Petty Officer 2nd Class Clinton Leonard, second to left, a hospital corpsman serving at Naval Health Clinic Charleston, ushers WWII Veteran Waitman Kapaldo, left, across the brow to the USS Laffey July 6, 2018, at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C., as Kapaldo visited the destroyer for the first time in 73 years. Kapaldo is a member of the Laffey’s original 1944 crew.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Clinton Leonard, a hospital corpsman serving at Naval Health Clinic Charleston, ushers WWII Veteran Waitman Kapaldo across the deck of the USS Laffey July 6, 2018, at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Naval Health Clinic Charleston Commanding Officer Capt. Dale Barrette pays tribute to WWII Veteran Waitman Kapaldo, thanking him for his tremendous sacrifices, and those of his fallen shipmates, “to preserve our democratic way of life.”

U.S. Navy Seaman Jacey Pruitt, left, a hospital corpsman serving at Naval Health Clinic Charleston, presents the American flag to WWII Veteran Waitman Kapaldo during a memorial service July 6, 2018, aboard the USS Laffey in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The assembled were there to honor 32 of Kapaldo’s shipmates who lost their lives April 16, 1945 when more than 22 Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. Navy destroyer during the Battle of Okinawa.

Members of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command Band perform during a ceremony to welcome home WWII Veteran Waitman Kapaldo to the USS Laffey and to honor Kapaldo’s fallen comrades July 6, 2018 at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C.