Soldier Says A Stranger's Christmas Card Got Him Through Vietnam. He Just Met The Sender

November 21, 2018

When John Metzler served in the Vietnam War, he got a Christmas card from a little girl he didn't know.

He said it helped him get through the war.

John Metzler / CBS News

The letter arrived on Christmas Day 1970 and it simply 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 didn't know the girl. But he took it very personally.

"Fact is I think it means more today than it did when I got it," John said. It's because she said thank you.

Decades later, John asked family members to help him find her. The letter was signed, DonnaCaye.

They found DonnaCaye Ludemann Sica, who was able to deliver a second thank you message — this time in person.

Watch the video below.