Update on Operation Epic mail

First, here's the earlier post about this operation=>click

And here's the update that I could find:

The operation was a great succes. The party wasn't crashed by hundreds of people. As far as I know, there was only one person from 4chan, 4 persons from reddit and 4 girls from 'the internet'. And that is actually enough for a birthday like that. But, William J Lashua got lots and lots of birthdaycards and other stuff from around the world. And that's what makes it so awesome, in my opinion!

First news that I found was:
"I called the Legion.
His grandson got on the phone
50 Bouqets of Flowers
20 Cakes
Countless cards.
He said 5 UPS have pulled up today with stuff for him.
They also said the local Postal Mail had 2 trucks full of cards.
I almost cried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He told me to pass along to Anonymous a
"Thank You""

I've been following the updates on how the party was going, and this is what I've got on quotes and pictures from the guest from 4chan, who stayed there the whole day:

"As for the reports that he has no family, I can say firsthand that they are ENTIRELY false. Not only did he have his 3 sons and 3 daughters with him, he had several grandkids and even 2 great-granddaughters there as well, and dozens of cousins, nephews, and family friends there.
This picture has 3 of his daughters, 2 of his sons, and one of his great-grandkids looking at cards with him."




Here is a picture of the 4 girls that stated they were from 'the internet', also accompanied with a quote from the anon from 4chan: "When I asked which one was his favorite, he said "All of them."
Did I mention this guy FUCKING RULES?"








Oh yeah, the girls actually gave him a nice lollipop:












Another quote from the anon: "There was a lady from the town paper there, she was totally clueless. The lady who manages the legion hall (after yelling at me to apologize for the 300 calls she got last night) told me she had been contacted by 2 papers from New York, one in NYC and one in Syracuse about the story. One of the many fine gift baskets they had out.
 

After this, someone wanted to know more about the yelling part, so anon replied:

Not in an angry way, just jokingly. The mood was always one of joking whenever they mentioned the internet stuff, they were definitely not annoyed in any way (except for one of his grandkids who I think was some kind of aspie and was taking the death threat stuff seriously). They especially liked how we all thought William was this sad lonely geezer. Right before they cut the cake someone made a short speech and mentioned that the turnout was "pretty all right for one lonely friendless old man" and everyone laughed. Also the cocktails were cheap, so that may have helped the mood. I had a couple drinks myself."

The cake (not from the internets)

 
And anon kind of ended his report with the following conclusion: "And let me say once again how absolutely wonderful William himself was. I'll go on the record as saying he was the greatest old person I've ever met. At 90 they told me that he lives on his own, still chops his own wood, and he was joking with me the whole night. He was busting balls with all the young kids and even flipped off the camera with a smile on his gummy face in a few photos. The man is my hero just for being awesome."



Oh, and did I mention William J Lashua got lots and lots of birthdaycards? The following picture is just a tip of the iceberg, cuz there was still more on hold at the post-office and probably there's still some more mail on the way.

Well, this is about all i've got about this operation so far. I don't expect any more big surprises about this event. Let's just say that William and his family had a birthday they'll probably never forget!







*Edit: Oh yeah.. I forgot about the Reddit guys. So, well.. here they are:

This one is only posted cuz of the girl in there

*more pictures can be downloaded =>here and more info about all this can be found => here

Update on the update:

William J. Lashua's grandson posted a thank-you message on reddit for all the attention:

There are so many replies, I can't begin to respond to them all. I love the fact that the internet has rallied behind this as a cause, and my family is overwhelmed with what we've seen and read. I've made this my soapbox to talk to "internets" and I feel it's a good place to do so. The outpouring of love, respect, and generosity has been amazing to say the least, but really... please... there are so many others less fortunate than my Grandfather that deserve this as well. This Labor Day weekend, go to your local VA hospital, sit, and visit with the men and women there. Stop off at a nursing home and visit there. Donate to a vetrans charity. Do some good for those who fought for you, and really do have no one to call family or friend. Still do all the nice things you wanted to do for my grandfather, please do. Use that positive energy and make someone super happy. They'll appreciate it more than you'll ever know.
For those of you still thinking of sending cards, please use the following address: William J Lashua c/o American Legion 132 Williams Road Ashburnham, MA 01430 Thank you.