Boy Honors Dad’s Comrades Because No One Comes to Their Graves, Sees Army Men on Porch Next Day – Story of the Day

When Nathan sees that some soldiers' graves have not been cleaned nor honored on Memorial Day, he takes matters into his own hands. He pays tribute to each forgotten hero's resting place with the U.S. National Flag and is taken by surprise when a troop of soldiers comes for him the next day.

"Will you be a good boy and act like a responsible young man?" Griffin asked his eleven-year-old son Nathan before leaving by taxi for the nearest army base. Griffin was getting deployed from the base to another country for six months.

Although he was proud of his service, his only worry was if Nathan would keep his promise.

"Daddy, I promise to take care of mom and sister until you come back. Trust me," Nathan assured him, so Griffin blindly trusted his son and left for his duty...

Two days later, Nathan's mother, Grace, returned home from the store to find the living room in a mess.

"What's going on? Nathan, stop it right now!"

Nathan and his little sister Amy were engaged in a pillow fight.

"Mom, she started it first. She snatched my console," he grumbled.

"He poured water on my drawing! And threw my doll in the dustbin!"

"Yeah, I told you not to put your stupid doll on my bed! Next time you put it, wait and see what I'm gonna—"

"Stop it, you two!" Grace yelled. But Nathan wouldn't stop arguing and stood his ground.

Day by day, Nathan found ways to annoy his mother at home. But what he did one day outdid it all.

"Where were you all day?" Grace fumed at Nathan, who had gotten into a scuffle with a neighboring kid at the playground. "Do you know what time it is? And why are your clothes torn and dirty? I know what you did."

Nathan frowned. "I was playing with my friends. You should thank me for coming home early today. The match was not yet over!"

Grace lost it and yelled at Nathan.

"You have to apologize to Mrs. Brown and her son. I know you had a brawl with that boy at the field. Nathan, can you stop being like this and act like a good boy? I'm tired of your behavior!"

Days passed, and Grace started dealing with a string of problems because of Nathan. She was so disappointed and waited until her husband returned from service so she could complain. She didn't want to tell him anything over the phone as she felt it would distract him from his duty.

Remember to honor your nation's history and fallen soldiers because freedom was never free.

Six months passed, and Griffin returned home on leave. To his dismay, he did not hear the best things about his son, and even neighbors started complaining about Nathan.

Griffin was furious. He called Nathan for a serious man-to-man talk in his bedroom.

"Did I do something wrong by trusting you with your mother and sister?" Griffin began...

Nathan hung his head in shame as tears slowly rose in his eyes.

"Even the neighbors told me earlier today how you broke their window while playing football. You didn't even bother to apologize to them. Son, I'm very disappointed in you. This is not what a grown-up boy like you does. I've lost faith in you, and I'm ashamed of you."

Nathan stormed out of the bedroom in tears. He hated to cry in front of people, even if they were his parents. His dad had hurt his feelings, and he was determined to regain his dad's trust.

Since then, Griffin noticed a drastic change in his son's behavior.

Nathan never came home late from school, never wasted time with his friends, and would assist his mom in the kitchen. He helped his sister with her homework and even mowed his neighbors' lawns for free as a token of apology for breaking their windows.

Although Griffin was amazed, he was not pleased. He did not easily forgive Nathan and shrugged his efforts off as if they were nothing.

But things took a different turn on Memorial Day when Griffin visited the cemetery with his family.

"You see these headstones here?" Griffin told Nathan, pointing to the hundreds of headstones of soldiers. "Under each headstone lies a piece of history. Our brave soldiers who fought and died for our nation rest there. They should not be forgotten and should be honored."

Griffin sighed and walked away to inspect the tombs and pay his respects.

At that moment, something strange struck Nathan. He felt a sense of sorrow after seeing that some of the graves were unkempt. There were no flowers or flags. It looked like nobody had visited them in a long time. Deserted and forgotten.

So Nathan had an idea.

He had seen his dad put a huge box of flags in their car trunk that morning. He ran back to his car and returned to the cemetery with the box of flags. While his father was away, Nathan got down to some serious work—something that would make his dad proud.

When Griffin returned half an hour later, he witnessed a sight that moved him to tears. He saw Nathan marching to some of the graves and saluting each of them. But that was not all.

Griffin observed the graves and found they were clean with flags planted beside the headstones.

"Wow!" Griffin sighed and looked at Nathan, who was busy planting the last set of flags near the soldiers' graves.

Griffin patted his son and returned home. He could not believe his eyes and was so touched. He was so delighted that day. But another surprise awaited him and Nathan the next morning.

"Daddy, some soldiers have come to see you!" Nathan shouted after seeing a troop of soldiers on his porch.

"Son, we've come to see you and not your father!" one of the soldiers clarified. Nathan was puzzled and walked out to meet them.

It turned out that the soldiers who guarded the cemetery had noticed Nathan cleaning some of the graves and paying his respects to the late soldiers. They were touched and decided to reward him for his kindness. They'd seen him leave with his dad and traced his address using their car's plate number.

Griffin came out after hearing the voices of strangers and was shocked to see a troop of soldiers there. He could not believe his eyes when one of them marched to Nathan with a reward.

The soldier handed Nathan a souvenir as the rest saluted him. Griffin was moved to tears, and the soldiers were surprised to learn Nathan was none other than their comrade's son.

Griffin invited the troop inside for tea and a warm conversation. Throughout their talk, the soldiers praised Griffin for raising such a wonderful boy who never shied away from honoring their nation's history.

Griffin was on the verge of tearing up, but he laughed heartily and called out loud to Nathan. He patted the boy on his shoulder with pride and said, "HE IS MY SON, and I am proud of him!"

Nathan hugged his father and shed tears of joy. His heart felt lighter and happier that day because he knew his dad had forgiven him. Moreover, he was proud of himself for honoring the true heroes who sacrificed their lives for their country.

What can we learn from this story?

• Remember to honor your nation's history and fallen soldiers because freedom was never free. When Nathan saw the soldiers' graves unkempt and forgotten, he cleaned them and planted flags near each headstone.
• When you respect others, you will be honored in return. A troop of soldiers honored Nathan after the boy honored the soldiers at the cemetery.

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A boy looks after a little girl whose dad is away at the military base. One day, he is greeted by a troop of soldiers outside his house. Click here to read the full story.

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