Teacher praised for honoring veteran with quiet act of kindness
A high school music director in Hawaii is gaining nationwide attention for his quiet act of kindness toward a veteran in Rhode Island.
The faculty member from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Gregg Abe, sent a letter and a $30 check to Rhode Island Chief Judge, Frank Caprio, expressing that he wants to give back to somebody who served in the military.
“Every chance I get, I always thank every veteran that I see,” the letter from Abe reads. “At times I even pay for their meals anonymously.”
In this particular case, however, Abe wanted the judge to use the check to pay a court fee on behalf of a veteran coming through the court. As seen in Judge Caprio’s show Caught in Providence, that veteran happened to be a Vietnam veteran, Richard Eaton, who ran a red light.
In the video, Eaton explains that he was at the VA hospital on the same day that he ran the red light, which prompted the judge to ask Eaton about his service. And after making the decision to dismiss his case, Caprio pulled out the letter and $30 check from Abe in order to explain the music director’s cause and honor it.
“We are going to honor him by charging $30 court costs,” Caprio said. “We are going to use Mr. Abe's check to honor him and his father's service.”
Abe didn’t immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. However, he told Hawaii News Now that he does these random acts of kindness to honor his father, Sadaichi “Charlie” Abe, who served during World War II and was wounded in Italy. Since his death in 2008, the music director honors his father around his birthday in different ways.
“He would be happy to know that his unit and his friends are being honored this way,” Abe told the Hawaii station. As for the viral attention that the video has received, Abe said that it’s led to some strangers reaching out to thank him.
“Every day when I come to school, when I check my email, I get at least 15 to 20 emails from people I don't even know that are thanking me,” he explained. “I got phone calls from people that I don't even know.”
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