{"id":330169,"date":"2025-12-04T15:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T15:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/330169\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T15:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T15:08:12","slug":"army-veteran-ed-bambas-son-michael-says-father-will-finally-retire-after-1-5-million-gofundme-fundraiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/330169\/","title":{"rendered":"Army veteran Ed Bambas’ son Michael says father will finally retire after $1.5 million GoFundMe fundraiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

The son of Army veteran Ed Bambas<\/a> said his father will finally be able to retire and enjoy life after his heartbreaking story raised nearly $1.5 million \u2014 a life-changing sum that will be presented to the octogenarian Friday in a surprise ceremony at his workplace.<\/p>\n

Michael Bambas said his 88-year-old father \u2014 unaware of the still-rising, massive payout \u2014 has been overwhelmed and profoundly moved by the outpouring of generosity after he opened up about his financial struggles in a now-viral video. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know what this is going to mean to him and that it\u2019s going to change his life immensely,\u201d Bambas told The Post Wednesday night about his hardworking dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s finally going to enjoy life and not have to worry about, you know, where the next dollar is gonna have to come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ed Bambas still works at a Michigan Meijer store at 88 years old because he lost his pension and needed to work to pay his bills. @itssozer\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Ed captured hearts worldwide after Australian influencer Samuel Wiedenhofer met him at a Meijer grocery store in Brighton, where the senior has been forced to work full-time as a cashier to make ends meet after losing his pension and his wife, whose medical expenses left him financially strained.<\/p>\n

Wiedenhofer shared the story on social media and launched a GoFundMe<\/a> Monday to help him retire that has raised over $1.443 million as of Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly crap!\u201d Bambas, 63, exclaimed in disbelief upon learning of the still-rising amount. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just amazing. Both of us are pretty much amazed at how this affected people around the world. Somehow I guess this hits a nerve with people, they can connect emotionally that makes them want to reach out and help. It\u2019s amazing how things like this brings out the best in people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bambas revealed that he retired from General Motors in 1999 \u2014 only for the company to go bankrupt in 2012 and wipe out his pension. @itssozer\/Instagram<\/p>\n

The senior told Wiedenhofer, a positivity influencer, that he retired from General Motors in 1999 \u2014 only for the company to go bankrupt in 2012 and wipe out his pension, according to the moving video that was posted to Instagram Monday. <\/a><\/p>\n

The father of two had enjoyed a comfortable life with his wife of over 50 years until she fell gravely ill, a crushing double blow that left him selling his home and property just to \u201cmake it through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that hurt me the most was when my wife was really sick and when they took the pension, they also took the health care coverage and all but $10,000 of my life insurance,\u201d Ed said in the video, while fighting back tears.<\/p>\n

Ed Bambas and his wife, Joan, were married for over 50 years before she died seven years ago. Ed Bambas<\/p>\n

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After his wife, Joan, died seven years ago, he had no choice but to return to a grueling 40-hour workweek.<\/p>\n

He eventually landed a job at the supermarket chain, located 45 miles west of Detroit, where he has worked for the past five years. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fortunate God gave me a good enough body to be strong enough to stand here for eight, eight and a half hours a day,\u201d Ed told WXYZ<\/a> after Wiedenhofer\u2019s video exploded online.<\/p>\n

Ed Bambas and influencer Samuel Wiedenhofer at the Michigan store. @itssozer\/Instagram<\/p>\n

The fundraiser has drawn nearly 50,000 donations from over 36,000 supporters \u2014 including singers Charlie Puth and Russell Dickerson. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t fully grasped what\u2019s going on,\u201d Bambas said of his dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has no idea how much money is in the account. He has no clue what\u2019s there. It\u2019s going to be total shock to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The father of two had enjoyed a comfortable life with his wife of over 50 years until she fell gravely ill, a crushing double blow that left him selling his home and property just to \u201cmake it through.\u201d WXYZ<\/p>\n

Bambas said a heartwarming ceremony will take place Friday night at his father\u2019s job, where he\u2019ll receive an account preloaded with the staggering funds. A local veterans group will also host a special presentation in the senior\u2019s honor. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince my mom passed, I\u2019ve been trying to help him where I can financially, so it\u2019s going to be a major burden taken away,\u201d the relieved son added. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gonna have a lot of relief in all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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