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World War II veteran celebrates his 100th birthday at Fenway, gets a pretty awesome present

By Chris Landers

Fenway Park welcomed an American hero for Tuesday night's Athletics-Red Sox game. No, not Jonny Gomes -- World War II veteran Ben Sofka, who took in the game from down the third-base line. And, as if that wasn't touching enough, it just happened to be his 100th birthday:

Not wanting to be the ones who showed up to the party without a present, the Red Sox ballgirl came up with a small tribute. All she had to do was follow the Cardinal Rule of Ballgirl-ing: Always give the ball to the nearest adorable kid ... unless there happens to be a war hero in your section:

Boston did its part on the diamond, too -- inspired by Hanley Ramirez's massive dinger, the Red Sox cruised to a 13-5 win.

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