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A Korean War veteran in Michigan is being hailed for fighting off a would-be carjacker who threatened his wife with a butcher's knife, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.

Barney Trusewicz, 81, stopped at a Lincoln Park gas station and had just stepped away from the car when Christopher Bowens, a recently released convict, allegedly attempted to steal it.

Bowens reportedly hopped into the driver's seat while Trusewicz's wife, Constance Trusewicz, was still in the passenger's seat.

"He [said], 'Get out of the car. I'm taking it.' And I [said], 'What?'" Constance Trusewicz said. "And then I looked and I saw all these tattoos and I thought, Oh crap."

Elderly Vet Fights Off Would Be Carjacker in Lincoln Park: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Barney Trusewicz saw what was happening and rushed over to the car. He reached inside and turned off the engine. The carjacker was ready for a fight, but so was Trusewicz.

"I spotted the knife and I held onto it," Trusewicz said.

He grabbed the man by the wrist and wrestled with him until the carjacker just gave up and ran away.

"He [said], 'I'm going, I'm getting out of here.' I said, OK. I just didn't want him to come and give me a parting shot," Trusewicz said.

"He did what he had to do," Lincoln Park Police Chief Thomas Karnes said. "Probably Bowens in this case is lucky he got away without being seriously hurt from (Trusewicz), I would think."

Bowens was ordered held in the Wayne County Jail. He was on parole, as well as probation, both for federal and state charges. He now faces a possible life sentence.

Click here for more on this story from MyFoxDetroit.com.