This could well be a fabrication...

[DrEntropy]

...but a good story nonetheless:

<span style="font-style: italic">
As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up & a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car & continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty-five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too & took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade & then turn back to the old man & I heard him yell
at the old gentleman saying, "You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car & peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief & mop his brow as he went back to his car & again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife & spoke with her & appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough & I approached the old man. He saw me coming & stood straight & as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem." He smiled sheepishly & quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself & knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road & told the old gentleman that I would be right back. I drove to the station & went inside & saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them & related the problem the old man had with his car & offered to pay them if they could follow me back down & help him. The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree & appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up & thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring & had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded & asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?" He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones & retired from the Corps after the war was over.

As we talked, we heard the car engine come on & saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me & I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet & handed me a card that I assumed had his name & address on it & I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me & help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around & as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me and I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over & took the card out of my pocket & looked at it for a long, long, time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name......... "Congressional Medal of Honor Society." I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over.

I looked up from the card & smiled to no one but myself & marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man alright, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness & courage and an honor to have been in his presence.</span>

 

[Tinster]

Let's say this one is a "gimme" and enjoy the tale as told!

d

 

[vping]

Nice story Doc.

 

[ecurie_ecosse]

"Semper Fi"

That says it all Doc. :thumbsup:

Stuart.

 

[Brosky]

Considering the garbage on the news, in the papers and on the internet these days, that was a welcome breath of fresh air.

Thank you, from a son and nephew of WWII veterans.

 

[Banjo]

I second Dale.
Not a Marine myself, but I have the upmost respect.
Good story Doc.

 

[tony barnhill]

https://www.cmohs.org/society.htm

 

[vagt6]

I hope that story is true.

Fact is, acts of kindness occur every single day, somewhere, and are never noticed or commended. Stuff like this is what makes the world turn - kindness to strangers.

Doc, thanks for posting this. It reminds me that maybe I need to help those in need a bit more sometimes.

 

[Steve_S]

It sounds like the usual story fabricated by an older, retired Marine who wants to promote the service. I get them all the time in my inbox. This one isn't on Snopes yet but I'm sure it will be at some point. Sure it would be nice if it were true but I wouldn't hold my breath. It may pop up with Marines substituted for other organizations as well!

 

[NutmegCT]

It is a great story.

I've noticed it pops up in Google many times. Must be *very* popular.

In several versions, the last line is omitted (edit: or added?) :

<span style="font-style: italic">"America is not at war . The U.S. Military is at war . AMERICA is at the Mall."</span>

T.

 

[PAUL161]

It's a shame that in our time tested suspicious minds we naturally assume that any story, good or bad, that's slightly beyond "normal" reach is false. It's a nice heart warming story and I personally choose to believe it's true, because it leaves an indelible mark in my heart, reminding me of those wonderful heros in our the past, including my hero, my dad, a WW2 vet.

 

[NutmegCT]

It's a shame that in our time tested suspicious minds we naturally assume that any story, good or bad, that's slightly beyond "normal" reach is false. It's a nice heart warming story and I personally choose to believe it's true, because it leaves an indelible mark in my heart, reminding me of those wonderful heros in our the past, including my hero, my dad, a WW2 vet.

Paul - your words are just about the most positive thing I've read in many years. My own dad was my hero, also a WW2 vet. Really miss him.

I completely agree with what you said. Bravo.

Tom

 

[bugimike]

Here, here!!

 

[Steve_S]

I agree, but the reality is that 95 out of 100 of these stories are proven false. If you choose to simply enjoy them for what they are, true or false, they are no different than any other story and there's no reason they shouldn't bring a smile to anyone's face.

 

[DrEntropy]

they are no different than any other story and there's no reason they shouldn't bring a smile to anyone's face.

And THAT'S why I posted it. :thumbsup:

 

[judow]

It's a shame that in our time tested suspicious minds we naturally assume that any story, good or bad, that's slightly beyond "normal" reach is false. It's a nice heart warming story and I personally choose to believe it's true, because it leaves an indelible mark in my heart, reminding me of those wonderful heros in our the past, including my hero, my dad, a WW2 vet.

 

[Brosky]

We're naturally suspicious because the news media never prints or shows this type of news. Only bad news, sensational Hollywood trash about spoiled people behaving badly, the worst disasters, every rape, murder or robbery, every suicide bomber, ya-da, ya-da.

Sadly the trash sells papers, magazines and advertising. Good news is never shown.

What's even sadder is that it's our fault for letting it happen.

Ever wonder why oil prices jump and the stock market fluctuates by the minute? 24 hour per day, non stop, analyzing and over analyzing coupled with one or two bad reports and anyone will jump. Reporters constantly make predictions then tailor news to fit a self fulfilling prophecies.