Mass. soldier's girlfriend's heart warmed by gift

(NECN: Jennifer Eagan, Arlington, Mass.) - For Samantha Ford, life on the home front can be tough at times.

"Loving someone so much and not being able to see them," Samantha said Wednesday, "it’s hard."

Her boyfriend, Albert DeSimone, deployed to Afghanistan in September. It is a weight she bears on her own much of the time.

"I don’t really have any other friends going through it," she said.

The Arlington native was surprised when someone noticed a sticker in the back window of her car that says "1/2 of My Heart is in Afghanistan."

Samantha had just stopped for a quick coffee in Arlington on Sunday. When she came back, an envelope was on her windshield.

"I thought it was a ticket," she laughed.

But someone had stuffed two $20 bills in the envelope and written a note on the outside.

The note read: "I noticed the sticker on the back of your car. Take your hero out to dinner when he comes home. Thank you both for serving. Him deployed and you for waiting."

It was signed "United States Veteran, God Bless."

Samantha posted the anonymous gift on a Facebook site called "Our Deployment 101" where 1.7 million people have 'liked' it so far.

Samantha says she told her boyfriend about the note and he is completely touched.

"These are the things that make him proud to be a soldier," she said. "It makes him feel like he’s not over there for nothing."

Ever since she received the note, Samantha has kept it in her jacket pocket over her heart. She says she would love to know who wrote it, but for now it remains a mystery.