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WWII Veteran Enjoys 99th Birthday
At National Museum of the Marine Corps
by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Kirstin M. Spanu
September
30, 2019
Charles “Bert” Mulligan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from
Ridgeley West Virginia, spent his 99th birthday at the National
Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia on August 6, 2019.
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U.S. Marine Corps veteran Charles Berton Mulligan visits the National Museum of the
Marine Corps for his 99th birthday in Triangle, VA on August
6, 2019. Mulligan served in World War II in the Battle of
Iwo Jima. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Piper A.
Ballantine)
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Mulligan was a private with 2d Bn., Bravo Co., 21 st Reg., 3d
Marine Division from June 27, 1944 through December 15, 1945, and
fought in the battles of Guam and Iwo Jima during WWII. He is
currently the oldest surviving veteran from Iwo Jima.
Mulligan was accompanied by his daughter, Debbie Palmore, his
great-grandson, and a family friend and Marine Corps Vietnam
veteran, Dana Bennett, who drove the family to the museum. Bennett
served during 1970 and was medically retired as a lance corporal.
“I feel like I’m driving the president,” Bennett said about
having the honor to bring the WWII veteran to the museum for his
very first visit.
Marine Corps Base Quantico’s commanding
officer, Col. William C. Bentley III, and the base sergeant major,
Sgt. Maj. Michael W. Hensley, were there to greet Mulligan and his
family upon their arrival.
As word spread throughout the
museum, several guests took the time to say happy birthday to
Mulligan and thank him for his service.
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U.S. Marine Corps veteran Charles Berton Mulligan shakes hands with Col. William C.
Bentley III, commanding officer, Marine Corps Base Quantico
and Sgt. Maj. Michael W. Hensley, sergeant major, Marine
Corps Base Quantico, at the National Museum of the Marine
Corps in Triangle, VA on August 6, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps
photo by Lance Cpl. Piper A. Ballantine)
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The WWII veteran stopped in The Battle for Iwo Jima exhibit and
shared memories of his time on the island, including his
recollection of the flag raising, for the employees and the many
museum guests who gathered around to listen.
“Everyone saw
it, it seems like, at the same time and they started hollerin’ and
hoopin!” Mulligan exclaimed.
Mulligan remembered that his
fellow Marines took that as a sign that the war was ending. “But it
wasn’t over, it was just starting,” he said.
After returning
from the war, Mulligan went back home to West Virginia.
“And
I was glad to get there,” he said. “I never got a scratch.”
Mulligan’s daughter said she remembers looking at her father’s books
from the Marine Corps while growing up and wondering if her dad was
in any of the photos.
“He just recently started talking about
these stories,” she said, and her father admitted that he was glad
to have an opportunity to talk about his experiences during the war.
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U.S. Marine Corps veteran Charles Berton Mulligan visits the National Museum of the
Marine Corps for his 99th birthday in Triangle, VA on August
6, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Piper A.
Ballantine)
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When asked how she would like people to remember her father,
Debbie reminisced on an interview he had done for a newspaper. “They
asked him if he thought he was a hero, but he said, ‘No, the ones
who didn’t make it are the heroes.’”
Before he left, Mulligan was
extended an invitation to return to the museum in February for a
dinner commemorating the events at Iwo Jima by the Marine Corps
Heritage Foundation.
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