WWII veteran gets long-awaited dress uniform

More than 70 years after getting discharged from the military, Thomas Ivan Henderson finally has a Marine Corps dress uniform to show off. He was given the Dress Blue uniform on Friday at the Columbia office of MarineParents.com, a non-profit organization.

According to MarineParents.com, when Henderson enlisted in 1943, he mistakenly believed all Marines got Dress Blue uniforms, but never got to wear one. To remedy the situation, MarineParents.com volunteers and staff got a hold of a Marine recruiter in Columbia, who volunteered to donate a coat to Henderson.

The group also bought additional uniform items, campaign ribbons, and USMC emblems. On top of that, they had the uniform custom tailored to help Henderson look “squared away.”

According to the group’s website, MarineParents.com aims to “provide support, information, and services to recruit and Marine family members and troops over the course of the life-cycle of [a] recruit or Marine’s career in the Corps.”