A Vietnam veteran, who says a simple Christmas letter he received 48 years ago helped him get through the war, finally got to meet the person who sent it -- and it was a very emotional meeting.
On Christmas Day in 1970, John Metzler -- who was a 23-year-old helicopter gunner in the war -- received a random thank you letter written by a sixth-grader named Donna Caye as part of a school project.
In it she wrote, "Dear Serviceman … I want to give my sincere thanks for going over to war to fight for us. The class hopes you will be able to come home.”
The thank you meant so much to Metzler, as it came at a time when servicemen felt they were fighting a thankless war. He held onto the letter and still keeps it on display in his Idaho home.
Recently, Metzler asked his family to try to get in touch with Donna Caye. They told him they had no such luck, but in reality, they did find her and arranged for her to fly to Idaho from her home in Florida to surprise him.
Cameras were rolling and tears were flowing as the two recently finally got to meet each other. Watch the video here. (CBS News)