WWII Vet, 97, 'Takes A Knee' In Support Of Anthem Protests [PHOTO]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - On a day when NFL teams grabbed the nation's attention by coordinating demonstrations during the national anthem,

Brennan Gilmore posted a Twitter picture Sunday morning of his grandfather, John Middlemas, kneeling while wearing a veteran's cap. Gilmore wrote: "My grandpa is a 97 year-old WWII vet & Missouri farmer who wanted to join w/ those who TakeaKnee: `those kids have every right to protest."'

Middlemas is a farmer from Willard, Missouri. He tells the Springfield News-Leader he wanted to communicate "that you have to love everybody." He adds: "We don't kill people. We want to make people live."

The image has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)