Toby Keith Making Dreams Come True

On Memorial Day, The Early Show offered a special edition of the Week of Wishes series where some of our viewers will get to meet some of their favorite stars.

Co-anchor Rene Syler talked to a mom who's military son, a big country music fan, is still at an undisclosed location in Iraq. The one thing that makes this mom happy is knowing her son may have found the woman of his dreams before he was deployed.

Here is her wish:

"I'd like to make a wish for my son, Sergeant Daniel Truex, and his perfect-for-him girlfriend, Heidi Hermann. They're currently separated while Daniel, a United States Marine Corps Veteran, is serving somewhere in the Middle East with the Kentucky National Guard out of Louisville.

Very few things can console a mother who's son is at war, but for Indiana mom Rosi Treux comfort is knowing her son, Daniel, may have found true love before going off to battle.

Rosi Treux says, "I always prayed that Daniel would get someone who would just adore him. And I'm just so thankful that he's not over there alone-- I mean, per se. He's over there knowing that she's here waiting for him, and just loving him."

She is Heidi Herrmann, Daniel's steady girl for almost a year. A casual friendship turned into much more after Daniel lost a friendly bet, but won a new love.

Heidi remembers, "I mentioned Toby Keith was coming into town. And he mentioned he liked Toby Keith. So 'My List' is a song of Toby Keith's. That is one of my favorites of his; it's actually my favorite song that he sings.

"Daniel had said that Tim McGraw sang the song, and I said, 'No, it was Toby Keith.' So we argued back and forth. Finally, I don't know how it came about, but we made a bet that he would have to take me to the concert if he was wrong," Heidi says.

According to Rosi, sly Daniel knew all along the song in question was sung by Toby Keith, so his trick to wrangle a first date with Heidi worked. The two country music fans went to the concert and the rest was history.

Heidi says, "We liked the same things, and we just had a really great time. It was just a good connection, Toby Keith and the, you know, us and just everything. We just took it from there."

But the couple's five-month separation hasn't been easy.

Heidi says, "It's been horrible. It's been tough on us. There are times when you've gone weeks without any contact. I think it was five weeks-- no contact, no letters, the mail was cut off, the phones were cut off…"

Until the day of the CBS interview when a long awaited letter from Daniel came in the mail letting Heidi know he's still thinking about her.

She says, "The fact that he's so romantic, and he's always doing so many things for me. I mean, he's overseas right now and he has planned for me to get something every three to four weeks. Whether it be roses-- DVDs or just something that's delivered on my doorstep with a note that he has hand-written."

Rosi's wish for them?

"I would be thrilled if Toby Keith would autograph a Pull My Chain CD for him, or anything from Toby Keith. He got them together. I wanted something special that they could look back on, that they could look back on to commemorate when they started in their relationship," Rosi says.

Well with a little help from country music honcho Bob Romeo, president of the Academy Of Country Music Awards, Rosi, Heidi's mom Pam and Heidi got the biggest surprise of their lives.

The Early Show flew them to Las Vegas for a VIP backstage tour of last week's Country Music Awards and a chance to sit in on a sound check with singer Toby Keith and Willie Nelson.

And the tour didn't end there. Bob Romeo introduced them to the show's executive producer Dick Clark who made our winners feel right at home.

And no awards ceremony would be complete without a gift room for gift bags filled with expensive goodies. As Heidi was collecting hers she bumped into another of her favorite singers, country duo Brooks and Dunn.

Next stop, the star's dressing rooms. The trio was absolutely giddy with joy when they walked in to find Toby Keith hanging out in his.

But the icing on the cake for the ladies was when Toby presented them with tickets to that evening's awards ceremony and awards reception after party.

And even though Heidi's boyfriend Sgt. Daniel Truex couldn't be there, he did reach her on cell phone on the night of the awards. Rosi is hoping her son will be home from Iraq by the couple's first anniversary in August.