Human Interest Veteran Meets Woman Who Wrote Him a Thank You Letter After 12 Years of Searching: 'We Cried' DeShauna Priest wrote a thank-you letter to World War II veteran Frank Grasberger when she was 9, and the two finally met 12 years later this July By Wendy Grossman Kantor and Jason Duaine Hahn Jason Duaine Hahn Jason Hahn is a Human Interest and Sports Reporter for PEOPLE. He's worked at PEOPLE's Los Angeles Bureau as a writer and reporter since 2017 and has interviewed the likes of Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Brady. He has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He previously worked for Complex Magazine in New York City. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 9, 2021 06:48 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Twelve years ago, then 9-year-old DeShauna Priest wrote a letter to World War II veteran Frank Grasberger, thanking him for all he did in the military. Grasberger has kept that simple letter — which features a drawing of an American flag and flowers coming out of a helmet — since then and held out hope he would one day meet Priest in person."I could not understand how a young girl could write a letter to a veteran when she — I don't think she had any idea what a war was," Grasberger tells PEOPLE. "And she wrote a letter, and what tore me up is how she wrote it and showed flowers coming out of a helmet." "I was very impressed, as young as she was, that she thought about a veteran and how she made it a letter to a veteran," the 95-year-old adds. "I really wanted to see her." Ind. Boys 'Immediately Stop' Riding Their Bikes to Honor Fallen Veteran After Seeing His Funeral Courtesy Vitalia Senior Residences – Strongsville After a long search, the day the two would finally meet happened this July. After an employee at VITALIA Senior Residences at Strongsville tracked down now 21-year-old Priest on social media, she came to visit Grasberger at the center. That's when he found out she had joined the military herself and is currently serving in the U.S. Army National Guard. Air Force Veteran Transforms 9 Acres Into 'Healing Farm' for Other Vets to 'Find Purpose in Life' The moment was an emotional one for all involved. "We cried together," Priest tells PEOPLE. "We've cried together. I don't really cry around anyone." RELATED VIDEO: Veteran Crochets Blanket For Wife's Grandma Grasberger's wife, Delores, spoke about how much Priest's letter meant to him. "It was just something about that letter that made him keep thinking and thinking about her, kept her in his mind all the time, and he had never met her," she tells PEOPLE. "He didn't know anything about her. That letter, it was an act of kindness, is what it was."