Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.
~Ralph Marston
The way I see it, America is already great! What we need is to make America GRATEFUL again. For the past fifteen months, that has been my mission. I am finding that all it takes to inspire gratitude is a little time, love, and appreciation for those who fought for, bled for, and defended our way of life in this country and in our communities.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications. I’m also a hopeless romantic who sees great promise and purpose in having a pen in hand. Thus, a simple idea was sparked: spreading love one thank-you note at a time.
In an age consumed with digital technology, text messaging, and social media, it is my hope to replace the negativity in our country with gratitude and love — and good, old-fashioned, handwritten thank-you notes. I like to think of them as love notes, thanking our nation’s heroes, those who have served and sacrificed for something bigger than themselves. These everyday heroes are walking among us, some of them in uniform and some of them in plain clothing, and some of them dating as far back as World War II and the Korean War.
When I handed out my first thank-you card, I had no idea the weight behind it. It was just a simple handwritten note thanking one of our nation’s heroes for his service and sacrifice to our country. I walked up to him in a Home Depot in the doorknob aisle. He was a small, elderly gentleman whose shoulders were hunched, but who stood ten feet tall underneath his Korean War veteran cap. I introduced myself and handed him the thank-you note. He opened it slowly with bent fingers and read it aloud. His aged blue eyes began to water, and his shoulders began to shake uncontrollably. He asked for a hug, and so I held him in my arms as he wept, this frail stranger who, when he served in the Air Force as a young man, was the backbone of our country. “Thank you,” he whispered. “No one has ever thanked me in such a beautiful way.”
This Korean War veteran then spent thirty minutes talking to me about his life and his service. I was moved in that moment — changed forever.
And then there was a young Army veteran who served in Iraq. I met him in the parking lot of a grocery store late one Sunday afternoon. The desert sun was setting when I left a thank-you note beneath the windshield wiper of his truck. I knew he was a veteran by his veteran license plate. As I turned to walk away, I heard a man say in an angry tone, “What did she leave on my truck?” I hadn’t realized the veteran himself was standing there, so I quickly retreated to my car on the other side of the parking lot to avoid an awkward situation.
As I got to my car and began loading my groceries into the trunk, I looked up and saw the veteran jogging toward me, thank-you note in hand. My heart stopped. I thought, This is either going to be really good or really uncomfortable. By the time he reached me, I could see he had tears in his blue eyes. His arms were outstretched, and as he swallowed me up in a big bear hug, he said, “Thank you so much! You don’t know what this note means to me.”
He and I have been friends ever since.
There have been countless stories like these, veterans and first responders who have opened up to me about their service. Many have admitted to suffering from PTSD. Some have lost friends in wartime, and some have lost limbs. Some have received honorable medals, and some have fallen on hard times and homelessness. Some are doing hard time. And almost all — Marines, sailors, combat soldiers, police officers, and firefighters alike — have been brought to tears.
Vietnam veterans, in particular, seem especially moved by these thank-you notes, having not received a warm welcome home from war. It never ceases to amaze me that these men and women are so easily disarmed by such a simple but genuine gesture. One young Marine Corps veteran who served in the Middle East said it best. “Human kindness can bridge our gaps,” he said. “This act of kindness puts an angry veteran’s cold heart back in its place.”
With the help of my mother and the community at large, we have written and delivered more than 3,000 thank-you notes across the country, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. This mission has opened up a conversation, not just with our nation’s heroes, but with their families, friends and social networks.
Many of these men and women who have courageously and self-lessly served and sacrificed have seen and done the unfathomable. Nine times out of ten, they will tell you it was their job. However, the truth is that serving our country and our community is, and will forever be, more than just a job. It is a gift.
And I was brought up to believe that when someone gives you a gift, particularly something as precious as peace of mind and freedom, whatever the cost, it is good manners to pen a thank-you note in return. It’s the right thing to do. Like the blood, sweat, and tears these heroes have spilled for our sake, the ink spilled to handwrite a thank-you note will leave a long-lasting impression.
~Natalie J. Reilly
