Meet the “hug lady” who has greeted troops for over a decade
Elizabeth Laird is somewhat of a legend among troops in Fort Hood, Texas. For over a decade, the grandmother has been sending off local soldiers in the most heart-warming way: with a big hug.
She’s the last thing they see before they leave, and the first person standing at the gate when they return, ready to give them a big hug and thank them for their service. For soldiers without close ties, she’s like family.
“The hug lady was very inspirational in my first deployment to Afghanistan; she touched my heart,” says retired Army Captain Caren Adkins. “[She’s] impacting so many lives.”
But recently, the ‘hug lady,’ as she’s affectionately known among troops, has hit hard times. The grandmother had to stop her duties when she was recently hospitalised due to a breast cancer diagnosis.
Now, the troops who she supported want to help her, rallying to her bedside and spreading the word about her kind deeds. Military members from Fort Hood, Texas, have raised over $80,000 for their honorary grandmother’s medical bills.
“They just want to thank her for encouraging them, for giving them something to look for … they knew when they went over there, when they came back, someone would be waiting,” son Richard Dewees told The Washington Post.
Laid has been a strong military supporter for over 12 years, greeting and seeing off troops since the first soldiers left for the Iraq War in 2003. She even drove to the airfield after her husband’s funeral in 2008, ready to greet an incoming flight of troops with hugs. It’s believed that Laird has given nearly 500,000 hugs.
While her cancer has spread, Laird remains determined to return to her post as the ‘hug lady’. “Got flights coming up,” she told a visiting soldier. “Got to get out and hug you.”