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Moffitt Cancer Center honors WWII vet, cancer survivor with special ceremony

Posted at 10:14 AM, Nov 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-11 10:21:29-05

On Friday, November 11, Veterans Day, the nation is taking time to honor the military veterans who have given so much of themselves for the country and for our freedoms.

A special flag-raising ceremony was held at Moffitt Cancer Center in honor of a World War II vet and recent cancer survivor. For Arthur Kropp and his family it was a moment they'll never forget.

"I am just overwhelmed. I am really overwhelmed," said Glenna Joe Kropp.

Overwhelmed and grateful, for Kropp it was an unbelievable moment.

"This is such an honor, such an honor today to be here," Kropp told ABC Action News.

Arthur Kropp was just 18-years-old when he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. Two years later, he was on the USS Enterprise, the most decorated ship in WWII.

"I keep remembering the boys I was with, the guys that we lost," said Kropp.

During one battle in the war, his fighter plane went down with Kropp and two other crew members. The trio spent day and night in a life raft and Kropp was listed as Missing in Action before being rescued.

Nearly 70 years later, Kropp found himself in another battle as he fought pancreatic cancer. Kropp is alive thanks to the team at Moffitt Cancer Center.

The hospital is honoring him on Veterans Day with a special flag-raising as a thank you for what he did for our country.