Written by Andrew Lei ’27
Edited by Adyant Bhavsar ’28
As I sat in my Calculus BC class one day in November, with Mr. Foster at the whiteboard sludging through related rates and derivative applications, I received a surprising notification from Dr. Arriola, Bellarmine’s chief of staff and one of the strongest and most dedicated faculty supporters of students on campus.
Dr. Arriola was asking me and the Veterans Club to help out with a special endeavor: commemorating the 100th birthday of a local veteran named Frank Wright. Intrigued, I went to search for his name and background after class. I clicked into the PDF Dr. Arriola provided me, which detailed the request further. With each word I read, I began to understand just how special the occasion before me was.
The Veterans Club met to discuss Dr. Arriola’s proposition a couple of hours later. We pored over the information available about this historic figure:
Frank Wright enlisted in the Marine Corp at age 16, using his brother’s birthday to pretend he was two years older. He fought in two pivotal battles of World War 2: Guam and Iwo Jima. Profoundly changed by his experiences on the battlefield, he returned to civilian life and started an alcoholic recovery center business to help others seek the light. He’s received a panoply of medals: a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, and Navy Unit Commendation.
Only about 0.2% of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War 2 are still alive. In the shadow of a conflict that irreversibly changed the world’s views on democracy and our values of humanity, they remain as individuals bound to indelible experiences none of us could ever imagine.
Corporal Frank Wright just celebrated his 100th birthday in 2025. To commemorate this historic milestone, he requested 100,000 birthday cards, a nod to his centenary. To us, that wasn’t a sign of arrogance. It was the joyful, selfless activism of a man who never sought to ask for anything else.
However, while the message this mission embodied was thoughtful, a plan of action would prove difficult. We had less than two weeks to buy, organize, and mobilize the student body to sign as many cards as possible and make a small dent in the gargantuan number. Schools like Notre Dame had spent weeks with this request; we had fleeting days.
Dr. Arriola rose to the occasion, buying hundreds of colorful envelopes and cards for us to distribute. We figured out an automated process for picking up, signing, and depositing cards back at her office. I was immensely proud of how the members of the Veterans Club took up the cause with passion; countless students reached out to all their teachers, came ten minutes early to school to stop by Dr. Arriola’s office, and returned to me at the end of the day with arms brimming with newly-signed cards.
Teachers also took time out of their classes to sign cards. Notably, Mr. Foley’s art classes engraved their own birthday wishes with special drawings; Mr. Stibrich volunteered to spread the effort in all five of his science classes; and at least twenty other teachers added their names and their students’ as well.
At the end of a week and a half, Bellarmine signed over 500 cards for Corporal Wright, with images shown here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRFh4Rpiv7C/
Our school matched, and even exceeded, our promise to this request with our special brand of service, commitment, and brotherhood. Corporal Wright’s birthday may have passed, but those cards will undoubtedly remain in his mind. For each Bellarmine student and staff who signed their names and wrote their segment, those small cards will serve as a constant reminder of our pride in our nation’s veterans and our community’s commitment to honoring their service.