I wanted to say thank you to Eric Freehling for the piece he wrote on my great-great-uncle, Abie: (“Abie Abraham survived captivity, returned to support his community,” Feb. 11 America250, Page 1).

I never get tired of reading his story and accomplishments. It reminds me of the resilience in my bloodline and the importance of helping others while being a force for good.

I met him once for his birthday, I want to say it was his 95th, and Rocky Bleier was there, which I remember thinking was the coolest thing in the world. I knew he was someone to be in awe of but obviously I didn’t know the weight of his accomplishments then. I’m thankful to have articles like this to be able to read, and reread, to remember him.

My boyfriend, who is a Marine, has a great-grandfather who also survived the Bataan Death March as an Army pilot. We like to talk about the potential that they knew each other during that horrible time, maybe comforted one another by talking about what the future held for them when they survived, unbeknownst to them that their bloodlines would cross paths again in a few generations.

Kelly Hannigan, St. Petersburg, Fla.