My Dad is a WWII Veteran

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Two years ago, my Dad was honored for his service during World War II. He was chosen to be flown to Washington, DC with my brother-in-law, a former Marine. In the photo above, my Dad is sitting next to former Senator Bob Dole, who was also being honored in the ceremony that day. My Dad was also awarded an American flag, taken to see all the Washington DC monuments, enjoyed a special dinner, and was given a packet of letters thanking him for his service. It all meant a lot to him. My Dad is still alive, at age 89, lives with my sister and brother-in-law, and is doing well! By the way, he was just barely 17 when he entered the Navy near the end of the war, although, of course, he didn't know the war was about to end. He lied about his age so he could serve! He ended up spending most of his tour of duty helping China after the war ended. He was on a ship in the Pacific and Pearl Harbor was their home base. He remembers how his ship had to navigate carefully around the sunken ships from the day Pearl Harbor was bombed whenever they entered the harbor. He said that was a very sobering reminder of the war, every time they returned to port.