WWII Veteran, 100, Attends His First Prom

Eighty-two years after being drafted to serve in World War II and missing his high school prom, 100-year-old Ray Svejnoha finally got his dance. Students at Metea Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois, learned his story through a club that helps seniors with technology and decided to give him the prom he never had.

They surprised him with a promposal featuring red, white, and blue balloons and a sign reading “82 years late, but right on time.” Community sponsors chipped in with a haircut, manicure, tuxedo fitting, and a vintage trolley ride to the event, where students greeted him with cheers and welcomed him onto the dance floor.

Ray took the microphone to address the crowd. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this, and I love you all,” he said.

Pianist in the Crowd Saves Opening Night

When the keyboard player fell ill halfway through the opening night of La La Land in Concert in Sydney, Oscar-winning composer Justin Hurwitz asked the crowd of 2,500 if anyone could sight-read. Sterling Nasa, a 21-year-old university student, raised his hand after a nudge from his friend, who told him, “just do it, it’ll be good dad lore.”

Within minutes, Sterling was seated with the full orchestra and jazz ensemble, playing a celeste he’d never touched before. When a technical solo arrived that he couldn’t sight-read, he improvised it instead. Hurwitz later told Sterling he had worried there wouldn’t be a synth solo if he couldn’t get through the part. Instead, the crowd gave the unlikely substitute a standing ovation.

“I was a little bit tentative,” Sterling said. “I do owe a lot of the experience to my friend Scarlett, who sort of put my hand up for me. But I did end up finding the confidence, and it was a very good decision.”

Flight Attendant Retires After 66 Years in the Sky

Joan Prince Crandall took her last flight on May 30 after 66 years in the air, retiring as the longest-serving flight attendant in aviation history. The Delta Air Lines crew member, now in her 80s, started as a stewardess at Pacific Airlines in 1959, flying propeller planes that held as few as 24 passengers. 

“That has been my career—from stewardess to flight attendant,” said Joan, who was recognized by Guinness World Records in January after surpassing the previous record of 64 years. Her career spanned six airlines through decades of mergers, landing her at Delta in 2008.

Before retiring, Joan met Alise Broussard, a newly graduated Delta flight attendant just starting her career. Joan called it a “déjà vu” moment. She plans to write a book and keep traveling—to Paris, Mumbai, and Hong Kong—just without the safety briefings.

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“It never (occurred to) me that the prom was that important in my lifetime. But when they approached me about it, and the way they said it, why them girls were more excited than I was, but after I heard them, well, I was just about as excited, too, but it was so nice of them to even think about it.”

— Ray Svejnoha, a 100-year-old World War II veteran, after attending a high school prom 82 years after missing his own.