Outside VFW Post 4171 in Golden, the season's first snow was falling. But inside, hearts were filled with warmth.
About 20 people were celebrating John Sekulich, a Lakewood resident and World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Sekulich turned 100 years old on Nov. 17.
"It's quite an accomplishment," said Clyde Triplett, 63, of Golden, who organized the birthday party. "How often do you get to meet someone turning 100?"
During the war, Sekulich was a tech sergeant with the 114th Signal Radio Intelligence.
"We took care of all the communication in our company," Sekulich said.
The unit laid wires and cables, doing most of the work in the middle of the night to hide from German attackers. Sekulich recalls enduring deep snow and freezing temperatures.
"That bulge was no fun," he said.
The Battle of the Bulge was a German counteroffensive attack, Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945 in the Ardennes Forest --; a 75-mile stretch of dense woods and few roads in Belgium, France and Luxembourg.
The U.S. Army Center of Military History reports that Americans suffered some 75,000 casualties in the Battle of the Bulge, but the Germans lost 80,000 to 100,000. "German strength had been irredeemably impaired ... and the defeat of Germany was clearly only a matter of time."
The U.S. Army Center of Military History quotes British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill as saying, "`This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.'"
Birthday party attendees shared stories over a late lunch of beef brisket, pork, baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and dinner rolls.
There's always lots of sharing at these events, said Clyde Triplett's nephew, Michael, a 35-year-old Navy veteran.
"You get to hear all the cool stories," he said, pointing out he especially enjoys learning about the way things were done "back then."
Sekulich showed some of his guests a letter he received from President Barack Obama that wished him a happy birthday, while other guests flipped through a book containing all the morning reports from Sekulich's time serving in the Army.
"A friend put it together for him," Sekulich's wife Charlotte said. She told how her husband was able to track down an old Army buddy of his through the efforts of that book.
Sekulich was born and raised on a farm in Penrose, which is near Ca on City in Fremont County. He grew up with eight sisters.
Drafted when he was about 21, he was granted a permanent leave of absence to care for his sick father. But as his father got better, the war drew closer, and Sekulich volunteered to return to the military.
He stayed overseas for six months after Germany surrendered, Sekulich said, and trained to go to Japan. But then the Japanese surrendered.
"It's really astronomical that somebody can make it through all of that and live to be 100," said Pixie Ullrich, a Golden resident who was meeting Sekulich for the first time.
Sekulich lost his first wife in 2005. He met Charlotte, 69, a widow, while she was working at a prison and living in Ca on City.
"We were neighbors across the street," she said. "I'm so happy to be a part of his life. He is a gentleman of all gentlemen."
The two married on Nov. 10, 2007, and traveled to Alaska the following summer for their honeymoon. They enjoyed fishing and visiting the national parks out there, and even saw grizzly bears.
Sekulich did not raise any children, but became a grandfather when he was 97 through one of Charlotte's two children.
On Nov. 5, 104 of Sekulich's friends and family members traveled from Wisconsin, California and Colorado to attend an early birthday party at the Golden Corral in Sheridan.
"I really love our veterans," Clyde Triplett said.
Ullrich, 76, a lifetime member of VFW Post 4171, agreed.
"We all need to believe that veterans put their lives on the line every day," she said. "I was brought up to believe that anybody in the military should be respected, honored and valued for their commitment to make America free."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/WWII-veteran-celebrates-centennial-milestone,239905
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