Taylor Swift has reached out to the family of Sgt. Wade Wilson, a U.S. Marine from Leona, Texas who was killed in action in Afghanistan on May 11, 2012.
According to KBTX, Swift sent flowers and placed a personal call to the fallen Marine’s family; she was alerted to his death by a fellow Marine, Corporal Josh Marreel, who posted a heartfelt video message to the star on YouTube.
“This is a shout-out to the one and only Taylor Swift,” Marreel says to the camera. “I know you have no idea who I am but this video isn’t about me. This is about a good buddy, Sgt. Wade D. Wilson, who was killed in action…Anybody that knew Willy knew that he worshiped you. He even slept with a poster of you in between our beds in Afghanistan on his first deployment there.”
“This guy was my best friend,” Marreel says. “I know a lot of people on here ask celebrities to go to dances and s**t with them, all I’m asking is for you to think about him.”
Taylor’s hand-written floral card reads, “Wade, Thank you for loving my music. I won’t forget it, and I will never forget you. All my love, Taylor Swift.”
According to KBTX, Swift told Wilson’s family she wanted to wear his dogtags in tribute in her next video, and they were moved by her gestures of condolence.
