Was Traveling To Anniversary Ceremony But Got Delayed In LA

As an 18-year-old serving in the U.S. Navy, Ewalt "Walt" Shatz, now 90, was credited with shooting down a Japanese airplane with an anti-aircraft gun during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

But when he tried to fly back to Hawaii for the 72nd anniversary of the attack, he found himself bumped from his United Airlines flight. The carrier said that there was weather between LA and Hawaii, and the Boeing 737 needed additional fuel for the trip. More weight for fuel meant less for passengers, and Shatz was bumped from the flight.

Hawaii News Now reports that the story does have a happy ending. United rebooked Shatz on an American flight, and he arrived in time for the ceremony. But that left the nonagenarian who suffers from macular degeneration, an eye disease that limits vision, with eight hours to kill at LAX ... and a layover in Maui he was not expecting.

Shatz said that the United Airlines agent had told him that only two people had been bumped from the flight, but the airline said in a statement to Hawaii News Now that it had rebooked 41 passengers to Hawaii.

The good news part of the story doesn’t end with Shatz getting to Hawaii in time for the ceremony, if late. The veteran's story went viral, and an ad-hoc group made up mostly of service members put together a welcoming committee for Shatz at the airport when he arrived. On his Facebook page, Navy Chief Benjiman Scott wrote "Getting ready to put my khakis on and go greet a WWII vet (Pearl Harbor Survivor)... If you are on island and would like to come greet and honor this hero, come on out." 71 people were at the airport to greet Shatz, who stopped for several pictures with those who came to greet him. Shatz told television station WOAI everyone was "making out like I was a hero, but I'm not really. It was embarrassing in a way, but I liked it."

(Public Domain image of Pearl Harbor aftermath)

FMI: www.nps.gov/usar