ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A 101-year-old World War II veteran goes to the Field of Dreams every Saturday in St. Johns County to watch the kids play baseball.
Bill Speights was drafted into the army when he was 19 years old. He was in the 291st Army Corps of Engineers.
Now, at 101 years old, he comes to the Field of Dreams in St. Johns County to watch the kids play baseball while his daughter volunteers.
“We just moved to St. Johns at the end of November and one of my promises to my dad was that we’re going to find a Little League because he loves to watch kids play baseball,” Maryanne Russell said.
She added that it’s been something to bond over with her dad.
“It’s phenomenal because this whole area just breeds neighborhood and bringing communities together and doing things, but being able to spend the day with him doing something he absolutely loves...it’s like watching a younger him come out,” Russell said.
They’re originally from New York, then they spent some time in Northern Virginia and moved to the Villages in Florida for a while. She said they moved to St. Johns County because they were looking for a neighborhood-type atmosphere.
Speights said he likes watching the kids because they’re being taught the right way to play the game.
“I don’t like football, I don’t like the players that signed the contract, then he wants to renegotiate the contract,” Speights said. [The kids] are enjoying themselves and the people that had their dad and their buddies, they enjoy doing what they do," Speights said.
