Their letters to vets led to friendship!

When teacher Audra Branson asked her fifth graders to write letters to veterans, she never imagined the tidal wave of kindness and connection that would follow—for the students and heroes alike!

- Bill Holton

Top: 97-year-old veteran Sergeant Ed Fox (left) with a student pen pal. Bottom: Ed with Audra Branson (right) during his visit to the school. "The students welcomed him with cheers and flags to show their appreciation for his service," she says.

Today we're going to write letters to veterans,” Oklahoma teacher Audra Branson told her fifth-grade Crescent Elementary class.

“Animal doctors?” one student piped up.

Audra smiled and explained the difference between veterans and veterinarians—and just like that, a class tradition was born.

Audra had collected the names and addresses of a number of service veterans throughout Oklahoma and nearby states for her students to write to as a way to hone their reading and writing skills.

I wonder if we'll get any replies, she thought after class as she began addressing envelopes.

Some of the students' letters landed in the mailbox of retired Army pilot Glenn Bloom. He and Audra had met at an airshow the previous year, where Audra's husband, Bruce, and a friend were showing a WWII plane they had been working on restoring. Glenn was wearing a veteran's cap when he approached Audra, who was selling T-shirts to support the restoration.