- Veterans Day honors every American who served in uniform,
your contributions echo throughout history
and to show what I'm talking about,
I'd like for private first-class Deshauna Priest to stand.
Hi, come on over here. Come on over here.
You can stand right here.
First of all it's nice to meet you.
- Thank you. - Oh my gosh.
I'm so excited to have you here
and you look super cute in your uniform.
- Thank you. - So she is a member
of the Ohio national guard,
which John legend would be very proud of. He's an Ohio boy.
So 12 years ago, when she was in the third grade,
she wrote a letter to a world war two veteran.
And what did that letter say?
- That letter was basically thanking him for,
for his service and I said,
"thank you for saving us from Hitler".
(both laughing)
- I love how just to the point you were.
- Yep. Thank you for saving us from Hitler.
And actually he wrote me back.
He gave me a letter and the letter was basically describing
how he had fought in the battle of the bulge.
And at the time he was 83.
- Wow. - Yep.
He was 83 and he had sent me a feather along with the letter
and it said, "he was sending me his angels".
- Okay. What?
This show is going to kill me. Oh my gosh.
Okay. That's so sweet.
Oh my gosh. Well, that she's right
that veteran was Frank Grasberger who served
with the 106th infantry.
Frank fought at the battle of the bulge,
famously one of the toughest
and most significant victories against the Nazis.
He was pulled from a foxhole, nearly frozen.
So Frank is an American hero and,
and something happened this summer, right?
- [Deshauna] Yes. - What was it?
- So the activities director at his assisted living
had reached out to me and had basically was like,
he shows this letter to everyone and he actually,
all 12 years, he was looking for me.
So we decided to...
- What? - Yes.
We decided to set up a lunch with him
and only the activities director and his wife knew about it.
But no one knew I was in the military
because I don't have pictures on my social media.
- You're like one of the few. We found one.
Well, we have video of their first meeting. Take a look.
- Hello.
- You're not the girl who (indistinct).
Don't make me cry, please.
- This is the girl. - This isn't the girl, is it?
- [Camera person] Yes. - Honest to God.
oh, I love you so much.
(crowd cheering)
- I like... I was trying not to watch that.
Well, I have some amazing news on this Veterans Day.
Frank and his wife Dee are dialed in.
So you want to turn around.
Hi. What's up Frank?
What's up Dee?
(crowd cheering)
- Hi.
- Welcome to the show.
(crowd cheering)
Thank you so much Frank for your service.
And thank you so much for being so kind to this little one
and sending that feather, that was,
that should be in a movie, that was so beautiful.
So Frank, why did that letter mean so much to you
that you carried around for so long?
- It's because I couldn't believe a nine-year-old could know
what a war was like.
Especially when I seen the picture,
with the helmet, with the flowers growing out of it.
That was (indistinct), hit me.
- It's a beautiful thing that you carried around.
So Deshauna what is it,
what does it mean that you're wearing
the same uniform he wore?
- It just gives like, a sense of confidence and just,
it feels good to know that you're doing something
for somebody else.
- That's empowering. Yeah.
Oh my God, I love you.
So Frank, what would you like very American
to remember this veterans day?
- I don't know. I hope the ones that went through the war
like I did, I hope that they're safe and I pray for them
like they praying for me.
- Ugh my gosh. Well, thank you so much, Frank,
for your time, and for your service.
And Dee thank you so much for helping us out too.
Y'all have a wonderful, wonderful day, all right?
Bye. - Bye-bye.
- Thank you so much for showing up.
- Thank you.
- You can go now I'm not gonna make us cry.
- Thank you. - All right whoo.
Oh my gosh. Okay.
Everything's fine. I love Frank.