I love stories like that!
I had a similar experience in my late teens. I worked with an older guy who was a master decorator while meandering my way though community college. We did all sorts of custom finishes and jobs other painters and paperhangers wouldn't touch with a ten-foot extension pole (see what I did there?). Anyway, he told me how he remembered being a proud eleven-year-old in upstate New York walking around for more than a week with Action Comics number one in his back pocket! And he got it. He knew how special it was even then. He could describe the cover pretty darn accurately, too, and this was long before the internet or the explosion in fandom so I'm sure he hadn't seen the cover image for decades. Sadly, he didn't keep his books, or maybe his mom threw them out when he joined the navy, like so many others. Anyway, it was great to hear the story, as I'd remind him often about it just to get him talking comics.
He could also recall some of the B-list characters from Flash Comics like Johnny Thunder and Cliff Cornwall(?), and he knew all the intros and radio spots for shows like The Shadow and Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy!
Damn, those were fun days!