BOZEMAN — While it may only be March, preparations are underway for this year’s Memorial Day Parade, and one person you’ll see featured this year is a 100-year-old World War II Navy veteran.
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“They had guys in the background that made me think about things like that. I didn't think. You're supposed to shut up and be and do what the Navy wanted,” says Harold Stephens.
Drafted at age 17, Harold spent six years serving in the Navy fighting in World War II.
“The ship was surrounded by four Japanese submarines, at night. We were still there at night. No lights, no radios,” he recalls.
But the memories of fighting in the war are now becoming more faint for Harold.
“I can remember flying and sometimes I was in the air, sometimes I wasn't,” he says.
After six years, Harold returned home to Billings.
“It was midnight, and I remember my dog recognized me right in a minute when I hit the house,” says Stephens.
Harold remembers a conversation he had with his Dad shortly after.
“In the back seat of a car. He said, are you ever going to go to work, Harold? And lo and behold, I would get flight pay,” says Stephens.
After starting his business, Bozeman Glass, in the early 70s, Harold still comes to work daily and interacts with customers.
“She says, 'Harold, how much is that going to cost?' And I says nothing, so I get a couple of cookies,” says Stephens.
When asked what it was like to be a part of the Greatest generation, Harold replied with great humility.
“I’m probably at the bottom of the list—don't get up on a pedestal and tell them who I am,” he says.
You can watch Harold as the Grand Marshal in this year's Memorial Day Parade on May 26.
