You may never have heard of Dennis Packee, but he is a man well worth knowing. In fact, he did something that was so touching that he went viral, and he still is being talked about till this day.
It happened a few years ago when Dennis, who owns a Harley Davidson dealership, wrote a letter to the wife of a soldier, Christopher Walters. He had kept his motorcycle at a rented area in the Harley-Davidson store and then was deployed overseas.
During the time that he was away, his wife, Jamie, was keeping up with the payments on credit. Unfortunately, she got behind but she was able to send the check for the payment along with an apology. That apology explained why she was late.
Dennis saw her note and he told her that he would not accept the money. He told his office employees, “You send that money back to her!”
Dennis was almost drafted into the Vietnam War but was discharged because of a medical condition. He understands the sacrifices that soldiers go through and he always wants to give back when possible.
Dennis had an ongoing policy during the 18 years that he owned the Harley-Davidson shop. It was also something that affected his ability to take money from Jamie.
He ended up sending the money back to Jamie explaining the policy and didn’t think much of it.
What he was not expecting was hundreds of phone calls coming in from all over the country from people who wanted to thank him. He thought at first they were from family members but then found out they were from strangers who saw a picture of the letter online that Jamie had posted.
Dennis is not someone that uses social media so he wasn’t expecting the flood of calls that he received. It was so many that he said it was impossible to answer them all.
It also made him think that it was all about America and the fact that people do care about soldiers and they are expressing it.
In his words: “America is still America… It’s just enlightened me. A small effort like this, and look where it’s gone. Maybe more will do the same thing.”
To put the icing on the cake, he received a visit from Representative Cheri Bustos and was presented with a Congressional Record Statement.