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World War II veteran David Yoho’s blunt and poignant message to younger generations to remember the sacrifices of those who served went viral on social media over Memorial Day weekend.
“Tell them about the veterans and tell them we sacrificed our yesterday for your tomorrow,” Yoho, who turns 98 in August, said Saturday through the rain at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
“And if they say to you, then who did you hear speaking these words?” he continued with a speechless speech, raising a military salute while holding back tears as his nearly 100-year-old voice hit the rain.
“Tell them he was a 16-year-old boy in the heart and mind and body of a 98-year-old World War II veteran.”
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In a screenshot of his emotional speech Saturday amid the rain, World War II veteran David Yoho, 97, delivered a tribute that has gone viral on social media. (Friends of World War II Memorial)
The emotional salute covered the former Merchant Marine veteran’s view of the more than 16 million Americans who served in uniform after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the hundreds of thousands who never returned home.
Yoho, who was only 16 years old when he entered the service, remembers that the army reduced the age of recruitment during the war because the country needed workers.
“When you are 16 years old, you are a child playing in your streets, and the day you join the army, that stops,” he said, tapping the lectern sympathetically. “And our commitment to what has been done is evident.”
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World War II veteran David Yoho speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2025. (Wina McNamee/Getty Images)
“Your devotion, even you up there on the porch,” he continued, pointing to the raindrops at those who came to his Memorial Day weekend speech, “your devotion to us is obvious, and we thank you as we kneel in obedience to our God and our maker..”
Yoho spoke at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, at the end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which honors the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces and the 400,000 who died.
“Tell your friends about this place,” said Yoho. “Tell your friend that you are standing in the rain and you will help us today. Tell your friends about your dedication and tell them about us.“
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Former Merchant Marine David Yoho speaks during a World War II Merchant Marines medal ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 18, 2022. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)
Yoho also paid tribute to the US Merchant Marines, saying 250,000 were employed during the war and that the group suffered heavy losses while transporting troops and supplies through dangerous waters. He pointed to the Murmansk Run, a deadly Arctic convoy route used to supply Allied forces, as one example of the sacrifices made by Americans from “all races” and “all creeds.”
“So who are we here today? We are here to ring the bell, to ring those we respect at rest,” said Yoho. “Ring the bell to all the soldiers.“
Yoho provided a unique context for viewers 84 years after Pearl Harbor.
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“I would like to thank you for your presence today,” “Dad.” “We are the last of the kind you sponsored to represent you, your families.
“On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese government attacked Pearl Harbor and started what we called our war!
“We were a country of 130 million and we put 16,200,000 of them in uniform, 440,000 of them did not come home.
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“And when you see a star representing 100 men, think that each of these people had a relationship with a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister. They are our family. We stand in this empty world. And thank you, despite the bad weather, you saw that you should be with us on this day.“
The Merchant Marines had “the highest death rate” of the armed forces in World War II, Yoho recalled.
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“We lost 733 ships and had the highest death rate of any group that served in that war, but God is great and God is good and he kept this old ship alive,” said Yoho. “I’ll be 98 in six weeks and I’m not sorry for any of the time I’m taking to tell you, without you, this wouldn’t be possible.”
“I have a deep love for everything here and what they stand for,” he said.
