The residents of a Van Nuys, California, neighborhood may be staying isolated due to the novel coronavirus, but that didn’t stop them from celebrating a very special member of their community.
Ervin “Frenchy”LeCompte is a World War II veteran who just turned 102. His neighbor, Kerry Schwartz, spent two weeks organizing a socially-distant celebration for him, posting on social media and reaching out to various veteran programs in the area so he wouldn’t be alone. On the big day, Frenchy was delighted to see hundreds drive by to honor him with a parade! Even better, some service members showed up in uniform to give him an official salute!
“SO MANY people came out to support Frenchy for his 102nd birthday!” Kerry wrote on Facebook. “A HUGE thank-you to everyone who came by, the veterans, the Army, my friends, the folks I never even met! We had the entire neighborhood celebrating him! Heck, we even made it on the news… TWICE!”
Frenchy hasn’t been able to see his family this year, so the celebration meant more to him than ever. “We all cried and laughed till the very end… but most importantly we made Frenchy SO happy and we all left the parade feeling really good,” Kerry added.
Watch the sweet celebration in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story.
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