The story behind the viral video of Alex Pretti honoring a veteran who had just passed
Alex Pretti's name is now known around the world. One reason is a viral video that shows Pretti standing over the body of a veteran who died and honoring his service.
Terry Randolph was a proud Airman.
"He was stationed in a Libya Air Force Base, he was in aeronautical communications," his son, Mac Randolph, said.
Communicating would become his career; he opened a public relations business. In the '80s, he hosted a gigantic welcome home for hostages during the missile crisis.
As Mac Randolph says, his dad was always "telling the right stories, being on the right side of history."
After seven decades of telling stories, they got news: his time was short. It was lung cancer.
"He didn't want to continue the route of treatment; he wanted to do hospice. This is when Alex really became someone my family really leaned on and answered a lot of questions during a really difficult time," Mac Randolph said.
It was Pretti, a 37-year-old man with a smile, who answered the hardest questions his father would ever have to ask.
"I would say he definitely made a sense of calm," Mac Randolph said.
A sense of calm he brought in the moments after Terry Randolph died as Pretti stood above his body and read one last tribute, thanking him for his service.
Pretti laid a plaque by Terry Randolph's body, saying, "Freedom isn't free. In this solemn hour, we grant our honor and gratitude."
"Someone so compassionate and just a good man, to think of him being portrayed as a domestic terrorist," Mac Randolph said with tears in his eyes.
In a split-second decision, he posted the video of Pretti over his dad's body as a testament to his character.
"I couldn't remain silent, I had to help in any way I could. I am lucky enough to have a little piece of evidence to shine a light on him and I hope people see it," Mac Randolph said.
And did they ever; Colbert, Kimmel and network after network shared the video.
Mac Randolph says his dad and Pretti are forever connected.
"He would have wanted to be a part of this, he was a storyteller and this is his last act, and he's on the right side of history again," he said.
Pretti was killed one year to the day after Terry Randolph's celebration of life.