A World War II veteran received more than 4,500 birthday cards in celebration of his 100th birthday on June 15.
Carl Reid joined the Army in 1944 and served as a supply clerk and truck operator for the 27th Infantry Division, NewsWest9 reported. In late May, the former Army corporal asked his fellow Americans via social media to celebrate his birthday with him by sending cards to Lamun-Lusk-Sanchez Texas State Veterans Home in Big Spring.
Reid hoped for 100, but he received thousands. He celebrated his birthday surrounded by friends, family members, and stacks of cards. He received cards from 48 states and also one from Canada.
“It’s nice to have all my friends here,” Reid told NewsWest9. “I was broken up when I got out there.”
After leaving the Army Reid raised his family on a farm. His sons said their father gave them a good life. Reid’s son Donald Reid said the party was meant to shower their dad with the love and affection he deserves.
“[Just to say] thank you for all the things he had done for us when we were growing up and continued to do over our lives, and to just tell him how much I love him,” said Donald. “He’s always been there for us if we needed anything, and just a good, strong man that you could lean on.”
“[A]ccording to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 167,284 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive in 2022,” the National WWII Museum site says.