After more than 30 years of duty, a 102-year-old World War II veteran has finally resigned from his position as a school crossing guard.
Thomas Faucette spent 36 years in a second career guiding students across the road in North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools.
After his military service ended, Faucette worked for the US Postal Service until his retirement in 1986—but he never sat still.
He started his job as a crossing guard at Greensboro’s Peck Elementary School two years after that.
Friday marked the end of the academic year, and the centenarian expressed uncertainty about his next steps. Gathered outside the school building, the children and staff bid farewell to the beloved crossing guard.
According to his wife, Elizabeth Faucette, the most satisfying part of his work was seeing them go and come safely across the street.
Elizabeth said his retirement really has not hit him yet. She went on to explain that she is making plans to keep him occupied while he is unemployed.
The faculty and students will be relocating to a brand-new facility next year, complete with cutting-edge educational technology. However, the guy they began and finished their days with could be the most challenging thing to replace.
The school principal said that whoever follows in his footsteps will have a tough time; They would be following a legendary figure.
In an Instagram post, the police expressed their gratitude to Mr. Faucette.
The entire school came together in front of the building to honor Thomas and say their goodbyes as he was leaving.
Meanwhile, in Europe, near the D-Day beaches of Normandy, another centenarian WWII veteran tied the knot.
100-year-old Harold Terens and his fiancée, Jeanne Swerlin, made history eight decades after the D-Day landing.
On Saturday, they exchanged vows close to the spot where he and around 160,000 others landed on June 6, 1944, during the battle against the Nazis.
Aircraft that had returned from France needed repairs, and Terens was there to help get them back into the fight on D-Day. Half of his company’s pilots, he alleged, perished that fateful day. Twelve days later, Terens accompanied other prisoners of war from the United States and Germany to England via France.
Their destination wedding, according to Terens, was conceived over a lunch date with a friend.
