PLEASANT GROVE, Utah - At ninety seven years old, Master Gunnery Sergeant Keith Renstrom of Pleasant Grove will tell you one thing never changes.
“I’m a Marine and I’ll die a Marine,” said Renstrom to a cheering crowd of a few hundred people gathered in front of his home on Monday afternoon.
The patriotic surprise was a welcome home for Renstrom, who was coming back from visiting some of the Pacific islands where he fought.
“On some of the beaches that he actually landed on he was able to share some stories that I hadn’t heard before,” said his son John Renstrom.
The trip was organized with the help of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The welcome home was organized by friends and neighbors in Pleasant Grove. Hundreds showed up to cheer as Pleasant Grove Police escorted Renstrom’s car to his house.
“This to me is a wonderful experience that I will cherish long after he is gone,” said Tyler Renstrom, one of his grandchildren.
