Community Corner

Veteran's Heartwarming Note to Local Woman Goes Viral

The note, which was left anonymously on Samantha Ford's car outside the Dunkin' Donuts in Arlington Heights, had received nearly 1.7 million Facebook 'Likes' and more than 200,000 shares as of early Wednesday morning.

Samantha Ford, an Arlington High School graduate, was leaving the Dunkin’ Donuts in Arlington Heights Sunday morning with her two young children when she spotted what appeared to be a parking ticket underneath one of her windshield wipers.

She shoved the piece of paper in her pocket, got her kids in the car and then sat in the driver’s seat before looking to see how much she owed, according to a TODAY.com report.

Instead of a ticket, Ford, whose boyfriend is deployed with the Army in Afghanistan, received the following note on the back of a white envelope:

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“I noticed the sticker on the back of your car. Take your hero out to dinner when he comes home. Thank you both for serving. Him deployed and you for waiting.”

The sticker on Ford’s car reads, “1/2 my heart is in Afghanistan.” The note was signed, “United States Veteran, God Bless,” and the envelope contained two $20 bills. Ford began to cry.

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Ford told TODAY.com that it was too early in the day to contact her boyfriend, Albert DeSimone, who is also an Arlington native, according to his Facebook page. So instead, she posted the above photo on the “Our Deployment: 101” Facebook page, a community page for “military affiliated people just looking for kindness and inspiration.”

“There are no words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” Ford wrote on the post. “Tears in my eyes. I just wish I could thank whoever did this! God bless our troops and all those who stand behind them.”

The page then shared Ford’s post on its wall, and 24 hours later, the post had more than 1 million “Likes.” As of early Wednesday morning, it had nearly 1.7 million “Likes” and more than 200,000 shares.

Ford told TODAY.com that she spoke to DeSimone Sunday night. “He was so touched,” she said via email, “and he said it’s people like this that make him proud to be an American Soldier.”

DeSimone is with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which is based in Fort Stewart, Ga., according to the TODAY.com report.

Ford told the website that she posted the photo in hopes that the anonymous veteran would see it and know how much it meant to her and DeSimone.

“It’s amazing to know that there are still people in this world as beautiful as this individual,” she said.

Editor's note: Arlington Patch has attempted to contact Samantha Ford for more details.


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