The Hug Lady

The soldiers returning home from Ft. Hood always receive a special welcome home. They are always greeted by Elizabeth Laird, known to them as “The Hug Lady,” who gives every soldier deploying  and returning a hug. It started in June 2003 when she was volunteering for the Salvation Army and a soldier gave her a hug. The soldier next to him saw it and he had to have a hug too. She says it snowballed from there. She says doing this is just her way of saying thanks for what they do for us.