Sister of deceased combat veteran finds Ridgefield resident who created her brother's heart
"I FOUND MY HEART!" Jennifer shared on Facebook today.
Last week, Jennifer, a local resident, took to Facebook to post a photo of her younger brother standing in front of a patriotic heart created in his honor, adhered to a utility pole on Main Street. The heart read, "Thank you Spc. Nicholas Carpenter! Come Home Safe!"
"This was the day he came home from a tour in Iraq (the best day of our lives),” she said.
Desperately wanting the heart to remember and honor her brother, Jennifer asked the community if they knew who created the hearts and where she might be able to find the one belonging to her brother.
"There was an incredible woman who made these hearts for all of our servicemen and women and put them up along Main Street. One day they were gone. We would be willing to pay for his heart so we can always see it and remember this incredible day. Does anyone know how to get ahold of her?” she said.
In a long thread of comments, someone noted that Ridgefield resident Dorian Peckham was responsible for creating the hearts and hanging them in the downtown area.
Through the power of social media, Jennifer connected with the incredible woman who made the heart. "Jennifer got in touch with me through my son Myles who is on Facebook (I am not),” Peckham said.
While she wasn’t able to locate that exact heart, Dorian Peckham told us, “With her permission, I made a new one for her family.”
Today, Dorian Peckham surprised Jennifer and delivered the new heart to her while she was at work.
"Thank you all so so much for helping me find the wonderful soul who made the hearts, Mrs. Peckman! She surprised me at work today and presented me with the heart. We shared tears and so many hugs! I am so very grateful to everyone who sent prayers and kind words. I will have my brother's heart forever," Jennifer said.
Peckham told us that for many years, she and her family have made and put up hearts for deployed members of our community. She also said that she worked closely with Doris Ventres, a Ridgefield resident who made it her mission to write letters to local troops until her death in 2015. “I used to get the list of those who are deployed from Doris Ventres but since she passed away in 2015, it has just been through word of mouth,” explained Peckham.
“I am happy to make, hang and take down a heart for any soldier from Ridgefield who is deployed,” said Peckham, who added, “We take the hearts down when we believe that the servicemen and women are home and that we are happy to give them to the families. We just need to know where to deliver them.”
*Image courtesy Facebook.