WWII vet celebrates 102nd birthday

Michelle James, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·2 min read

Aug. 12—Eldridge "Cecil" Ward spent his 22nd birthday fighting for his country.

Eighty years later, Ward celebrated his 102nd birthday surrounded by family and friends at the Stoco Community Center in Coal City.

Born Aug. 8, 1920, in Raleigh County, Ward enlisted in the U.S. Army Sept. 17, 1942, in Huntington.

Over the next three years, he served with the 108th Maintenance Company assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division.

The U.S. Army specialist fourth class served throughout the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in locations including the Philippines and the Solomon Islands.

According to Gary Parker, who, as a representative of the Raleigh County Veterans' Museum, honored Ward during the celebration, Ward's company was responsible for "design, purchase and repair of U.S. Army weapons, ammunition and explosives," operating boats to resupply military ships.

Parker said 396 members of the 33rd Infantry were killed in action, 2,024 were wounded, another five were listed as missing in action and one soldier was taken as a prisoner of war.

"The Veterans' Museum is honored and proud to help celebrate Cecil's 102nd birthday, as well as to honor his sacrifice to this great nation," Parker said. "May his service as well as any service never be forgotten."

Ward's granddaughter Kimberly Blackburn said her grandfather has begun talking more about his time in World War II in recent years.

"Not a lot but he remembers pretty much everything about it," she said.

Following his time in the military, Ward returned to Coal City and worked in the coal mines, from which he eventually retired as a member of the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA).

Ward and his wife Mary, to whom he was married for 66 years at the time of her passing in 2014, raised two daughters and a son.

Blackburn, now 51, said her grandfather remains active, even at 102.

"Not a lot has changed," she said. "He's still out four-wheeling on a side-by-side. He'll go out and ride with us all day."

And she said he continues to enjoy one of his favorite summer activities.

"He was just out on the boat with us yesterday at Stephens Lake," she said. "He loves boating and gets out on the water and swims."

Blackburn, who describes her grandfather as "kind and compassionate," said he values his family above all.

"We're very close," she said. "He loves being around his children and grandchildren."

----According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of September 2021, of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, just 240,329 were alive.

— Email: mjames@register-herald.com