Army veteran, 88, in tears after Aussie stranger gifts him $2 million
An 88-year-old army veteran forced to keep working 40 hour-weeks had his life changed in an instant by an extreme act of generosity.
Christmas came early this year for a man who well deserves it.
An 88-year-old Army veteran has gone viral after the heartbreaking revelation that he works five days a week at a local supermarket to help make ends meet.
Ed Bambas, a cashier at the Meijer store in Brighton, Michigan, lost his pension 13 years ago and despite his age is now forced to work 40 hours a week — a full-time schedule — because “he doesn’t have enough income”.
Bambas was approached in his workplace by Australian influencer Samuel Weidenhofer, who posted their interaction to Instagram and sparked a wave of generosity.
By 8.30am on Friday a GoFundMe for Bambas had raised $A2 million for his retirement.
“I retired from General Motors in ’99. In 2012, they went bankrupt and they took my pension away from me,” Bambas told Weidenhofer.
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The octogenarian revealed he had been comfortable in his retirement, with a home and stable financial footing, until he was left with nothing as his beloved wife fell ill around the same time, a devastating gut-punch that drove him back to work.
“The thing that hurt me the most was when my wife was really sick and when they took the pension, they also took the healthcare coverage and all but $10,000 of my life insurance,” Bambas said, fighting back tears.
To pay for the medical bills, Bambas had no choice but to sell off his home and property just to “make it through”.
His wife of over 50 years, Joan, had expected “to live the life I was hoping for”, but she died seven years ago.
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Bambas admitted he has no choice but to work and has been struggling “a little bit”, while trying to re-establish himself before finally getting the job at the supermarket 60km west of Detroit.
“Once my wife died, I didn’t have enough income to pay for this place or all the other bills I had accumulated because of my wife’s illness,” Bambas told WXYZ.
“It wasn’t hard for me to do it because I knew I had to do it,” he said. “I’m fortunate God gave me a good enough body to be strong enough to stand there for eight, eight and a half hours a day.”
Weidenhofer gave Bambas a $400 tip to help him out before opening a GoFundMe that will completely change the rest of his life.
“It came out of the clear blue — I really truly mean that,” Bambas told the outlet.
The fundraiser has gained tens of thousands of unique donors, the $10,000 top donation came from a “William Ackman”, the same name as hedge fund manager, Bill Ackman, though it was not immediately clear if they were one and the same.
Singers Charlie Puth and Russell Dickerson reacted to the generosity — with the former saying he also gave money to Bambas.
“Commenting to spread this video. I also donated to you sir,” Grammy-nominated Puth wrote on TikTok.
“Despite everything, Ed shows up every day with quiet dignity, strength, and perseverance. His story is a stark reminder that too many of our seniors, especially veterans, face incredible challenges just to survive,” Weidenhofer wrote on GoFundMe.
“I’m opening a fundraiser to help Ed live the life he deserves to finally give him some relief, comfort and the peace of mind that comes from knowing he can enjoy his later years without constant struggle,” Weidenhofer added.
The “kindness” influencer hasn’t yet told Bambas the eye-popping amount raised by his inspiring story, saying the big reveal will come as a surprise in a few days once the fundraiser winds down and a secure bank account or trust can be established.
The heartwarming video has been viewed over 5 million times on TikTok and has over 613,000 likes on Instagram, but Bambas has not seen it.
“I’ve never been on those programs. I don’t own one of those fancy cellphones. In fact, I still have a flip phone just to talk to people,” he told the outlet.
This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission
Originally published as Army veteran, 88, in tears after Aussie stranger gifts him $2 million
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