Veteran Finally Meets with Stranger Whose Christmas Card Got Him Through Vietnam

John Melzer is a veteran of the United States military who has always said that a Christmas card from a little girl got him through the Vietnam War.

John received the letter on Christmas Day in 1970, and it read in part, “Dear Serviceman, I want to give my sincere thanks for going over to war to fight for us. The class hopes you will be able to come home.”

John was a 23-year-old Army helicopter sniper at the time, and the war was incredibly hard for him.

“When you got up in the morning you always wondered whether you would see the sun go down at night,” John said.

John was touched by the card, even though he did not know the girl.

“Fact is I think it means more today than it did when I got it,” John said, adding that it was because she said thank you.

John had no idea who had written the letter, with the only clue of her identity being that she signed it “DonnaCaye.” Decades later, John finally tracked down DonnaCaye Ludemann Sica, and he had the opportunity to thank her in person.

“I remember writing the letter,” she said. “I was amazed that I could have the opportunity to write to a serviceman and maybe make his life a little simpler for a couple of minutes.”

Social media users around the world have been touched by their reunion.

“Words can be life-saving. In addition to thanking service men and servicewomen, along with the families (spouses) who sacrificed, ask them what their service was like,” one user wrote, with another adding, “There are so many sad people out there that you have to remember to say a kind word to somebody. It might be just the thing they need to survive another day!”