Find Out Why Thousands of Soldiers Are Lining Up to Hug This Woman in a Hospital

by N/A, 10 years ago | 2 min read

Sometimes, a hug is a lot more than just a hug.

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Since 2003, Elizabeth Laird, an 83-year-old air force veteran, has hugged every single soldier that's passed through Texas-based U.S. military post, Fort Hood.

Laird - or as the soldiers call her, "hug lady" - estimates that in that time, she’s doled out over 500,000 hugs through both sending soldiers off and welcoming them home.

“They tell me how much my hug meant to them and how they’ll never forget it,” Laird told Today. “A lot of [them were] leaving home for the first time and some of their families couldn’t be there to see them off.”

But one day, Laird wasn't anywhere to be found. Naturally, this raised flags for many of her soldier friends. After investigating, they came to learn that she'd been hospitalized with the breast cancer she had been battling since 2005.

Once news of Laird's situation got out, hundreds of soldiers who were embraced by her over the years came to return the favor, and give her hugs instead. One even came all the way from New York City.

“When they enter the room, they give me a hug and then we talk about anything from their family to what it was like overseas or if they got a civilian job upon returning. Sometimes the line is so long that we have to turn people away,” Laird went on to tell Today.

Now, not only have soldiers raised over $90,000 for Laird's medical bills, but former President George W. Bush also sent her a letter thanking her for her invaluable love and kindness.

Visit Laird's GoFundMe page to donate to helping her and her doctors continue to fight her cancer!