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St. Pete boy's Pledge of Allegiance brings Coast Guard dad to tears

The little boy with cerebral palsy perfectly recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It was hard to Eric Garza to hold back his tears as he listened to the sweet voice of his five-year-old son, Jake.

The little boy with cerebral palsy was perfectly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

“It’s so special. I mean, a year ago he could hardly say any words,” said Eric, who serves as a Marine Science Technician First-Class in the United States Coast Guard. “He’s come along way.”

Jake is a kindergarten student at Sexton Elementary School. He was born premature at just 26 weeks. He had brain damage after birth.

When he did respond to prompts, his answers were short - until two weeks ago when he shocked his parents by belting out the pledge he heard in class.

“Totally unexpected. We had no idea he knew it at all,” said his stepmom, Taylor. “His mom would be proud.”

The Garzas recorded Jake’s pledge and posted it on Facebook. The video was watched nearly 1,000 times.

“I’m just inspired by him,” Eric said.

His parents came to class the week after Jake’s pledge. His classmates stood and cover their hearts during each reciting. Jake sat in the front of the room in his wheelchair, holding the American flag. He flashed the trademark smile that earned the nickname, “Mr. Handsome,” from Eric. As the class wrapped up the pledge, Jake capped it off with a loud, “For All!”

“I don’t think they knew he knew it to the extent that he did,” said Taylor. “It makes me feel really good because you always worry about kids not being nice. To see everyone loving Jake and that he’s happy, I know he’s in a really great place here.”

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