Stay Updated on Developing Stories

A 96-year-old WWII vet donned a mohawk to intimidate the Germans. He did it again to spread joy during the pandemic

(CNN) Guy Whidden, a former WWII paratrooper, first cut his hair into a mohawk back in 1944, right before D-Day.

The idea, a popular one at the time, was to wear the hairstyle so as to intimidate the Germans.

But the night before D-Day, a young lieutenant told Whidden the haircut had to go. Though he regrets it now, the 20-year-old Whidden did as he was told -- and when he jumped the next day, he was bald.

With so many people stuck inside because of the coronavirus, Whidden, now 96, had an idea. He could cut his hair into a mohawk now, as both a tribute to his fallen friends and a way to spread some joy.

"I knew it would draw some laughs," he told CNN. "And I don't have much to do like most of us penned up in our homes."

So, on a sunny April day, Whidden and his granddaughter, Lydia, got to it. Whidden sat outside, with a blue barber cloth around him and the top of his hair held up with a bright green hair clip.

Twenty minutes later, Whidden had a whole new style.

"I feel like a young buck!" he's heard saying in the video posted to YouTube, before challenging other airborne forces to do the same.

"It turned out pretty good, except it's gray," he joked to CNN.

The video, and the subsequent photos posted on Whidden's Facebook page, have had an impact. Thousands have responded, many telling Whidden they too have cut their hair, inspired by him.

It wasn't intentional, Whidden said. "I just thought it would make a happy moment."

He continued, "If I can get people to laugh, it makes my day for me, especially in this period of time. It's very difficult for a lot of people."

Whidden compared the current pandemic to World War II, saying that in some ways the pandemic is worse.

"People weren't dying at home," he said. "(But the pandemic) is affecting all the people at home. So many people have passed on, which is so sad, even before their time."

But, Whidden said, if the virus has one upside, it's that everybody has started to come together, just like during the war.

And if his new silver mohawk can help keep folks' spirits up, well, that's a win for the home team.

Outbrain