Earlier this year, Mann-Granstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, hosted a birthday celebration more than a century in the making.
The guest of honor: retired Navy Capt. Francis “Frank” Fogarty, a 101-year-old veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
A year prior, illness had prevented his 100th birthday party. This spring, however, VA staff, family and fellow service members ensured the milestone was marked with a celebration no one would forget. The event began with a surprise welcome on the hospital’s electronic sign: “Happy BDay Capt. Fog.” Family flew in from across the country as Fogarty, a Montana native born in 1924, quickly realized the day’s excitement was for him…