Fort Hood’s ‘hug lady’ to be honored where she met soldiers

KILLEEN, Texas — Fort Hood’s famous “hug lady” will have a room named after her at the terminal where she hugged thousands of soldiers deploying to war zones.

The Killeen Daily Herald reports that Elizabeth Laird will be honored inside the air terminal at Fort Hood, the U.S. Army post in Central Texas that’s one of the largest military bases in the world.

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By Army Times staff

Laird died in December 2015 at 83. A recent online petition to rename the air terminal after Laird had surpassed 74,000 signatures Saturday.

The terminal is already named for Army Sgt. George Larkin, who flew in the famous Doolittle raid during World War II. But Tony Rossi, a veteran who would DJ homecoming events at the terminal, told the Herald that there would soon be a dedication ceremony for the room.

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