Southwest Airlines gives a special surprise to 102-year-old WWII veteran on her birthday. Here's what they did
Southwest Airlines’ post about giving a surprise to a 102-year-old WWII veteran has won people’s hearts. The airline also shared a series of photos.
Southwest Airlines took to Instagram to share a post about a 102-year-old WWII veteran. The airline shared how they organised a special surprise for her to celebrate her birthday. In the post, they further gave a glimpse of her life while in the military and also thanked her for her service.

“Meet 102-year-old WWII Veteran, Helen Marie Horvath. Helen Marie's son works at Southwest, so he reached out to his Cohearts (the Southwest word for coworkers) and asked for their help to make his mom's 102nd birthday arrival extra special,” the airline wrote.
They shared that when Helen Marie arrived in Saint Louis, she was given a surprise and welcomed with ‘American flags, a crown, bubbles, happy birthday signs and cheering’. Overjoyed, the woman also shared stories from her military life with the staff. She shared how she started her military career when she was just 21 years old and talked about getting ‘Honorable Discharge’ afterwards.
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The airline wrapped up the post with a series of images. One of the pictures shows Helen Marie sitting in a wheelchair wearing a crown and a robe. A few people are seen standing around her holding balloons and other party props. Two of them are also seen holding the number ‘102’.
While the second photo captures people cheering for her, the third one is a throwback photograph from her younger days.
Take a look at this beautiful post here:
The post was shared nearly 14 hours ago. Since then, the share has gathered more than 3,500 likes. It has also accumulated several comments from people. Many reacted to the post using heart emoticons.
How did Instagram users react to this surprise?
“Happy birthday to this amazing woman!” shared an Instagram user. “Ahh, such a great story! Go Helen!” added another. “Great story!! Happy Birthday,” joined a third. “What a beautiful story,” wrote a fourth.
ABOUT THE AUTHORTrisha SenguptaTrisha Sengupta works as Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of experience in the digital newsroom. Known for her ability to decode the internet’s most talked-about moments, she specialises in high-engagement storytelling that bridges the gap between viral trends and traditional journalism. Throughout her tenure, Trisha has focused on the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. She frequently covers personal finance and real estate struggles in hubs like Gurgaon, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, while also documenting the unique challenges of the NRI experience. Her work often highlights the movements and philosophies of global newsmakers and personalities like Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani, Nikhil Kamath, Dubai crown prince, and MrBeast. From reporting on Amazon or Meta layoffs and startup culture to the emergence of AI-driven platforms like Grok and xAI, she provides a grounded and empathetic perspective on the stories shaping our world. When not decoding the internet, Trisha is likely offline: lost in a book, exploring a historical ruin, or navigating the world as a solo traveler. She balances her fast-paced career with family time and a healthy dose of curiosity, currently trading her "human" sources for silicon ones as she masters AI to future-proof her storytelling.Read More

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