ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 97-year-old World War II veteran from Elizabethtown is planning the trip of a lifetime, but will need some help to make it happen.
Stanley Parnell is a decorated Marine who proudly served our country during World War II.
"We went to Guam in 1944 and we invaded Guam ..." Parnell said. "Then after that we went to Iwo Jima."
Parnell says he was drafted at 18 and spent about 31 months serving in the Pacific.
"I knew I was going to come back," Parnell said. "I didn't know when, but I had a good feeling I'd be back home."
Parnell eventually did make it back home, but not without scars. He was wounded during the war and taken to a hospital near Pearl Harbor for treatment.
"When I was over there in '45, I was in the hospital most of the time I didn't get to see anything," he said.
It was only a short stay, but now Parnell has an opportunity to go back to be honored for his service on the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"I just get tearful about it because it means so much to my dad to be able to do this," Parnell's daughter, Angela Parnell, said.
She plans to make the trip with her father and siblings in December.
"Being able to go back and see Pearl Harbor ... being able to be honored attending the 80th annual Pearl Harbor Day is just going to be something that's really going to change our lives," she said.
Nonprofit organization Forever Young Veterans is planning the trip, and will take 14 World War II vets to Hawaii.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Parnell said.
COVID-19 concerns initially canceled the trip, but plans changed over the past few months and now it's back on.
"I think is going to be some of their last experiences to be able to be honored for what they've done for our nation," Angela Parnell said.
The trip costs $2,900 per person and includes airfare, lodging, transportation and meals. Since it was planned on such short notice, the group still needs donations to help get the veterans there.
By sharing his story, Parnell's family is hopeful they can get some help to make the trip happen.
"We all just need to say thank you to our vets and I think one way to do that would be to support them to be able to go on this trip," Angela Parnell said.
If you would like to help Parnell make this trip, you can donate through Forever Young Veterans here. You can make a note that you would like your donation to go directly toward Parnell and his family.
The organizations says if you would prefer to make your donation through the mail, you can print the donation form on its website and mail it in with a check.
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