John Wayne received a letter from this teacher and did something no Hollywood star would do today… March 1961: a teacher in rural Montana asks her 12 students to write a single sentence to John Wayne.

Wayne signs a check for $500, made payable to the school.

No name, just the Montana school, Margaret’s class.

Then she sits down and writes a letter. A letter for everyone: for the teacher and for all the students together. She writes for an hour, crosses out lines, starts again, until it finally looks right.

“Dear Margaret and students, thank you for your letter. I am honored that you study my films, more than you can imagine. You asked me for advice on teaching values. This is what I believe. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing the right thing even when you are afraid.”

Honor is keeping your word even when no one is watching.

Being American means believing that everyone matters. Even people in small towns, far from anywhere.

I’m sending you a projector and some films. Not because you asked for it, but because students like you deserve to see stories on a screen, not just read them.

You’re not just 12 kids in Montana. You’re 12 Americans. That’s the whole world.

Keep studying. Keep learning. Keep believing in something bigger than yourselves. That’s what makes this country work.

His friend,

Duke”.

He seals the letter and sends it along with the projector and the films.

He doesn’t tell anyone. He doesn’t use it for publicity. He just sends it out and moves on to the next film.

Six months later, Wayne is in Montana filming How the West Was Won . A big production, several directors, an epic western. They’re filming in the mountains: beautiful scenery, cold, remote, in the middle of nowhere. One day, filming is canceled: delayed by the weather, rain. The crew sits around, plays cards. Wayne gets restless and asks his assistant about that school. The one with 12 students. The one he sent the projector to.

-Yeah.

-Where is?