Virginia Beach, Va. - World War II Veteran Willie Hudson was in several battles while serving in the Army.
He saw a lot.
“When a person died, within an hour they were frozen solid. They pick him up like a piece of wood. I throw them in the truck, stack them up, take them back to be buried,” says Hudson.
But now at the age of 91, he`s fighting an incredibility difficult enemy - his wife`s dementia.
“She will say ‘Where's Willy?’ and he's like, ‘I'm right here,’” says Jean Wilde, their daughter.
For years, retired nurse Dorothy took care of her husband, but now he does all of the work - cooking, cleaning, and caring for the love of his life.
“It's a full-time job because you have to watch to make sure that they don't know that they have not eaten. They don't know that they haven't taken their medication,” says Wildey.
It`s a lot of work to do alone.
“It's a tough thing to live with. I wouldn't wish this on anybody,” says Wildey.
But he does with a smile.
It`s the lessons he learned as a young man serving our country that is helping him through this.
“Whatever needed to be done, they call you and you do it,” says Hudson.
That made him who he is today and has given him strength to handle the challenges he now faces.
“When you're in the military and doing your tour, you know that eventually you're going to go home. This will never end. This will never end. It could only get worse. It can only get worse from here,” says Wildey.
It`s the 66 years of marriage and the love and devotion he has that keeps these two stronger than ever.
