He never openly told people what he did in the war.
In an attempt to cheer up a 92-year-old World War II veteran who’s been sick in the hospital, a U.S. congressman and local lawmaker paid him a visit to honor him for his incredible service.
Michael Feeney, of Bay Shore, New York, doesn’t often talk about what he actually did in the war. It wasn’t until a few years ago that his family found out that Feeney helped crack the German Enigma machine, allowing the allies to anticipate the Nazis’ every move to help achieve victory.
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The 2014 Oscar-winning movie "The Imitation Game," which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician Alan Turing, highlighted the importance of solving the code.
"He is very proud of his service but would always just say, ‘I served in the war,'" Michael Virga, Feeney’s stepson, told InsideEdition.com. "It was an eye-opener for me when I found out that he had done that."
(Courtesy Michael Virga)
Feeney has been sick with a blood infection and a family member decided to contact U.S. Rep. Peter King to see if an honor might cheer him up in his room at Southside Hospital.
King, who was joined by Suffolk County Legislator Tom Cilmi, presented Feeney with an American flag that has flown over the nation’s capital.
“It was an honor to be able to meet and talk with this hero who has such a sense of dignity and is so modest about his historic accomplishment,” Rep. King wrote on his Facebook page.
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Although Virga said his father was too tired to truly embrace the honor, he knows that had he been in his best health, it would have been an amazing moment for him.
“He would have been very proud to receive it if he was well. He was always so proud of his service,” Virga said.
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