When JAE third grade teacher Rebecca Pagnotta saw a television report
about a veteran asking for Valentine’s Day cards, she set out on a
mission. Starting with her own class of 24 students who created messages
of thanks and appreciation, she and the students put a call out to
other classes and received 500 cards. The cards have been mailed to U.S.
Marine Corps Major Bill White, a 104-year-old man living in a senior
citizen center in California, who requested as many Valentine’s Day
cards as possible. The heartfelt gifts of kindness will be preserved
with his lifetime scrapbooks of precious memories and items – including
his Purple Heart.