The son of Army veteran Ed Bambas said his father will finally be able to retire and enjoy life after his heartbreaking story raised nearly $1.5 million — a life-changing sum that will be presented to the octogenarian Friday in a surprise ceremony at his workplace.
Michael Bambas said his 88-year-old father — unaware of the still-rising, massive payout — has been overwhelmed and profoundly moved by the outpouring of generosity after he opened up about his financial struggles in a now-viral video.
“I know what this is going to mean to him and that it’s going to change his life immensely,” Bambas told The Post Wednesday night about his hardworking dad.
“He’s finally going to enjoy life and not have to worry about, you know, where the next dollar is gonna have to come from.”
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.
Wiedenhofer shared the story on social media and launched a GoFundMe Monday to help him retire that has raised over $1.443 million as of Wednesday night.
“Holy crap!” Bambas, 63, exclaimed in disbelief upon learning of the still-rising amount.
“It’s 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’s amazing how things like this brings out the best in people.”
The senior told Wiedenhofer, a positivity influencer, that he retired from General Motors in 1999 — 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.
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 “make it through.”
“The 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,” Ed said in the video, while fighting back tears.
After his wife, Joan, died seven years ago, he had no choice but to return to a grueling 40-hour workweek.
He eventually landed a job at the supermarket chain, located 45 miles west of Detroit, where he has worked for the past five years.
“I’m fortunate God gave me a good enough body to be strong enough to stand here for eight, eight and a half hours a day,” Ed told WXYZ after Wiedenhofer’s video exploded online.
The fundraiser has drawn nearly 50,000 donations from over 36,000 supporters — including singers Charlie Puth and Russell Dickerson.
“He hasn’t fully grasped what’s going on,” Bambas said of his dad.
“He has no idea how much money is in the account. He has no clue what’s there. It’s going to be total shock to him.”
Bambas said a heartwarming ceremony will take place Friday night at his father’s job, where he’ll receive an account preloaded with the staggering funds. A local veterans group will also host a special presentation in the senior’s honor.
“Since my mom passed, I’ve been trying to help him where I can financially, so it’s going to be a major burden taken away,” the relieved son added.
“He’s gonna have a lot of relief in all this.”
