On October 7th of this year, James South will turn 100 years old. The WWII veteran is reaching out on social media in hopes of receiving 100 birthday cards for the momentous occasion.
Officials at Brookdale Senior Living in Watauga, Texas (near Fort Worth), posted an image of South on Facebook. In the picture, he is seen holding a sign that states he is a WWII veteran who is turning 100 years old on October 7, 2019, and hopes to receive 100 birthday cards.
The post has since gone viral with thousands of shares and hundreds of people sending their regards through messages on the social media site.
Officials at Brookdale Senior Living in Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, posted an image of South with a sign on Facebook on Friday, Sept. 20.
South was born into a large family of sharecroppers and raised in northeast Texas. He joined the Army in 1940 and was deployed to Normandy a week after D-Day. Every day he was overseas during WWII his girlfriend, Sophie, wrote him a letter.
When he returned, they married. They were still together 55 years later until she died in 2001. The couple had one child, Jim.
South retired when he turned 65 and kept himself busy with woodworking, gardening, golfing and going to church. He moved into Brookdale last year when he was 98 years old.
Jim plans to celebrate his father’s milestone with three days of festivities including taking his father golfing, eating at the elder South’s favorite restaurants (South likes catfish and chicken fried steak), and time with the family.
4) ”Hello! My name is James South and I am a proud World War II Veteran! I will be turning 100 on October 7th, 2019 and I would like to receive 100 birthday cards.”
Cards can be sent to:
5800 North Park Drive
Watauga, TX 76148 pic.twitter.com/aXq2SBiD7n— McKay Smith (@McKayMSmith) September 22, 2019
Jim says his father taught him two things: a hug is better than a handshake and money is not life’s goal – happiness is. Teaching and sharing are two qualities that are important to the senior South.
If you would like to send a card to James South, you can mail it to:
James South
5800 North Park Drive
Watauga, Texas 76148
Brookdale staff intend to hang the cards on a wall in South’s room, although with the number of cards received so far, one can assume they might have to change them frequently. They alerted the post office early to expect a potential increase in mail.
And right they were; in a post on September 27th, Brookdale Senior Living’s Facebook account posted that they had received nearly 20,000 cards at that time. They went on to thank everyone for making his birthday so special and unforgettable.
Brookdale is one of the largest senior living providers in the country with several facilities in Texas, and James South isn’t the first Brookdale resident to request cards for his centennial. A resident at Brookdale in Wichita Falls, TX made the same request for his March 2019 birthday. Joe Cuba received over 50,000 cards and 100 gifts from around the world.
2) His love for cards and letters started during WWII. “I had a girlfriend that had been true to me and she had written me a letter. I was gone four years, and she had written me a letter every day that I was gone.”
That woman became his wife. They were married 55 years. pic.twitter.com/XxBqRK9Meh
— McKay Smith (@McKayMSmith) September 22, 2019
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From the response so far, it appears that James South will have similar success. South said that receiving the cards would give him a sense of being recognized for what he does and who he is.
He said that he would always cherish the cards he receives. Jim said that the cards would be a small return of love for all the love his father shared throughout his life.