LAKE WORTH, Fla. — Before every Florida Panthers home game, pride beams from the crowd as a military veteran is honored during the National Anthem.
It’s called the "Heroes Among Us" tradition and Monday night's Stanley Cup Final game 3 featured Lake Worth World War Two veteran Sydney Edson.
WATCH: Mike Trim connects with WWII veteran honored at Panthers game:
WPTV anchor and Navy veteran Mike Trim spoke with Edson the day after his moment.
"I couldn’t believe the crowds, I couldn't believe how they built the stadium," Edson told Trim.
As the 101-year-old veteran talked about the Cats' win, it took him back to being a kid in Brooklyn, playing makeshift hockey.
"(We used) comic books and wrapped them around our legs and taped them around. And (say), 'Let's put this over our heads.' So we did all that and we played on the streets, between the cars, between the sewers," Edson said.
Edson joined the Army Air Corps and was deployed with Bomb Squadron 491.
He completed 28 bombing missions in the European Theatre and witnessed the D-Day invasion from his plane.
"Flying over and getting there, I could not see the English Channel. It was so many boats that we couldn't see the water. That's an invasion you'll never ever forget," recalled Edson.
Looking through his pictures, Edson told Trim he didn't have time to be scared during the war.
"Never even thought about it. I have work to do at the office. I had to go to the office. That's the only way you can think," Edson said.
Edson made it a point to ask Trim not to embellish his story and make him seem like a war hero.
"When I come right down to it, I'm not a hero, I'm a survivor," Edson said. "I’m just a regular guy that blended in with the others that did my job the best that I thought I could. That’s all."
In all, the Florida Panthers have honored more than 450 veterans of all eras.
