The Tampa Bay Lightning are having a pretty average start to the 2016-17 season, sitting on 35 points and in fourth place in the Atlantic Division today. None of that matters much though, as the Lightning gave us one of the better feel-good moments of 2016 on Tuesday night.
The organization honored World War II veteran Robert McClintock, who flew the P-51 Mustang as a 17-year-old over Italy and North Africa. He is 98-years-old, but still going strong, strong enough to belt out the national anthem in front of a packed house at last night’s Lightning game.
He was joined by a much more recent veteran, Sonya Bryson, who took the lead with the microphone. But, the real star was McClintock who stood by her and did his best to belt out the Star-Spangled Banner.
It was a perfect reminder that the song can be a unifying force across many generations, races and above all else to honor those who have fought and died to defend the freedoms we have here at home.
Regardless of political persuasions, seeing a WWII veteran singing the national anthem should put a lot of things into perspective about life.
