COLUMBIA, S.C. — A local 99-year-old veteran received a Quilt of Valor Friday for his service decades ago in World War II.
It was a day of celebration inside the walls of the Hulon Greene Senior Living Community Friday. At the center of attention was 99-year-old Mac McMullan, a South Carolina native and World War II Army veteran.
As a clerk-typist, he provided clerical assistance to pilots and other service members who dropped the first paratroopers and supplies at Normandy. He and his wife of 65 years, Mary Jo, are now retired after working at the VA hospital after his service.
As a testament to his service, he was presented with a special handmade quilt on Friday.
"It'll be handed down, I'll tell you. It's very appreciated, the work that goes into it," Mary Jo said.
It came from Quilts of Valor and was presented by the South Carolina American Legion. David Mills, a District 20 commander, said 300,000 Quilts of Valor have been given to those touched by war over the past 20 years.
"It's not a band-aid, but it's one of those things that we do that's hopefully touching their heart and their feelings and letting them know that they're loved and cared about," Mills said. "We see the tears and everything a lot of people have never been recognized for anything, and then when we go do and put a quilt on them, it really touches their heart and makes them feel that love."
Hulon Greene held a Veterans Day dinner Friday, complete with memorabilia and the history of each war America was involved in since the Revolutionary War. Shelbie Lewis, a quilter and board member at Hulon Greene, joined the Palmetto Quilters team and helped assemble the handmade quilts.
"I pray about the person that's going to receive it because I think it's important for them to feel the warmth, the love, and know the prayers are there," Lewis said. "I don't just make a quilt for the heck of it, there's a reason."
As a veteran himself, Mills said people should remember to be kind to our veterans because of how much they've sacrificed for us.
"They might have guilty feelings or you might have people that came back from a certain place, and they're survivors, so they have survivor guilt," Mills said. "There are all types of emotions that run through me as well because I came out on a stretcher but I'm still here 20 years later."