A WWII army veteran has shaved his hair into a mohawk again as a tribute to his fallen friends.
Footage of the heartwarming moment was uploaded to social media by 96-year-old Guy Whidden's granddaughter, Lydia Arshadi. He revealed that he first got a mohawk the night before D Day. At the time, the Maryland native was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division.
However, the hairstyle didn't go down well with Whidden's lieutenant because he was the only member of his platoon to embrace it, so he was told to shave it off. And while he followed the order at the time, he decided that now was the perfect time to bring back the rebellious hairstyle.
Watch Whidden get a mohawk below:After getting the mohawk, Whidden says how much he likes it, adding: "It's pretty cool. Good job, Lydia." She then asks him if he feels like a young man again, and he says: "Oh absolutely, I feel like a young buck."
In an interview with The Frederick News Post about his new hairstyle, Whidden said he wanted to "add a little humor" into the world during this difficult time.
He said: "A lot of people are going through a lot of problems with the [coronavirus]. Some of them are frightened, some of them are just concerned, and they're locked in and it gets boring to a certain extent.
"To me, it's like a wake-up call. Back in our day, World War II was referred to as a national emergency. And this is what we're going through now, a national emergency. This isn't easy for people, and everybody's working together, and that's the good part of it, just like we did back in World War II.
"I've always been optimistic all of my life. A smile goes a long ways. So I thought that might create a little interest among my airborne friends, a lot of them who are currently airborne, not just the old-timers like myself. I don't think any of them are interested in wearing a mohawk. But I'd like to."
Arshadi said she felt privileged to have given her grandfather a mohawk, and after the video went viral, countless others followed suit. She said it was a way for them "to bring everybody together and make things a bit more lighthearted than they are now".
She added: "And I think aside from the tribute, everybody got a good giggle to see a 96-year-old with a mohawk."
The hairstyle is all the more poignant as Whidden was the only member of his platoon to survive D Day. May they rest in peace.
