97-Year-Old Marine Who Survived Iwo Jima Walks Into Cafe, Tells His Stories—So They Give Him His Own Table

(Left): Screenshot/Google Maps; (Right): Courtesy of the Cafe Republic Fort Worth, Texas

The Cafe Republic on North Beach Street in Fort Worth holds a special place for someone who once prayed on a beach during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

That someone is Don Graves, 97, who joined the Marine Corps in 1942 at age 17, before shipping off to fight alongside 335 other Marines, of whom only 18 came off the island.