Pilot Calls Man With WWII Vet Hat To Front Of Plane, Picks Up Intercom And Leaves Web In Tears

When World War II vet John Woolston boarded an Alaska Airlines plane, he had no idea what was about to happen. The elderly gentleman happens to be one of the few remaining survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and was part of the crew that was critical in ending WWII. John and 1,195 other soldiers delivered the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. But sadly, the ship was sunk by two torpedoes fired by a Japanese submarine.

So when Alaska Airlines Captain Brad Schumaker, pilot of John’s aircraft, spied John’s WWII ball cap, he escorted him to the front of the plane. There, the pilot commandeered the intercom and educated all the passengers about John’s heroism as a soldier. In fact, the airline pilot told passengers that “people toss around the whole word of ‘hero’ pretty lightly . it’s safe to say, courtesy of this gentleman and all of his shipmates, we’re free.”

When John’s ship sunk, only an estimated 800 soldiers survived the sinking. The men bobbed around in the South Pacific Ocean, praying and hoping they’d be rescued. Sharks snatched hundreds of the men out of the water and others simply perished from injuries. By the time they were rescued, only 321 men survived and four more perished after that. The sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis ended up being the single greatest loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy. Today, only 22 of the original crew are still alive to tell the story, including Captain John Woolston. Watch the video below to hear the captain’s touching speech to his passengers!