A World War II veteran from Florida broke down in tears while celebrating his 100th birthday because he was so disappointed in what America had become. Marine veteran Carl Spurlin Dekle from Plant City, Florida, claims that fighting against evil in World War II was his biggest pride but that the country has gone downhill since thenAlthough he fought the Nazis in the 1940s, more than 80 years ago, he sees hatred growing in America and believes that the country “is going to hell in a handbasket.”
Dekle claimed that the soldiers who died in World War II did not die for the America of today. The same goes for soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s.

“People don’t realize what they have,” Dekle told Fox13. “The things we did and the things we fought for and the boys that died for it, it’s all gone down the drain. Our country is going to hell in a handbasket.”

Dekle broke down in tears when comparing the America of his youth to the country he lives in today. His tears were captured on camera because the Marine veteran was being interviewed in celebration of his 100th birthday, which the veteran spent with his family and friends.

Back in 2009, Dekle spoke to Plant City Courier & Tribune about the sacrifices he and other soldiers made during the Second World War.

“‘I want the young kids to realize that freedom comes with a heavy price,” Dekle said in 2009. “It isn’t given to people out of the goodness of others. It’s something you have to fight and sometimes die for.”