'Wesley Berry Flowers' honors Marines overseas, courtesy of Korean War vet
DETROIT, May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In February, 1951, Ted R. Hitchcock was stationed in east-central Korea with the 1st Marine Division. It was approaching Valentine's Day and the holiday was making him miss his family and his new fiancee, Lois. In an effort to show his affection, he wrote a letter to the Detroit Free Press explaining his situation and asking to deliver flowers to his fiancee. He also included payment to cover the cost of the flowers. The Free Press completed his request and wrote an article about his expression of love. When he returned from Korea, he and Lois got married. Ted is now recovering from a stay in the hospital due to lung cancer and a broken hip. Lois has been by his side the whole time.
"My concern was his safety because he was in such a dangerous situation, and it meant so much to me that he went out of his way to show me that he cared," Lois explained. "Even after all these years, I still can feel the thrill of receiving those flowers."
This week, Ted wrote a letter to Wesley Berry, the CEO of Wesley Berry Flowers with a request to complete a similar action. He believes that the reason his marriage, and possibly his life, has lasted these 63 years is because of this one action he conducted in 1951. Because of this, he requested to deliver flowers to the spouse of an active Marine stationed in a war-zone and, again, included the funds to do so. Upon receiving this request, Mr. Berry decided to return Mr. Hitchcock's money, up the ante and create an annual Memorial Day donation of flowers to at least ten newlywed spouses of active military servicemen stationed in combat zones overseas.
Mr. Berry stated, "This kind of opportunity to show support to our troops doesn't come around often, so we wanted to jump on this chance. Ted told us about how a tiny gesture can go a long way, so we wanted to brighten the lives of those who are making the biggest sacrifice of all. We wanted to say 'thank you,' so we're saying it with flowers."
In order to find valid candidates for Mr. Hitchcock's request, we need YOUR HELP! If you know a newlywed couple who meet these qualifications, contact us and tell us a little bit about these standout citizens!
About Wesley Berry Flowers
Wesley Berry is the CEO of Wesley Berry Flowers, a Detroit-based brick and mortar florist established in 1946. He also owns FlowerDeliveryExpress.com, a multi-million dollar online floral delivery operation.
Wesley Berry Flowers creates arrangements for walk-in and delivery clients. They deliver in the metro-Detroit area using their own fleet of vans and coast to coast through FedEx and UPS. The company has been voted "Best Florist" over a dozen times and gives back to the community whenever the opportunity arises. Shoppers can conveniently make a purchase by phone at 800-628-9731 and online at www.WesleyBerryFlowers.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SOURCE Wesley Berry Flowers
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