COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Joseph Kloc is among the 989 members of the US Air Force Academy’s class of 2019 who graduated this week, but a special moment with family set his week apart.
His grandfather, 101-year-old World War II veteran Walter Kloc, flew from Amherst, New York to commission his grandson during the ceremony that gives undergraduates their first military assignments.
“I’m so excited for him,” Joseph’s father William Kloc told WGRZ before the trip to Colorado. “He’s fulfilling his dream and he was so excited that his grandfather, a World War II Air Force bombardier pilot, could come and commission him.”
The moment was captured on camera by the Air Force Academy.
“Walter received a standing ovation, and everyone in the room was gifted with a memory they’ll never forget,” the academy said.
