The sacrifice our military veterans have made is hard to comprehend unless you have lived it yourself. Us civilians do what we can to honor our veterans, but it often doesn't feel like enough.
A chance photo taken by a bystander at the Concord Mall in Wilmington, Delaware is getting some major attention online because it shows the touching moment a mall Santa decided to pay his respects to a veteran.
Get some tissues ready folks.
Gina Stecher Wilbur posted this photo with a story of how this touching moment came to be. On her now viral Facebook post, Gina wrote:
Christmas shopping with Cavan and took a second to sit on a bench near Santa’s workshop... then Santa steps away from his Chair... he walks over to a veteran sitting on the wall... as Santa approaches, the veteran stands and Santa takes a knee. I hear Santa telling the gentleman, in a soft voice, of others he knew who served. He shakes his hand with genuine gratefulness thanking him for his service and returns to the children. Best moment of my day.#concordmallsanta#gratefulness#showlove
The man the mall Santa was kneeling for was Robert Smiley, a 93-year-old World War II veteran. Good Morning America reports that Smiley fought in Germany in 1945 and also happens to be a father of 10 with 26 grandchildren.
The kind kneeler only wanted to be referred to as, "Concord Mall Santa."
Smiley had some very nice things to say about the kind Santa.
"He's a very nice man. I was thrilled. I was sitting there and he bent down his knee. His father was in WWII the same as me and also, his father was in the Korean War and has since passed away."
He described his motives to GMA.
I am especially thankful for veterans like Robert Smiley, who are our true heroes.
The Concord Mall Santa embodies what the holidays are all about, gratitude and thanks, especially for our veterans.
