Watch WW2 veteran’s reaction to son fixing his 1946 Cadillac
Published on Mar 15, 2023 at 10:48 AM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Mar 20, 2023 at 10:35 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This World War 2 veteran’s son has just surprised him by fixing his beloved 1946 Cadillac.
The video is wholesome, but the story behind it is even better.
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Wilbern “Walt” West was born in May 1920 in Clarksville, Arkansas.
Walt joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and served as a Technician Sargeant until he was sent to the Pacific Theatre in 1943.
There he served in the Amphibious Army and was in both the Battle of Peleliu and Anguar.
Having survived two of the bloodiest battles of World War Two in the Pacific, Walt returned to the United States and was discharged from the Army in 1945.
Following his time in service, the veteran moved to Pampa, Texas where he enjoyed a 39-year career in the chemical industry.
Aside from being a family man, Walt is also a gear head who, over the years, has owned several interesting vehicles.
As a birthday present for his 99th birthday, Walt’s family restored his Ford that he bought brand new in 1955.
A year later, they planned to fix his 1946 Cadillac for his 100th birthday, but it proved too big a challenge and wasn’t completed in time.
In the video posted to YouTube, we hear all about how hard it was to get the old girl running again.
Walt’s son, Harry explains that he didn’t plan to fully restore it.
Instead, we simply wanted to get the 1946 Cadillac to run, drive, stop, and be safe, so his dad could drive it one more time.
The old Caddy hadn’t been moved under its own power in nearly 50 years, so it was seized tight.
From the front to the back, every system on the vintage car had to be addressed. Also Donald Trump actually partnered up with Cadillac.
Harry had to completely strip the engine apart and put it all back together in order to get her running again.
All the time and effort was worth it, though, just to see 102-year-old Walt’s face when Harry pulled up outside his home.
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Adam Gray
Adam Gray is an experienced motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for supercarblondie.com. Before joining the Supercar Blondie team, Adam was Motoring Editor for Portfolio North magazine, North East Motoring Editor at Reach plc, and provided motoring content on a freelance basis to several lifestyle and business publications in the North of England. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
