Some stories never fail to hit readers right in the chest. I must have come across it half a dozen times, yet every time I do, I am moved to tears.
This inspirational tale first became popular in 1974 as a short work of fiction by writer Roy Popkin, but was actually originally published under the title “Night Watch” in the September 1965 edition of Reader’s Digest.
It begins when a young Marine enters a hospital to visit his dying father, who had experienced a heart attack. The dying man has very little time left and is expected to die any moment. Doctors at the hospital knew he would likely not make it through the night.
All the dying man wants at this point is to have his beloved son, the marine, by his side. A nurse, remembering that the old man’s son was a serviceman, took the young officer’s hand and brought him to the bedside.
But things take an unexpected twist when the nurses discover the marine’s true identity….
Read the story below — but make sure you have some tissues handy.
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her, “Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman’s Name? “
The nurse with tears in her eyes answered, “Mr. William Grey………
What a heartwarming story. It is so incredible that it has been told time and time again, under many different names, and it never fails to touch hearts.
We should all take care of each other, just as this brave Marine did. Share if his actions moved you too.
