She was known simply as “The Hug Lady,” and for a generation of soldiers deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, to Iraq and Afghanistan, the diminutive grandmother was a steadying presence over the past 12 years.
Elizabeth Laird doled out hundreds of thousands of hugs, embracing soldiers as they shipped off and then greeting them in kind when they arrived back home. She made her hugs available at all hours of the day, regardless of the weather, becoming a military legend along the way.
“This is my way of thanking them for what they do for our country,” Laird told last month. “I wasn’t hugging in 2003. I used to just shake their hands. But one day, a soldier hugged me, and that’s the way it started.”
For much of that time, Laird was quietly waging a battle of her own against breast cancer, as The Washington Post’s Colby Itkowitz reported after Laird was hospitalized in early November.
On Thursday, Laird succumbed to her illness at Metroplex Hospital in Killeen, Texas, according to Fox News.
She was 83.
Col. Christopher C. Garver, a military spokesman, released the following statement on Laird’s death:
“On behalf of the Soldiers, Airmen, Civilians, and Families of III Corps and Fort Hood, I want to extend our sincere condolences to the family of Mrs. Elizabeth Laird, known throughout Central Texas as ‘The Hug Lady.’ She has long been associated with Fort Hood for her dedication, support, and genuine care for our Soldiers, Families and Civilian employees.
“For more than a decade, she has been personally saying farewell to our troops as they deploy and greeting them as they return. It is with heavy hearts that we express our gratitude for Elizabeth, not only for her service with the U.S. Air Force, but also in recognition of her tireless efforts to show her appreciation for our Soldiers and her recognition of their many sacrifices. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones; she will be deeply missed.”
