WWII Marine Raider Who Fought on Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal Wants Cards for 100th Birthday

Frank S. Wright has lived a life. At 16, as World War II raged, he lied about his age and joined the Marine Corps, entering into the ranks of legends as a Marine Raider in the Pacific. He fought at Guadalcanal. He was bayonetted in the stomach while liberating Guam. He was shot in the chest and arm at the Battle of Iwo Jima. 

Now Wright has a request: He wants 100,000 birthday cards when he turns 100 on July 5.

“I’d like to have the children know more about World War II,” Wright told Task & Purpose recently. “This makes the teachers begin to talk to them about it.”

As of Tuesday, Wright had received 422 birthday cards, said retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Marvin HernandezGarcia, commander of American Legion Karl Ross Post 16 in Stockton, California.