WWII vet gives direct message to young people today: 'We gave up our yesterdays for your tomorrows'

World War II veteran David Yoho's blunt and emotional message for younger generations to remember the sacrifices of those who served has gone viral on social media over the Memorial Day weekend.

"Tell them about veterans and say to them that we gave up our yesterdays for your tomorrows," Yoho, who turns 98 in August, said Saturday through rain at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

"And if they say to you then, who did you hear speak these words?" he continued in off-the-cuff remarks, holding up a military salute while he held back tears as his nearly 100-year-old voice was cracking through the rain.

"Tell them it was a 16-year-old boy in the heart and mind and body of a 98-year-old veteran of World War II."

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In a screenshot from his emotional speech Saturday through the rain, World War II veteran David Yoho, 97, delivered a tribute that has gone viral on social media. (Friends of the National World War II Memorial)

The emotional salute capped the former Merchant Marine veteran's reflection on 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, just 16 when he entered service, recalled the military lowered recruiting ages during the war because the country needed manpower.

"When you’re 16, you’re a child playfully in your streets, and the day you enter the military, that stops," he said, empathically pounding the lectern. "And our dedication to what was done is apparent."

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World War II veteran David Yoho speaks during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 2, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"Your dedication, even you up there on the balconies," he continued, pointing through the raindrops to those attending his Memorial Day weekend speech, "your dedication to us is apparent, and we thank you when we kneel in obedience to our God and our maker."

Yoho spoke at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., at the eastern end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, honoring the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces and the 400,000 who died.

"Tell your friends about this place," Yoho said. "Tell your friend about the fact that you stood in the rain to hear us today. Tell the friends about your dedication and then tell them about us."

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Former Merchant Marine David Yoho speaks during a medal ceremony for World War II Merchant Marines on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2022. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

Yoho also honored the U.S. Merchant Marines, saying 250,000 were recruited during the war and that the group suffered devastating losses while moving troops and supplies across 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 "every race" and "every creed."

"So who are we here today? We are here to toll the bell, toll the bell for those who we honor in rest," Yoho said. "Toll the bell for every military unit."

Yoho provided unique context to onlookers 84 years after Pearl Harbor.

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"I add my thank you for your being here today," he said. "We are the last of a breed who you sponsored to represent you, your families.

"Dec. 7, 1941, the empire of Japan struck 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, and 440,000 of them didn't come home.

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"And when you see a star representing 100 men, contemplate that each one of these people had an attachment to a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister. They are our family. We stand on this hollow ground. And we appreciate, despite the inclement weather, you have seen fit to be with us this day."

Merchant Marines had the "highest mortality rate of any" of the World War II armed forces, Yoho remembered.

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"We lost 733 ships and the highest mortality rate of any group that served in that war, but God is great and God is good and he kept this old sucker alive," Yoho said. "I'm going to be 98 years old in six weeks and I take no apologies at any time for the time I take to tell you, without you, this wouldn't exist."

"I have a deep affection for everything here and what they stand for," he said.