LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Carl LaVerne Gladstone wrote to his bride of 72 years any chance he could when he was serving in World War II.
"My wife thought the world of them," Gladstone said of the letters. "That's why they're there."
Now, those letters and memories are what remain.
"Okinawa, April Fools Day, 1945," Gladstone said. "I was 18 years old. My 19th birthday was the fifth day of April, and I was on there a month and a half before I got this."
"This" is an injury that left him blind in his left eye.
"I just didn't duck far enough, soon enough," he said. "Japanese machine gun, shrapnel."
He received a purple heart, sharpshooters medal and a sniper medal.
"I was drafted out of high school," he said. "I didn't get to finish my senior year, but they gave me my diploma when I got back.
"There just wasn't the recognition then that there is now."
Now, 76 years later, he will get that recognition by going on the Honor Flight with his daughter Nancy.
"At 95, he's doing great, and I thought it would be a great honor," Nancy Kitchen said. "He and my mom always talked about visiting and seeing the monuments and memorials in Washington D.C. but never got around to it."
Five Honor Flights out of Louisville have been canceled since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Thirty-five veterans have died waiting to go, so organizers are prioritizing WWII vets like Gladstone.
"It was always a very private thing," Kitchen said. "We were asked not to discuss as children growing up, because it would bring back nightmares and such for dad. So there's some things maybe we'd all like to know."
It'll be an unforgettable experience they're grateful to be able to share together.
"I'm just glad that she can go with me," Gladstone said. "She's my everything right now. I don't know what I'd do without her."
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