sure no two letters are identical.
Inside Edition reports that soldiers have sent her flags and commendations from their bases as a token of thanks for the letters.
Cooper said she also embraces newer technology to communicate with soldiers, such as video chat.
Although she says her hands become tired, Cooper said she does not intend to stop writing letters anytime soon.
“I decided I’m going to write as long as I can. And I just respect everything that you do,” Cooper said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.