Our country's brave servicemen never cease to amaze me on a daily basis. Not only are they courageous, but they are also gracious, empathetic, and caring.
Here at LittleThings, we have heard countless touching stories in which soldiers have carried out some incredibly heartwarming deeds — just like when this Marine decided to visit a teenager battling cystic fibrosis in the hospital.
But there is one story of a selfless Marine that has made its way around the Internet for quite some time — and after reading it, I'm certainly not surprised. This is a classically touching tale that everyone should read.
When I reached the shocking surprise ending? I just couldn't hold back the tears. This is just one more example of how giving and heroic these Americans truly are.
Scroll further to read this incredibly heartwarming story, and let us know in the comments below if this story brought a tear to your eye, too!
A hospital nurse led a tired, anxious serviceman to a bedside in the emergency wing. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man lying on the bed. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.
Heavily sedated due to his heart attack, the old man dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night, the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. But he refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital — the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, and held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding, and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled. “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman’s name?”
With tears in her eyes, the nurse answered, “Mr. William Grey…”
The next time someone needs you, remember to just be there.
Please SHARE if this Marine’s story touched your heart.
