Soldiers pause to help girl celebrate 9th birthday during hurricane relief efforts
A young girl enjoying her birthday with family and friends got a pleasant surprise on her special day thanks to a group of soldiers.
U.S. Army soldier Spc. John Folk of Bossier City, Louisiana and his team got a cake for the girl’s ninth birthday celebration during hurricane relief efforts on Oct. 13 in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
FILE-U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, celebrate a little girl's birthday during Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Oct. 13, 2024.
Folk and the team were conducting a routine resupply mission when a woman mentioned to him it was her daughter’s birthday. The soldiers also found out that the family had dealt with heartbreak before.
A family illness led to the cancellation of the young girl’s birthday celebration last year, and with the family recovering in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, her ninth birthday was on the brink of not being celebrated.
FILE-U.S. Army Soldier, Spc. Hunter Folk, a native of Bossier City, Louisiana, assigned to the 1st Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, poses for a photo in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Oct. 17, 2024.
"We were about to leave when a lady mentioned it was her daughter’s birthday. They couldn’t celebrate the year before, and now with the hurricane, things seemed even harder," Folk said in a release from the Department of Defense. "I just thought it would be nice to do something special, so I called back to leadership, and we got her a cake. It turned into a little birthday party with the kids dressed in costumes—it was a good time."
The family was grateful for the kindness of the soldiers.
Folk added that the experience of celebrating the birthday with the family was "about uplifting their spirits" given what they were going through.