Mission 116-A

Turning 100: Frederico G. Corral,

About:  Frederico G. Corral, will be 100 years old on March 24, 2025. He is a disabled WWII veteran wounded 3 times at the Battle of Okinawa. He was in infantryman with U.S. Army 96th Infantry Division 282 Regiment. His awards include 3 Purple Hearts and Infantry Badge Bronze Star.

He had a heart attack last year on his 99th birthday. On Mother's Day last year lost he his wife. 

Since then, he has been on hospice. His family asks to surprise him with hopefully 100 cards. That God continues to bless him.

Birthday: March 24th

Send your cards to arrive on or before:  March 19th

Mailing Address: 

Fred Corral
434 E. Fromer St.
Rialto, CA 92376
ATTN: Federico

Mission 116-B

Turning 75: Paul Merrills

About:  Paul served 20 years on active duty in the United States Navy from Nov, 1972 to March, 1993 as an Aviation electronics technician. Was assigned to 3 different aircraft carriers; USS Enterprise(CVN65), USS Kitty Hawk (CV63); and USS Nimitz (CVN68). He will be 75yrs old on March 27. Hoping to make his birthday a memorable one.

Birthday: March 27th

Send your cards to arrive on or before:  March 19th

Mailing Address: 

St. John's United Church of Christ

1934 Bridge St. NW

Grand Rapids, MI 49504 

ATTN: JUDY MERRILLS

Mission 116-C

Turning 80: Thomas H Bennett

About:  Tom was born March 22, 1945, in Torrance, CA. He joined the US Navy in May 1963. His first assignment was a year at Midway Island, where he learned scuba diving, snorkeling, catching lobster, and love of the ocean.

He was assigned to various squadrons, including VX-4, VS-41, and VP 4 which was his last assignment at Barbers Point, HI. He went to Japan with several side trips to many destinations in the Pacific Islands and Viet Nam, before returning to the US, where he received an honorable discharge in May 1967.

After discharge he sought a law enforcement career with the California Highway Patrol. He eventually retired from the CHP on disability from injuries sustained on the job.

He worked as a P.I., and a criminal investigator with the US Government. After 16 years as a Special Agent for the government, he retired.

In December of 04, he felt the need to be of service to the country and went to work for the US State Department. He worked as a contract employee training the Iraqi Police Cadets for a year.

Birthday: March 22nd

Send your cards to arrive on or before:  March 20th

Mailing Address: 

Mr Thomas Bennett

275 W Brogan Rd

Hastings, MI 49058-8335

Mission 116-D

Turning 90: Paul Humphrey

About:  Paul was born in 1935 in Wytheville, Virginia. Before he was ten, Paul's father gave him a mandolin and he began learning and playing music, first with a cousin, Jimmy Williams. When a teen, Paul adopted the stage name of Williams so he and Jimmy could be billed as the Williams Brothers. He played with various bluegrass bands since 1951 but joined the US Air Force at the beginning of 1954. He worked in supply and peacekeeping in Korea after the ceasefire and then as a radio operator in other parts of SE Asia. And while off-duty, Paul played guitar in a country band. Following active duty, Paul served four years in the Air Force Reserve.

Paul's notable musical success was while playing with Jimmy Martin, his brother-in-law, and the Sunny Mountain Boys. Paul wrote at least half of the songs he recorded with Martin. Beginning in 1963, Paul worked various non-musical jobs, retiring from the US Postal Service in 1995. During those years he was choir director for his church and a member of an acappella gospel quartet which had a program on a radio station in Morristown, Tennessee. In 1995, coinciding with his retirement, Paul formed his own gospel group, The Victory Trio, and toured for the next 15 years. Over the years, besides Jimmy Martin, Paul's songs have been recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Marty Raybon, Hank Williams, Jr., Ernest Tubb, Ray Charles, and more.

Paul lives near Morristown with his wife, Edria, and has one son, four granddaughters and seven great grandchildren.

Birthday: March 30

Send your cards to arrive on or before:  March 30 

Mailing address:
Paul Humphrey
5588 Maxine Street
Russellville, TN 37860

Mission 116-E

Turning 89: Edward Glyn Jolly

About:  Glyn grew up in South Texas; he now lives in Victoria, TX where he owns G.J. Enterprises, a watch and clock repair service. According to a feature article about Glyn that appeared in the local paper several years ago, “he remembers having to look up when he cleaned the show cases inside his father’s jewelry store, Jolly’s Jewelry. He took his first watch apart at age 8 but, when he put it back together, there were pieces left over.” His dad always said it took hands-on work and trial and error. Glyn perfected his skills, utilized them in his “after regular hours” work and continues to be a great watch repairman!

Birthday: April 4

Send your cards to arrive on or before:   April 4

Mission 115-A

Frank Thompson's 86th

Thank you Janine for all you do to make our veteran’s birthday special.

Since this was a surprise (at least for the first 50 cards anyway) Frank kept asking,” who are these people that I don’t know and from places in the United States that I have never visited, sending ME a birthday card.”

As the cards rolled in (218), Frank was over-the-top honored and appreciated all the thoughtful notes written in the cards. Thanks to all of you for making his 86th birthday extra special! This picture and smile capture his feeling!

Mission 114-A

Eugene Chap Chappell's 80th

As of last Saturday, he has received 156 cards and one birthday postcard. Because of the snow in the Washington, DC area we did not receive any mail today. There may still be a few more. He was quite surprised at the number of caring generous people who took the time to send him cards. It certainly brightened his day. He came home from the rehab center yesterday. Thank you so very much for doing this for him and for all the effort you put into doing this for so many others

Mission 113-A

David Nelson's 78th

The cards have finally stopped coming, so I believe this mission is complete! David was very surprised...and touched at this little event. David and our daughters enjoyed opening some of the cards while he was in Texas, the remaining ones went back to California with him. Thanks to all of you who helped make this happen.

Mission 113-E

Robert Stangier's 101st

Dad had a full day yesterday celebrating his birthday. He has had coffee at the Rainbow Cafe everyday for over 70+ years and the people in town knew they could find him there. All 200+ cards were put in a basket and we started to take them out to display, but soon realized we would never get them all back in. The next stop was his 3 hr shift at the air museum. Once we were home, the cards were taken out so he could see them. Over 200 cards, letters, and post cards. You can see by the smile on his face he was/is excited to go through them all. He opened about 50 yesterday. With the use of a magnifying glass and a really bright flashlight he read them out loud.

Thank you so much for that took time to reach out on his birthday. 

Mission 106-C

Gerald (Jay) Co-Wallis's 78th

My apologies I didn't get to write you with the success and gratitude of my dad and family for all the birthday cards back in April.

I wish I had a picture of my dad with all his birthday cards.  My dad had a heart attack in September. And in October, his visiting nurse called EMS to have him transported to the hospital. He was released into Hospice home care from there. Yesterday, he asked me to call EMS. They discovered he had some GI bleeding and gave him a blood transfusion. But he didn't want to do the endoscopy to figure out where the bleeding was so they can stop it. He came back home into home hospice care where my mom and I continued to be his primary caregivers.

My dad passed away last night (Dec. 14, 2024) surrounded in love by mom, sister, and I.

I can't thank you and Janine's Team enough for all the love, kindness, and support you gave my dad last year after his stroke and this year for his birthday. It meant so much to all of us. The kindness and generosity touched all of our hearts.

He responded back to everyone with a little thank you note and framed and hung the picture you sent him on the wall. We still have all the cards and will have them made into book.
With Gratitude and Appreciation, Bella

Mission 113-C

Jim's 90th

"Oh if the table had only been longer. Jim has been blessed beyond his wildest imagination with all the cards that have come in—394 and still arriving. He is honored and humbled that so many people have thought of him, took the time to send a card and express their appreciation for his service. It is a sign that patriotism is still alive and well in our country. Thank you to everyone who participated in making an awesome and memorable birthday for Jim. And thank you, Janine, for the opportunity to honor and show gratitude to our veterans for their service."

Mission 111-E

Don's 90th

An article was written on Don's 90th and all the cards he received from you! Read it here: Stevensville veteran relishes surprise birthday cards!