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Grandson returns from Afghanistan to donate liver to Vietnam vet grandfather

Anna Kooiman reports from New York

U.S. Army Specialist Ricky Glenn Henderson, 21, was named after his grandfather, Rick Homer.

Homer spent four years in the Marines and 16 in the U.S. Army. He fought in Vietnam.

Now 62-year-old Homer is dying of hemachromatosis. He needs a new liver.

"I found out about it a little over three years ago. I have hemachromatosis, which is genetic. The liver doesn't purify the blood like it supposed to. The only time I've got left is what the good Lord gives me," Homer told KCTV.

Henderson stepped up to help his grandfather.

He arranged with his commanding officer to be flown back from Afghanistan, where he's currently stationed, to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, to be tested as a donor match.

"The loss and the regret of me not doing anything would have outweighed this. I'm the firstborn grandson I carry my grandfather's name," Henderson said of his decision to fly home.

Henderson told ABC News that Homer was shocked when his grandson called him from Afghanistan with his plan.

"He's like, 'Why? You’re young,'" Henderson said. "I had to sit there and explain, 'You're my granddad. I want to do this. You still have stuff that you need to be around for.'"

"I don't really see myself as a hero. You do what you do for the ones you love," he added.

Homer disagrees.

"He's my hero! People don't understand what a hero is until something like this happens," he said.

If Henderson is found to be a match, the donation of up to 60 per cent of his liver will be made in a few weeks. Henderson's liver will return to normal size within days of the surgery and to normal function in within a few months.

Henderson told KCTV that he wants his grandfather to get well so they can go on a fishing trip together.