When 21-year-old DaShauna Priest was in third grade, she wrote a letter to a World War II veteran, thanking him for his service. She had no idea just how much her words would mean to him for years to come.
The recipient of her letter, Frank Grasberger, now 95, was on an honor flight to Washington D.C. in 2009 when he first read it. The letter brought tears to his eyes and quickly became his most-prized possession.
He carried it everywhere with him and hoped one day maybe he’d get to meet this little girl in person, but he and his wife Delores were never able to find her.
12 years later, his wish came true.
This month, an employee at Vitalia Senior Residences where Grasberger lives, managed to track Priest down online and had her come to their facility to surprise Grasberger.
In the video below, which originally went viral on TikTok with more than four million views, you’ll see Grasberger sitting down as Priest walks in wearing her National Guard uniform. He takes one look at her and says, “You’re not the girl. Don’t make me cry please. I love you so much.”
Delores wipes tears from her eyes as she says “We’ve looked for you for 12 years.”
With her hands shaking and tears forming in her eyes, Priest hugs Grasberger and his wife and then hands him the letter that he wrote back to her to prove that it was really her.
Grasberger couldn’t thank DaShauna enough for being there, and this is without a doubt a very touching moment that the two of them will never forget.
While their first meeting had to come to an end, this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
This story just goes to show that a little kindness goes a long way!