A Valentine’s Day story about children and veterans

by Paul Cozad
Tribune, Dispatch, Sentinel, February 15-17, 2007

Hundreds of precious hand-made cards are found scattered all over the hospital walls.

It happened last week Thursday, as I went to the Veterans Hospital in Buffalo. I had just entered and was walking towards the main elevators when I was greeted by a kaleidoscope of Valentine’s Day cards.

They were everywhere, hundreds of them posted on the walls and hallways. It was truly an amazing sight, almost surreal. As you came closer, you could see they were obviously made by children, with their large printing, meticulously scrawled wording, and slightly misplaced cutout hearts.

Almost immediately, I was filled with a sense of awe and quickly realized I was standing before rows and rows of hand-made Valentine cards that hundreds of children had sent to the veterans here at the VA hospital. It took a minute for the full meaning of this special display to sink in. This really intrigued me, so I walked over to a card and slowly opened it. There, printed in multi-colored crayon was, “Dear Soldier, Get well soon and thank you for keeping our country free. Happy Valentine’s Day!” I was touched!

Thank You

I moved along the wall and reached for another card, “Dear Soldier, We love you. Happy Valentine’s Day.” Many cards were similar, but all were individualized, each one in bright color crayon from a special child.

A significant number were more in-depth. For example, “Hi Veteran, Thank you for fighting for us. I will join the Army when I grow up and be like you. Happy Valentine’s Day!” Another read, “Dear Brave Veteran, Thank you for what you did for us. God loves you. I love you too. Happy Valentine’s Day! Heather.”

My eyes started to well up as I looked around and saw several other veterans also reading these cards. They too were filled with emotions by what was printed here in crayon by children. It just caught you off guard! Cards like, “We still care. Get well soon.” Then a card I will never forget, printed in bright red crayon, “We never met, but you will never be forgotten. We will always love you for serving our country.”

However, there were several that really broke me up, “You gave your lives for us. Thank you Mr. Veteran. I love you. Mary.” And, “Dear Veteran, sorry some of your friends died. I will never forget you. God loves you. Happy Valentine’s Day! Mikey.” A couple tears started down my cheeks. Their unexpected words just reached deep into my heart and grabbed hold!

Perfection in Imperfection

Where, or how, did children arrive at such meaningful and profound thoughts? And so young! Perhaps it was their truthful innocence. The misspelled words in bright crayon, printing running upwards and downwards, the wiggly drawn hearts, the slightly misplaced figures: perfect imperfections only children can do.

One soon realized the intense effort each child had given to make each and every one of these absolutely perfect cards. Perfect because of their imprecision and imperfection, each glowing with the aura of sincere words from that child’s heart and uncontaminated mind. The best of Hallmark could not even come close!

You could almost imagine their small hands and fingers trying their best to make these cards. This was almost too much to grasp, the enormity of all of these combined tasks, done for the veterans.

But most of all, it was the wording, especially those with religious overtones. All took your breath away! Wow! How can we ever thank them? Many of these cards were from Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, such as troop 944, 33, 558, 281, 904, 58, and more. Their troop leaders and parents should be proud!

As we read these cards from God’s precious children, we slowly realized why they made these special Valentine’s Day cards. And we remembered. Perhaps too much! How could children touch so deeply? Volunteers also took trays full of these beautiful cards upstairs to the bed-ridden veterans.

I then went up to the Public Affairs office to talk with Officer Evangeline Conley, asking her if I could take a few photos of the Valentine displays downstairs. After a short conversation, she graciously agreed.

As we took the elevator down for the photos, I expressed to her my complete amazement at this huge display of Valentine cards made by these children. With a beautiful smile and a sparkle in her eye, she explained that this was part of a national effort, a “National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans” for the week of Feb. 11 through 17. You could see the joy that being a part of this brought to her.

Director Michael Finigan, VA Western New York Healthcare System, stated, “We’ve invited local celebrities, elected officials, and other groups to visit us during the week. We want people of all ages to bring Valentine’s Day cheer to our patients.” His words reflect the VA hospital’s dedicated staff and serve as a constant reminder that “Freedom is not free!” Ask any veteran.

Paul Cozad is a World War II veteran from Wheatfield. His news, feature and religious articles appear in local print media.