HIGHLAND, CA (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) – A World War II veteran in California has only one wish for his upcoming 96th birthday: He wants to get birthday cards, from anyone.
His daughter is trying to make it happen.
Duane Sherman doesn’t get a lot of mail these days.
"All my friends are gone,” he said.
Sherman didn’t feel much like celebrating his birthday this Dec. 30 – at least not until his daughter Sue Morse went on Facebook and asked anyone out there reading to send him a birthday card.
"I wanted him to feel special on his birthday," Morse said.
Sherman is a World War II Navy veteran who earned a Purple Heart for a mission he survived in 1944.
He was a chief sonar man aboard the USS Lamson, and he remembers the moment a kamikaze plane hit his ship.
"The flames from the crash, engulfing the bridge," he said.
Thirty of his shipmates lost their lives in the attack. Sherman still has shrapnel in his back.
"We should all be very proud of their service and honor them in any way that we can," Morse said.
You could call it a happy birthday wish, or a “thank you” for his service. Either way, Sherman will have a good time checking his mail for cards.
"Well, I'll have a hell of a time reading them," he said.
If you want to make Sherman’s wish come true, send a card to:
Duane Sherman c/o Sue Morse, P.O. Box 794, Highland, CA 92346.
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