My grandfather (his name is Sanford - no joke) passed last night at the age of 101. He drove up until 3 months ago when he voluntarily put his keys down and said he was too old to keep driving, he never had a wreck in his entire life.
Sanford fought in WWII, has two purple hearts and various other medals. He is one of the few people unlucky enough to have experienced the hell that was Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.
The split skull at Iwo Jima sent him home - after a prolonged stay in the hospital at Pearl Harbor where he had to learn to walk again.
On sept 20, 1975 (my 4th birthday) I walked into Sanford stadium for the first time - to see us play Miss State. I don't remember much from that age but I still remember looking out across that HUGE stadium and feeling very small. My grand dad must have seen the look on my face because he reached down patted me on the shoulder and told me that I would get used to it and this would be a place I would come to love. He was right, today I sit in the same seats he and my grandmother did since 1964.
He is a DGD and a true American hero. He will be missed
Sanford fought in WWII, has two purple hearts and various other medals. He is one of the few people unlucky enough to have experienced the hell that was Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.
The split skull at Iwo Jima sent him home - after a prolonged stay in the hospital at Pearl Harbor where he had to learn to walk again.
On sept 20, 1975 (my 4th birthday) I walked into Sanford stadium for the first time - to see us play Miss State. I don't remember much from that age but I still remember looking out across that HUGE stadium and feeling very small. My grand dad must have seen the look on my face because he reached down patted me on the shoulder and told me that I would get used to it and this would be a place I would come to love. He was right, today I sit in the same seats he and my grandmother did since 1964.
He is a DGD and a true American hero. He will be missed
