WATCH: Southern California WWII Veteran Has 'Best Day Ever' When Navy Surprises Him with Song

GARDENA, CA — On a typical sunny Southern California summer day, a World War II veteran was sitting on the front porch of his Gardena home when he was surprised by the Navy Chief Selects from Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center.

Ernest Thompson used to serve on the USS Missouri during WWII and, since his retirement, used to visit the Battleship Iowa Museum regularly, according to his grandson, Jonathan Williams, who is the CEO of the museum. The USS Iowa, which is docked in San Pedro, about 15 minutes from Thompson's home, is the sister ship to the Missouri.

Thompson, 98, has not been able to visit the ship lately because of ill health. That is when the chief selects, working with the Iowa volunteer coordinator, decided to bring the ship to him.

The chief selects sang the Navy's march song, "Anchors Aweigh," in the middle of the street in front of his home. While the chief selects sang, Thompson stood and saluted.

"My grandfather told me that it was one of the best days of his life," Williams wrote in a Facebook post.

In the video, Thompson is seen smiling as he shook the hands of all the young men and women who showed up and sang for him. Since the video was posted on Facebook by the Pacific Battleship Center - Battleship USS Iowa last Saturday, it has been viewed more than 600,000 times and shared more than 11,000 times.

Before his failing health prevented him from visiting the ship, Thompson was a volunteer docent at the museum where he would interact with the public, telling stories about the ship and his time serving during the second world war, Williams said.

Thompson served on the USS Tennessee during Pearl Harbor and later witnessed Japan surrender when he was on the USS Missouri, according to Williams.

Photo: Screen shot of the video posted by the Pacific Battleship Center