Friends Who Met During WWII Have Shared Same Card for Over 80 Years

Sometimes, a card can say it all, and two best friends who met during World War II have been exchanging the same one for 81 years.

The pair made headlines when Pat DeReamer celebrated her 95th birthday on Tuesday, April 1, with a card from her childhood friend, Mary Wheaton, during an interview with CBS affiliate WLKY.

“She puts the arrow where she wants me to sign it because I can’t see where to sign it anymore,” said DeReamer as she pointed to a note that highlighted where Wheaton wanted her to sign the card when she returned it.

The two women have been sending the same birthday note back and forth to each other since 1944, according to the outlet. The card is carefully signed and dated before it’s sent back to the friend with the upcoming birthday. At their 60-year mark, the friends even won the Guinness World Record for "Longest Greetings Card Exchange."

DeReamer first met Wheaton in 1942 when she relocated to Indianapolis with her family, WLKY reported. They became friends quickly.

“I didn’t know very many people. So, Mary kind of picked me up out of the gutter and kind of, you know, was nice to me,” DeReamer, who now lives in Louisville, Ky., told the outlet. “We became really good friends.”

Wheaton showed just how much she valued their friendship by sending DeReamer the card for her 14th birthday. Since then, the tradition has continued.

“We never said, 'We’re going to do this,’ ” DeReamer told WLKY. “At least, I don’t remember ever saying that. It just happened.”

She added, “Every year we’d talk about it, and it would give us some reason to call each other and talk.”

The two women aren’t currently the world record holders for exchanging the same greeting card. That honor belongs to two friends from Australia who received a Guinness World Records title in 2024 after they exchanged the same card for 61 years, according to the organization. But Wheaton and DeReamer did make history when they applied to Guinness World Records after hitting their 60th anniversary two decades ago.

“I think one of my children came up with the idea that this card had been going back and forth for so many years,” DeReamer told WLKY.

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In May, she’ll send the card back to her best friend in time for Wheaton’s 95th birthday.