Ft. Sill soldiers surprised with layaways paid off

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Soldiers at Ft. Sill were surprised at the Exchange when they were told their items on layaway have been paid off.

The Soldiers Wish Foundation reached out to the Ft. Sill Exchange a couple of weeks ago, and 15 soldiers were selected to have their layaway costs taken care of.

“Foundations like this right here really helps our family members, you know. There’s a lot going on right now with inflation of costs and stuff like that,” said General Manager Mikel Hunter. “Now they can take that money they saved maybe for other things.”

Staff at the Exchange were honored to have a part in surprising the soldiers.

“I think it’s the best thing of my job and everybody’s job,” exclaims Hunter. “Just to prep everything prior to this event, all my associates were sitting back and we came up with ideas, ‘How do we surprise them!’”

Overall the total costs covered totaled around 28 hundred dollars. The items included bikes and even a PS5.

Hunter recalls, “Seeing the joy of these soldiers and what we see today, and the veterans and family members, I mean, that is- that’s priceless, we call that absolutely priceless.”

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