A World War II veteran in California has a big birthday approaching and he’s asking for a simple gesture: some birthday cards.

For most, getting mail is a mundane task that only brings more junk mail and bills. But Duane Sherman looks forward to seeing what awaits him in the mailbox.

“Every day, he said, ‘Oh have you checked the mail?’” Sherman’s daughter Sue Morse told KCAL.

Unfortunately, a special delivery rarely awaits him, and his daughter is hoping to change that.

Sherman will turn 96 on Dec. 30 and he hasn’t felt much like celebrating. So, Morse turned to Facebook with a simple request: for people to send her father birthday cards.

It’s almost Happy Birthday time! Please help me make this one extra special…My dad , Duane Sherman, will be 96 on…Posted by Sue Morse on Friday, November 30, 2018

At his age, Sherman is experiencing what a lot of older adults go through.

“All my friends are gone,” he told KCAL.

Sherman is a World War II Navy veteran who received a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained when a Kamikaze plane hit the U.S.S. Lamson. Thirty of his shipmates died that day, and Sherman still has the shrapnel in his back.

“We should all be very proud of their service and honor them in any way that we can,” Morse said.

If you’d like to help make Sherman’s birthday a little more special, you can mail a card to Duane Sherman, C/O Sue Morse, P.O. Box 794, Highland, CA 92346.