On Valentines Day, we celebrate special people in our lives. Flowers, candy, jewelry, dinner out on the town. It's the one day of the year dedicated to romance and of course, love.

For a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and an American Red Cross Donut Dolly, their romance first started on the other side of the world in Southeast Asia, during the Vietnam War. Lehigh Valley residents John and Kit Cotton share a lifetime of adventure, travel and true love. Love for each other, love for others and love for their country. Their story could easily be turned into a motion picture and Kit's got 45 photo albums to prove it.

Kathryn "Kit" Sparrow first saw the ad for Donut Dollies in the local newspaper. The Red Cross was looking for female college grads between the ages of 22 and 26, to travel to Southeast Asia and conduct audience-participation recreational programs for the male soldiers stationed there. Kit had a degree in international studies and had spent her childhood moving constantly, since her father was in the Army.

"Although I was offered a job with the CIA, I would have been cooped up in the basement of a building in Washington and I wasn't ready for that," she said. A "Donut Dolly," as it was affectionately termed during WWII, sounded like a worthwhile adventure and it only required a one-year commitment.

She and John arrived separately in the city of Tuy Hoa Air Base in early July 1969. While his squadron went to breakfast and then to work, John, still feeling the effects of different time zones, eventually made his way to the Officer's Club for breakfast.

"I was the only one there except for a pretty, young lady who was on the stage, playing classical music on a Grand piano," John said. After she played a few songs, John introduced himself, asked her if she played tennis and would she like to join him at a tournament with his squadron. The young lady was Kit and she replied, "Of course." With that, a romance blossomed and 43 _ years later, the flowers are still in bloom.

Back in WWII, Donut Dollies drove clubmobile trucks, delivering hot coffee and donuts to GI's in the field. During Vietnam, they delivered Kool-Aid (too hot for coffee), but their responsibilities were mainly to assist with soldier morale through conversation, games, books, movies and music.

Recreational centers were places where soldiers could go to take a break from the war. Kit explained that it was similar to hosting a game show involving sports, cars and fun games. Many times, the Donut Dollies went to the soldiers, traveling to the forward lines in helicoptors, carrying their big, canvas bags full of games. They never stayed in one place for too long and when you did finally return to a previous post, you looked for a familiar face that was often no longer there. The soldier had been sent home or was killed in combat.

Since the Dollies were frequently moved to other bases or camps during their yearlong assignment, Kit and John were separated. That didn't stop John though, and he could often be seen trying to "hail a chopper" to wherever it was that Kit was stationed.

"I'd turn around and there he was," Kit said. Eventually, word got out about John and Kit's romance. Her father, a senior commander with the U.S. Army, was in Vietnam on Army business and visited his daughter while checking out this fighter pilot, named John Cotton. Upon his departure, John said, "Sir, I hope to see you again." Kit's father replied jokingly, "I'm afraid you will."

As Kit's year commitment came to an end, the couple decided it was time to marry, although they didn't know they would have to jump through hoops to do so. They looked for assistance from the Air Force which sent them to Army Headquarters which sent them to the U.S. Embassy which eventually sent them to a Vietnamese Councilman in Saigon. They first had to establish a 30-day residency and then had to post their "bands of intent to marry" on telephone poles. If no one objected after 10 days, they would be allowed to wed. Even then, they visited the town council several times, until finally, two massive, wooden doors opened and they were met by a serious, uniformed councilman.

The day had finally arrived. Since both Kit and many Vietnamese councilmen were fluent in French, that was the language spoken throughout the civil ceremony. John didn't have a clue as to what was being said. All he cared about was finally marrying Kit.

From there, the newlyweds traveled to Tokyo, Japan, where they met John's brother and held a more traditional, religious ceremony. Kit even had a fellow Donut Dolly as her maid of honor.

After visiting Hong Kong to buy wedding gifts, the couple traveled the world on an extended honeymoon, landing in Katmandu, Nepal, Calcutta and New Delhi in India to see the Taj Mahal and then finally back to the United States to surprise and meet each of their mothers.

Then the Cotton's moved to England where John would be stationed for four years. After that it was Florida, Virginia, California, Hawaii, the Philippines (where Kit worked for the Red Cross Women's Welfare Association) and Nevada. After spending 27 years in the Air Force, John retired from the military and flew for Continental Airlines.

They had their first daughter, Cari, in 1971; Jonathan in 1976 and Christy in 1978. John retired from commercial flying at age 60, but the couple have hardly slowed down. Aside from babysitting their eight grandchildren, they volunteer for meals on wheels, sing on their church choir and lead singalongs at retirement communities. They are also members of The American Red Cross Overseas Association. (ARCOA consists of men and women who worked for the Red Cross throughout the world, mostly in conjunction with the United States military).

Looking back, John said, "It was a very emotional year for these young women to be living in a Vietnamese jungle and a war zone. The phrase, 'A touch of home in a combat zone', embodies what they did."

Their advice this Valentines Day? Say I love you throughout the day, be respectful, work as a team family first, always have a sense of humor and never go to bed angry.

Good words to live by.