When Pte. Fred Arsenault was in the trenches during the Second World War Italian Campaign, he read handwritten letters from his mother and it gave him a sense of hope.

Now, approaching his 100th birthday on March 6, the veteran machine gunner has only one wish — for people to mail him 100 cards. It’s an initiative kickstarted by Arsenault’s son, Ron.

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“When my dad was in the Second World War, in the slip trench, he used to get the odd letter from his mom. How many times he told me he used to read them in the night, in the darkness, but he could read them from the tracers overhead,” Ron Arsenault, 63, told the Sun.

There have been a few veterans worldwide who have made a similar request on their birthdays. Ron said they were inspired by James South, from Texas, who asked for 100 cards to celebrate his birthday last October. The veteran said his late wife, Sophie, wrote him a letter every day that he was deployed to Normandy during the Second World War.

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This past weekend, Ron took a picture of his father holding a sign. “Hello. My name is Fred Arsenault. I am a WW2 veteran about to turn 100 years old on March 6, 2020 and would like to receive 100 birthday cards. Please mail: 9 Kenmore Ave., Toronto, ON, M1K 1B3, Canada. Thank you.”

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They uploaded the photo during the Super Bowl, but didn’t think the response would go viral.

“By the time I went to bed that night, it was close to 300 shares, now it’s close to 600 shares and growing,” Ron said. “I saw a video of a lady putting a card in the mailbox with our address on it from Holland. So it’s gone across Canada and further.”

Premier Doug Ford and Mayor John Tory have both tweeted out Fred’s wish.

“Encouraging people to send birthday cards to WWII veteran Fred Arsenault … Let’s get those cards in the mail to let him know we thank him for his service and wish him a very happy 100th birthday!” wrote Tory.

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Ron said his father was originally from Prince Edward Island, lived in Toronto, but later returned to P.E.I. for retirement. But circumstances changed and Fred came to live with Ron and his wife in Toronto up until last year, when he moved to a nursing home in the Toronto area.

“When the mailman stepped one foot in the driveway, we would be informed that ‘the mailman’s here,’ so we would get him the mail and he got to sort it all out. It gave him something to do,” he said.

Ron said the first card was hand delivered to his home Monday. He estimates that his dad might get as many as the veteran from Texas — which was 100,000 in three weeks’ time, and then he’ll bring them over to the seniors home.

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Arsenault served with the Cape Breton Highlanders from 1940 to 1945 and fought in the Italian Campaign and the Liberation of the Netherlands.

“He’s very quiet and independent,” his son said. “They interviewed him on the radio and they asked him what his secret to longevity and he said, ‘I’ve never driven. I don’t drive.'”

On March 6, besides opening his birthday cards, Fred’s family will be helping him celebrate at a rented hall.

“We don’t even realize what this is turning into overnight, but we’ve told him he’s going to be getting a lot of cards,” Ron said with a laugh.