Love, War and Letters

Jaime and Jeremy, on their wedding day.
{image via NY Daily News}

If you have been reading any online news source in the past week or so, you have more than likely seen the story about Jaime Benefit and Jeremy Clayton. During the Persian Gulf War, Jaime (then 13 years old) decided to send a letter addressed to "any soldier" thanking them for their service. The letter ended up in the hands of 19 year old PFC Jeremy Clayton and the two became pen pals, writing back and forth whenever they could.

Fast-forward almost 20 years, and Jaime decided to try to find Jeremy. After some unsuccessful attempts at trying to reach him through more traditional methods, Jaime used Facebook to sort through over 300 Jeremy Claytons! The rest happens only in the movies - Jaime and Jeremy met, instantly fell for each other and were married in July of this year. After reading an article about them, I knew I had to speak with Jaime about her extraordinary romance and how paper brought them together. One of the things that really got me about Jaime and Jeremy is that they still write each other little notes every day. She puts them in his lunch and he'll put them on the bathroom mirror for her - she says that they're as simple as "I love you" or "hope you have a great day", but that they mean so much to the two of them. Jaime says:

"Handwritten letters add a personal touch and it means a lot more when you take time to write someone, especially in today's society when emails and text messages have become the norm. With a handwritten letter you actually put your hands on it and they can save it to read at a later time."

Jaime actually kept all of the letters that Jeremy sent her during the Persian Gulf War, and Jeremy had to hide a couple of Jaime's letters in his truck so he could hang on to them. Most of us delete our emails or text messages or let them pile up in our inbox - Jeremy took the time to hide letters during a war. Jaime and Jeremy are just as technology obsessed as the rest of us but Jaime still sees the letter as a way to let someone know that you care about them.

"[It's] a way to show them that they are in your thoughts and that they are worth the extra minute it takes to write something out for them."

Who knows, that extra 5 minutes you take to actually mail a letter could make someone's day 20 years from now. So put down your cell phone, pick up a pen and piece of paper, and connect with someone special.